Francisco da Veiga Beirão

Who was Francisco da Veiga Beirão?

Francisco António da Veiga Beirão, commonly known as Francisco da Veiga Beirão, or Veiga Beirão, was a Portuguese politician of the late period of the Constitutional Monarchy. He served as President of the Ministry, being the second last before the October 5 republican coup d'état that established the Portuguese First Republic. He was a professor at the Industrial Institute and president of Lawyers Association of Lisbon. He was also a member of the Royal Academy of Sciences and of the Institut de Droit International and the Real Academia de Jurisprudência y Legislación de Madrid. He had a law degree, from the University of Coimbra.

He started his political life in the Reformist Party and was a deputy in the Cortes from 1880 to 1904. However he maintained a certain distance from party-politics. He also served as Minister of Justice and of Foreign Affairs. He was the author of the regulating code for the creation and functioning of commercial societies in Portugal.

In 1909, on December 22, he was named President of the Ministry by young king Manuel II of Portugal. However, his government did not last long as it was followed by a political scandal related to the Crédito Predial Bank that implicated several of his ministers. He resigned on June 26, 1910. He was followed by António Teixeira de Sousa, the last Prime Minister of the constitutional monarchy.