page_title: Ernesto Geisel
section_title: Military career
hierarchical_section_title: Ernesto Geisel / Military career
caption_attribution_description: Português: Fotografia de Ernesto Geisel, presidente do Brasil no período 1974-1979, e Getúlio Vargas, presidente entre 1930-1945/1951-1954. Na época em que a fotografia foi tirada, Vargas encontrava-se no cargo. Recife, Pernambuco.
context_page_description: Ernesto Beckmann Geisel was a Brazilian Army officer and politician, who was President of Brazil from 1974 to 1979, during the Brazilian military government.
context_section_description: Geisel along with his brother Orlando (1905–1979, who would be Minister of Army in Emílio Garrastazu Médici's government), entered the army in 1921 and in 1925 was the first of his class when he graduated from the Military High School of Porto Alegre. He acquired higher military education at Escola Militar do Realengo, and graduated it in 1928 as the first in his class and joined artillery unit as an Aspirante. Promoted to lieutenant in 1930.
  Geisel witnessed and participated in the most prominent events of Brazilian history in the 20th century, such as the Revolution of 1930, the Getúlio Vargas dictatorship of Estado Novo and its overthrow in 1945. Geisel was military attache in Uruguay (1946–47).
  Promoted to brigadier-general in 1960, Geisel participated in the 1964 military coup d'état that overthrew the leftist President João Goulart. Geisel was an important figure during the coup and became Chief of the Military Staff of President Humberto de Alencar Castelo Branco from 1964 until 1967.
  In 1964 he was promoted to Lieutenant-General and in 1966 to the highest 4-star General de exército rank. In 1969 he was made president of the state-owned oil company Petrobras.
caption: Geisel with President Getúlio Vargas in 1940
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