Ruy Barbosa

Brazilian orator, statesman, and jurist
verifiedCite
While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies. Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions.
Select Citation Style
Feedback
Corrections? Updates? Omissions? Let us know if you have suggestions to improve this article (requires login).
Thank you for your feedback

Our editors will review what you’ve submitted and determine whether to revise the article.

Quick Facts
Born:
Nov. 5, 1849, Salvador, Bahia, Brazil
Died:
March 1, 1923, Petrópolis (aged 73)

Ruy Barbosa (born Nov. 5, 1849, Salvador, Bahia, Brazil—died March 1, 1923, Petrópolis) was a Brazilian orator, statesman, and jurist. Barbosa, an eloquent liberal, wrote the constitution for Brazil’s newly formed republic in 1890 and held various posts, including minister of finance, in the provisional government that launched the republic. He became a senator in 1895, and in 1907 he led a delegation to the second of the Hague Conventions, where he gained international renown for his oratory and for his defense of the legal equality of rich and poor nations. He ran for president in 1910 on an antimilitary platform, and again in 1919, but lost both times.

This article was most recently revised and updated by Encyclopaedia Britannica.