Marshal (Brazil)

Marshal (Portuguese: Marechal) is the highest rank in both the Brazilian Army and the Brazilian Air Force, although the latter is titled Marechal-do-Ar (literally Marshal of the Air). These ranks are equivalent to that of Admiral in the Navy. A marshal is distinguished by using five stars, which for a marshal of the air are in the approximate position of Southern Cross and for a marshal in the army, in the form of "X". The five stars of Admiral are in the shape of a pentagon.

Until the structural reform of 1967 in the Brazilian Army, army generals (bearing four stars), when moving to the reserve, were awarded the fifth star automatically. With the reform, it was established that there would be only the promotion of a general to marshal in the event of war, thus extinguishing the rank of marshal within the army in times of peace. Those dubbed as marshals prior to such reform, however, would still bear such titles for the reminder of their lives. The last living Brazilian Army marshal, Marshal Waldemar Levy Cardoso, died in May 2009.

During the days of the Imperial Period (between 1822 and 1889), the patent, regarding the Army, was named "marshal of the army" (Portuguese: Marechal-do-Exército), having been renamed to its shorter current counterpart with the advent of the Republic after 1889.

Although a large number of marshals existed within Brazilian ranks in the second half of the 20th century as mentioned above, the last active marshal in the Brazilian Army (i.e., that to hold office in the command of active troops) was Marshal Mascarenhas de Moraes, holding the position of commander of the Brazilian Expeditionary Force, a special Corps assembled to fight alongside the Allied forces in the Mediterranean Theatre of World War II. Marshal Mascarenhas de Maraes would bear said position and title for the reminder of his life (thus, until 1968, when he perished) as a result of a decree by the National Congress which dubbed the position and title honorary lifetime in the form of active troops.

Some Marshals became President of Brazil, notably in the years following the establishment of the Republic in 1889 and also between the 1964 Brazilian coup d'état and the re-establishment of democracy in 1984/1985. Worthy mentions would be Marshal Deodoro da Fonseca (for the earlier aforementioned period) and Marshals Humberto de Alencar Castello Branco and Artur da Costa e Silva (for the latter).

List of Brazilian Marshals


This category comprises articles about marshal of the Armed Forces of Brazil (patent virtually extinct in 1967 when, from then, can only be attributed to generals who had participated in conflicts of war). There have been 66 Marshals; 63 army and three air force.

Marshals of the Empire of Brazil
During the monarchic regime, there were four General ranks (from lowest to highest): Brigadier (Brigadeiro), Field Marshal (Marechal de campo), Lieutenant-General (Tenente-general) and Marshal of the Army (Marechal do Exército). Although almost all international conflicts that Brazil participated occurred during the Imperial Era (Brazilian War of Independence (1822-1825), Cisplatine War (1825-1828), Platine War (1851-1852), Uruguayan War (1864-1865) and Paraguayan War (1864-1870)), very few military officers achieved the highly distinct rank:


 * Luís Alves de Lima e Silva, Duke of Caxias
 * Manuel Antônio da Fonseca Costa, Marquis of Gávea
 * Francisco Xavier Calmon Cabral da Silva, Baron of Itapagipe
 * Manuel Luís Osório, Marquis of Erval
 * José Antônio Correia da Câmara, Viscount of Pelotas
 * Francisco José de Sousa Soares de Andréa, Baron of Caçapava
 * Gaston d´Orléans, Count of Eu (1864)

Marshals of the Republic of Brazil

 * Ademar de Queirós
 * Aguinaldo Caiado de Castro
 * Aires Antônio de Morais Âncora
 * Alexandre Gomes de Argolo Ferrão
 * Ângelo Mendes de Morais
 * Antônio Enéias Gustavo Galvão
 * Antônio Henrique Cardim
 * Armando Figueira Trompowsky de Almeida Br Air Force
 * Bento Manuel Ribeiro
 * Cândido José da Costa
 * Cândido Rondon
 * Carlos Antônio Napion
 * Carlos Frederico Lecor
 * Carlos Machado Bittencourt
 * Casimiro Montenegro Filho Br Air Force
 * Cordeiro de Farias
 * Artur da Costa e Silva
 * Deodoro da Fonseca (1884)
 * Eduardo Gomes Br Air Force
 * Eurico Gaspar Dutra
 * Floriano Peixoto
 * Francisco Arruda Câmara
 * Frederico Augusto de Mesquita
 * Francisco Carlos da Luz
 * Francisco das Chagas Santos
 * Francisco José de Sousa Soares de Andréa
 * Francisco Marcelino de Sousa Aguiar
 * Francisco de Paula Magessi Tavares de Carvalho
 * Guilherme Xavier de Sousa
 * Hastinfilo de Moura
 * Henrique Batista Duffles Teixeira Lott
 * Hermes Ernesto da Fonseca
 * Hermes da Fonseca
 * Humberto de Alencar Castelo Branco 1964
 * João Batista do Rego Barros Cavalcanti de Albuquerque
 * João Carlos Augusto de Oyenhausen-Gravenburg
 * João de Deus Mena Barreto (I)
 * João Frederico Caldwell
 * João de Segadas Viana
 * João de Sousa da Fonseca Costa
 * João Tomás de Cantuária
 * João Vieira de Carvalho
 * Joaquim de Oliveira Álvares
 * Joaquim Xavier Curado
 * José Bernardino Bormann
 * José Egídio Gordilho de Barbuda Filho
 * José de Oliveira Barbosa
 * José Pessoa
 * José Ribeiro de Sousa Fontes
 * Juarez Távora
 * Júlio Anacleto Falcão da Frota
 * Luís Paulino d'Oliveira Pinto da França
 * Luís Paulino d'Oliveira Pinto da França Garcês
 * Manuel de Almeida Lobo d'Eça
 * Manuel Antônio da Fonseca Costa
 * Manuel Jorge Rodrigues
 * Mascarenhas de Morais
 * Odílio Denys
 * Pedro de Alcântara Bellegarde
 * Raimundo José da Cunha Matos
 * Rufino Enéias Gustavo Galvão
 * Salustiano Jerônimo dos Reis
 * Salvador José Maciel
 * Sebastião Barreto Pereira Pinto
 * Tomás Joaquim Pereira Valente
 * Waldemar Levy Cardoso (1966)