Deodoro da Fonseca

Manuel Deodoro da Fonseca (5 August 1827 – 23 August 1892) was a Brazilian military officer and politician who served as the first president of Brazil after leading the coup d'état that deposed Emperor Pedro II and established the First Brazilian Republic on 15 November 1889. Following the coup, Fonseca served as head of the provisional government and was subsequently elected in 1891 by the Constituent Congress as Brazil's first constitutional president. Fonseca resigned from office on 23 November 1891 under great political pressure when he dissolved the National Congress on 3 November, being succeeded by vice president Floriano Peixoto. He died less than a year later.

Born in Alagoas in a military family, Fonseca studied artillery at the Military School of Rio de Janeiro between 1843 and 1847, and later took part in several military campaigns during the Brazilian Empire, most notably the Praieira Revolt, the Uruguayan War, and the Paraguayan War, becoming a national figure. In 1885, he became vice-president of the province of Rio Grande do Sul; the following year, upon the resignation of the incumbent president, the Baron of Lucena, Fonseca became president of Rio Grande do Sul. Due to his involvement in what became known as the "Military Question"—clashes between the armed forces and the imperial government—he returned to Rio de Janeiro. Appointed to the military command of the province of Mato Grosso in 1888, he resigned from office the following year following the appointment of the Empire's final ministerial cabinet, led by the Prime Minister Afonso Celso, the Viscount of Ouro Preto. Amidst various crises plaguing the Brazilian monarchy, Fonseca led the coup d'état that deposed the Empire and proclaimed the republic in the country.