Washington Luís Pereira de Sousa (; 26 October 1869 – 4 August 1957) was a Brazilian politician who served as the 13th president of Brazil. Elected governor of São Paulo state in 1920 and president of Brazil in 1926, Washington Luís belonged to the Republican Party of São Paulo (PRP) and served as the last president of the First Brazilian Republic. Facing the crisis generated by the Great Depression in the United States, the president lost almost all his support. He selected his friend Júlio Prestes as his successor in 1930, but just three weeks before the end of his term, Luís was overthrown in a coup d'etat during the Brazilian Revolution of 1930 and was succeeded as president by the short-lived Brazilian Military Junta in the last few months of 1930. Biography His family was of Portuguese Romani descent. He was born in Macaé, Rio de Janeiro, and moved to São Paulo, where he was educated and graduated from the University of São Paulo Law School in 1891. He was appointed prosecutor in Barra Mansa, Rio de Janeiro in 1892, but resigned to devote himself to law in Batatais, São Paulo, where he began his political career. Luís was an alderman in Batatais with Federal Republican Party (Partido Republicano Federal; PRF) and became President of the Municipal Chamber in 1897. Luís was mayor of Batatais from 1898 to 1899. He was elected congressman from the Farmer's Party (Partido da Lavoura) in 1900. Luís was a state representative for the Paulista Republican Party (Partido Republicano Paulista; PRP) between 1904 and 1906, participating in the Constituent Assembly of São Paulo, which revised the Constitution of the State in 1905. He resigned as representative to take the office of Secretary of State of Justice and Public Safety from 1906 to 1912. He was the leader of the situationists and again became a state representative for the Paulista Republican Party from 1912 to 1913. He interrupted his mandate to become mayor of São Paulo (1914–1919), when he faced the general strike of 1917. He was governor of the state of São Paulo from 1920 to 1924. In 1924, Luís led the 3rd Battalion organized in Batatais to fight the rebels of São Paulo, which in 1925 became the Miguel Costa-Prestes Column. From 1925 to 1926, Luís served as a senator for the PRP. Presidency Through direct election, Luís went on to hold the