V Valera, Éamon de (1882–1975) Irish nationalist and president Éamon de Valera was the dominant Irish nationalist leader for much of the 20th century De Valera was born in New York City but was raised in Ireland by his mother’s family After attending a university he joined the Irish Volunteers He participated in the Easter Rebellion of 1916 De Valera was captured and sentenced to death, but legal delays saved his life He was released in a general amnesty in 1917 He was elected to the British House of Commons and served as president of Sinn Féin In 1918 he won election to the Irish parliament The Irish conflict with the British broke out into the Irish War of Independence Michael Collins was de Valera’s main political rival during this era De Valera became president of the republic in 1921 De Valera vigorously opposed the treaty with the British, particularly the oath of allegiance to the king of England De Valera’s inflamed rhetoric against the treaty contributed to the outbreak of civil war in 1922 The war lasted one year until the protreaty Free State forces defeated the antitreaty IRA In 1926 de Valera established the Fianna Fáil (Soldiers of Destiny) political party, which remained the dominant political force for the next 50 years De Valera served as the first Taoiseach from 1937 to 1948 He lost the 1948 election but returned to power in the 1950s He forced through a new constitution in 1937 whereby Eire became the new name for the nation, the president of Ireland was elected in a popular vote, and the “special position” of the Roman Catholic Church in Ireland was recognized The Irish language, along with English, became the official national language De Valera maintained Irish neutrality in World War II His final term ended in 1973, when he was 91 De Valera died in Dublin in 1975 See also Irish independence Further reading: Coogan, Tim Pat De Valera: Long Fellow, Long Shadow London: Hutchinson, 1993 Hachey, Thomas E., et al Irish Experience: A Concise History Armonk, NY: M.E Sharpe, 1996 Janice J Terry Vargas, Getúlio (1883–1954) Brazilian president Getúlio Vargas served as president of Brazil for almost 20 years Between 1930 and 1945 he filled the role of provisional president, elected leader, and dictator Between 1951 and 1954 he held the presidential office by means of a democratic election During his tenure he worked to modernize Brazil, advancing social reform programs, extended suffrage, and organized labor However, Vargas’s government also gained a reputation as a repressive state as he disbanded congress, cancelled elections, gained state control over newspapers and labor unions, and even overthrew his own government to install himself as dictator 399