Former President Kubitschek on a visit to the White House in 1961. Photograph by Abbie Rowe, White House Photographs. From the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum, Boston.

Juscelino Kubitschek, or JK as he was often known, was born on December 12, 1902 in Diamantina, Minas Gerais. His father, who worked as a traveling salesman, died when Juscelino was two years old. The future president was thus raised by his mother, a schoolteacher of Czech and Roma descent. He was educated at a Seminary School in Diamantina, where he was an average student. He was enrolled in medical school at the Federal University of Minas Gerais in Belo Horizonte at age 20, graduating as a medical doctor seven years later. Kubitschek then left for Europe, living in Paris and Berlin. He returned to Brazil after the Revolution of 1930.

Kubitschek was named Captain-Physician of the Military Police and began work at a military hospital. He gained recognition due to his role as a medic during the 1932 conflict between São Paulo and the Vargas administration. Kubitschek was a Vargas supporter and served with the troops from Minas Gerais, giving aid to the wounded. It was in this role that he befriended Benedito Valadares, who was named governor of Minas Gerais in 1932 and in turn named Kubitschek his chief of staff. JK served in the Valadares administration until 1934, when he ran for the Federal Chamber of Deputies as a member of the Partido Progressista (Progressive Party) and was elected as the top candidate from Minas Gerais. In 1940 he became mayor of Belo Horizonte, this time as a member of the Partido Social Democratico (Social Democratic Party). During his term he became known as the “prefeito furacão”(hurricane mayor) due to his administration’s high level of investment and vast improvements in infrastructure. It was the beginning of Kubitschek’s reputation as an ambitious administrator and proponent of large public works. He achieved all this while still practicing medicine.

With the fall of the Estado Novo and re-democratization, anyone who had been appointed to a government position by the dictatorship was forced to leave office. At this point, however, JK had made a definitive choice to fully dedicate his life to politics. He decided to once again run for the Chamber of Deputies and was elected in 1945. In Rio, he became known for his articulate oratory and effective legislative style. In 1950 Kubitschek decided it was time to return to executive office and ran for Governor of Minas Gerais. He vowed to invest in energy and transport, two areas that were underdeveloped in Minas Gerais. JK beat his opponent (who happened to be his brother-in-law) and took office in early 1951. His term was marked by a great leap in development. His administration oversaw the creation of the Minas Gerais Energy Company and built five hydroelectric power plants, as well as countless roads, bridges, health posts and schools.

In 1954 Getulio Vargas committed suicide, leaving a huge power vacuum. When the Presidential elections came in 1955, Kubitschek was a prime contender. He ran on a platform of development similar to those of his previous campaigns and won the election. Kubitschek was inaugurated President of Brazil in January 1956 after a brief scuffle with the military and with the opposition party UDN, who were reluctant to allow him to take office due to his close ties with Vargas and alleged communist support. His presidency would be a pivotal one in Brazilian history.

Kubistchek served as president of Brazil from January 1956 to January 1961—the last president before the military dictatorship to fulfill his entire term. He was always careful not to displease any major parties. He knew how to manage the volatile Brazilian political system extremely well. The four years he was in office were marked by optimism and a sense that Brazil was finally on the road to achieve its true potential. Kubistschek’s agenda was based on development, epitomized by his motto “Fifty Years in Five,” implying that his administration would achieve 50 years of progress in five. He hoped to achieve this ambitious promise with two key initiatives, the Plano de Metas (Plan of Goals) and by transferring the nation’s capitol to the interior by building Brasilia. The Plano de Metas focused on the development of five key areas—energy, food, industry, education, and transport—with the aim of modernizing and diversifying the Brazilian economy. This would partly be achieved by opening Brazil to foreign capital, particularly the automotive industry. Kubitschek made sure to implement new tax policy in order to attract foreign investment and welcomed companies like Volkswagen and Simca to the Brazilian market. All this incoming capital saw a surge in the quality of life of some Brazilians, as household appliances, such as televisions, became readily available.

The construction of Brasilia was intended to be the culmination of the Plano de Metas, uniting the country and developing the interior. The construction of the new capital began in February 1957 and was officially completed (albeit with some work still to be done) a mere 41 months later. To many Brazilians, the completion of this massive project was the affirmation that Brazil was a country of the future, somehow on a higher level than its South American neighbors. Brasilia was the cornerstone of Kubitschek’s agenda and is what the former president is most remembered for today.

The legacy of Kubitschek’s presidency is still a major source of discussion. Kubitschek brought 80 percent industrial growth, to an extent modernizing the nation, and Brasilia was seen as the personification of Brazil’s modernity. However, the massive spending that made all of this possible also created problems for Brazil, such as a $1.5 billion increase in the national debt and a 43 percent increase in inflation. The opposition called it 50 years of inflation in five. Kubitschek’s reliance on public spending and major public works also made the government coffers vulnerable to corruption, and Kubitschek himself was accused of growing his fortune while in office.

Nevertheless, Kubitschek left office triumphantly in 1961, having fulfilled many of his ambitious promises. He was succeeded by Janio Quadros, who pledged to clean up the rampant corruption within the Brazilian government. Kubitschek was elected senator for the state of Goias in 1962, but his term was cut short when the dictatorship, under President Castello Branco, removed his political rights in 1964. The former president then went into self-imposed exile in Europe and the United States until his return to Brazil in 1967, when he attempted, without success, to form the Frente Ampla (Broad Front) with former President Joao Goulart and former Guanabara Governor Carlos Lacerda. Kubitschek maintained political ambitions but could never bring them fruition due to the opposition of the military regime. He died in a car accident in August 1976 in the state of Rio de Janeiro; over 300,000 people attended his funeral in Brasilia.