was appointed Minister of Public Works in the government chaired by João Chagas, assuming his office on 24 August 1911. In this post, which he held until 3 November 1911, he represented the government during the festivities that marked the first anniversary of the Republic in the city of Porto. After the fall of the Chagas government, he kept his place in government by taking up the post of Finance Minister in Augusto de Vasconcelos' "Government of concentration". Taking office on 7 November 1911, he held on to this position until 16 June 1912. At a moment when international tensions that would lead to World War I already made themselves felt, Pais was appointed to the post of Minister Plenipotentiary (ambassador) of Portugal in Berlin on 17 August 1912. He remained in that important diplomatic post during the critical period that led to the outbreak of the war, maintaining a difficult balance between the pressures of the Portuguese Government, with increasingly pro-war and Anglophile viewpoints, attempts to settle diplomatically border conflicts in areas of contact between the Portuguese and German colonies in Africa, and his own increasingly Germanophile position. Despite these difficulties, he held the position until 9 March 1916, the date on which Germany declared war on Portugal following the seizure of German ships in ports under Portuguese control. Government and presidency Back in Portugal, he formed a natural rallying point for those who opposed Portugal's participation in the war, catalyzing the growing discontent caused by both the effects of the war effort at home and the poor results obtained by the Portuguese Expeditionary Corps at the front. He became the main leader of opposition to Afonso Costa's Democratic Party government, and from 5 to 8 December 1917, he led an insurrection by around 250 troops. The coup ended victoriously after three days of heavy confrontations, in which the role of civil groups was decisive for the insurgents' success. On the morning of 8 December Costa handed over power to Pais' military junta. Instead of starting the usual consultation for the formation of a new government, the rebels took power, removing Bernardino Machado from the post of President of the Republic and forcing his exile. Subsequently, on 11 December 1917, Sidónio Pais took over as President of the Council of Ministers (Prime Minister), and in addition accumulated the portfolios of War Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs. He also