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Itamar Augusto Cautiero Franco (; 28 June 19302 July 2011) was a Brazilian politician who served as the 33rd president of Brazil from 29 December 1992 to 1 January 1995. Previously, he was the 21st vice president of Brazil from 1990 until the resignation of President Fernando Collor de Mello. During his long political career Franco also served as Senator, Mayor, Ambassador and Governor. At the time of his death he was a senator from Minas Gerais, having won the seat in the 2010 election.
As Vice President of Fernando Collor de Mello, Itamar disagreed with several aspects of the economic and financial policies adopted by Collor, eventually leaving the National Reconstruction Party (PRN) at the beginning of 1992. Following the impeachment of the president Collor, he temporarily assumed the role of head of state and head of government on October 2, 1992, and officially became the President of the Republic on December 29 of that year. During his government, a plebiscite was held regarding the form and system of government in Brazil, resulting in the continued existence of the presidential republic in Brazil. During his tenure, the Plano Real was implemented, which controlled inflation and began stabilizing the economy.
His family was from Juiz de Fora, Minas Gerais, where he grew up and became a civil engineer in 1955, graduating from the School of Engineering of Juiz de Fora, institute of the Federal University of Juiz de Fora (UFJF).
Re-elected as a senator in 1982, he was defeated in an attempt to be elected governor of Minas Gerais in 1986 as a candidate of the Liberal Party (PL). During his tenure he was one of the key figures of (then failed) initiative to immediate restoration of the direct elections for president. During his Senate term, Franco served as PL leader in that chamber.
As a member of the National Constituent Assembly which began on 1 February 1987, Franco voted for severance of relations between Brazil and countries that develop a policy of racial discrimination (as was then the case of South Africa), the establishment of the writ of mandamus Collective; 50% more pay for overtime after a forty-hour work-week, the legalization of abortion, the continuous shift of six hours of notice proportional to length of service, the union unity, popular sovereignty, the nationalization of subsoil, the nationalization of the financial system of a limiting the payment of external debt burden and creating a fund to support land reform.
Meanwhile, he voted against propositions to reintroduce the death penalty, confirming the presidential system and extension of President José Sarney's term, whom he opposed and called for removal for an alleged corruption. When Franco became president, Sarney became one of his allies.
Collor and Franco won a very narrow election against a man who would later become President (2003–2010), Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.
Once in office, Franco broke with Collor, threatening a resignation several times, as he disagreed with some of the President's policies, especially regarding privatization, voicing his opposition openly. Brazil – Franco's Presidency, 1992 – 94
On Tuesday, 29 September 1992, Collor was charged with corruption and was impeachment by the Congress. Under the Brazilian Constitution, an impeached president's powers are suspended for 180 days. As such, Franco became acting president on 2 October 1992. Collor resigned on 29 December when it was apparent that the Senate would convict and remove him, at which point Franco formally took office as president.
When he became acting president, despite having been vice president for nearly three years, polls showed that the majority of the population did not know who he was.
In an unusual gesture, moments before taking office, Franco handed senators a piece of paper on which he had listed his personal net worth and properties. Initially, his approval rating reached 60 percent.
After the troubled Collor Presidency, Franco quickly installed a politically balanced cabinet and sought broad support in Congress.
During his presidency, in April 1993, Brazil held a long-announced referendum to determine the political system (remaining a Republic or restoration of the Monarchy) and the form of government (presidential or parliamentary system). The Republican and presidential system prevailed by large majorities respectively. Brazilians Vote Down Kings and Keep Presidents, James Brooke, April 22, 1993 Franco always preferred the parliamentary government.
In 1993, Franco resisted calls from various military and civilian offices to shut down the Congress (described by some sources as a "coup attempt"). Brazilian Official Tells of '93 Plot, January 7, 1994
His administration is credited for restoring integrity and stability in government, particularly after the troubled Collor presidency. The President himself kept his reputation of honesty, and his personal style was viewed as very different from Collor's, who practiced "an imperial and ceremonious presidential role". On the other hand, Franco's own personal behavior was sometimes described as temperamental and eccentric. Franco's Presidency, 1992 – 94Jane Ladle, Huw Hennessy, Brian Bell, Brazil, Langenscheidt Publishing Group, 1998, , Brazilian's Reputation Seen Reaching Bottom; President Again Fails to Skirt Controversy, The Washington Post, February 17, 1994, Jeb Blount
In late 1993, Franco offered a resignation in order to call an earlier election, but Congress turned it down. Brazil Leader's Offer to Quit Is Turned Down by Congress, Thursday, October 21, 1993
At the end of term, Franco's job approval rating soared to nearly 80–90 percent. Brazil – Franco's Presidency, 1992–94 Brazil's Ex-President Accomplished Much, Wednesday, May 31, 1995 Until Michel Temer in May 2016, Franco remained the last President of Brazil not to have been elected as such.
Also during his Government, Brazil ratified important pacts (for example the Tlatelolco Treaty and a quadripartite agreement also involving Argentina and the International Atomic Energy Agency on full-scope safeguards), which set Brazil on the nonproliferation path.
Franco considered a presidential run in 1998, but ultimately backed off after constitution changes allowed Cardoso to run again. However, he was elected governor of Minas Gerais in 1998 against the Cardoso-supported incumbent in a landslide, and as soon as he took office, he enacted a moratorium on state debt payments, worsening the national economic crisis. Itamar Franco served in the governor's seat until 2003 (declining to seek reelection and supporting the eventual winning candidate Aécio Neves) and was then the ambassador to Italy, until leaving the position in 2005. During the 2002 presidential election, Franco endorsed Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, who got elected, Candidates brace for runoff in Brazil, LatinAmerican Post even if he, again, declined to run himself.
Having unsuccessfully sought, at age 76, the PMDB presidential nomination in 2006, he backed Geraldo Alckmin against Lula, despite having been considered again, despite his advanced age, as a candidate for President in 2010.
Franco ran instead for to be a Senator from Minas, and won the race along with Neves.
He authored some 19 published works, ranging from discussions on nuclear energy to short stories.
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