Ruy Barbosa de Oliveira (5 November 1849 – 1 March 1923), also known as Rui Barbosa, was a Brazilian polymath, diplomat, writer, jurist, and politician.^[1][2]

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Quick Facts Vice President of the Federal Senate, Preceded by ...

Ruy Barbosa
Ruy Barbosa in 1907
Vice President of the Federal Senate
In office 25 October 1906 – 25 June 1909
Preceded by	Joaquim Murtinho
Succeeded by	Quintino Bocaiuva
Senator
In office 15 November 1890 – 1 March 1923
Constituency	Bahia
Minister of Finance
In office 15 November 1889 – 21 January 1891
President	Deodoro da Fonseca
Preceded by	Viscount of Ouro Preto
Succeeded by	Tristão de Alencar Araripe
General Deputy
In office 15 December 1878 – 3 September 1884
Constituency	Bahia
Personal details
Born	(1849-11-05)5 November 1849 Salvador, Bahia, Brazil
Died	1 March 1923(1923-03-01) (aged 73) Petrópolis, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Political party	Liberal (1871–1889)
Spouse	Maria Augusta Viana Bandeira ​ ​ (m. 1876)​
Children	5
Parents	João José Barbosa de Oliveira (father) Maria Adélia Barbosa de Almeida (mother)
Relatives	Marina Ruy Barbosa (great-great-great-granddaughter)
Alma mater	Faculty of Law of Largo de São Francisco

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He was a prominent defender of civil liberties who called for the abolition of slavery in Brazil, Barbosa represented Brazil in the second Hague convention, argued for Brazil's participation in World War I on the side of the Allies, and personally ordered the destruction of all government records pertaining to slavery while he was Minister of Finance.

He was forced into exile during the presidency of Floriano Peixoto, as his economic policies while he was finance minister paved the way for a disaster in the Brazilian economy. After exile, Barbosa would run an extremely memorable campaign for the presidency, though it ultimately failed.

Rui Barbosa was born in Salvador, Bahia. He gave his first public speech for the abolition of slavery when he was 19. For the rest of his life he remained an uncompromising defender of civil liberties. Slavery in Brazil was finally abolished by the Lei Áurea ("Golden Law") in 1888. Part of Barbosa's legacy to history is that he authorised, as Minister of Finance on 14 December 1890, the destruction of most government records relating to slavery.^[3] The avowed reason for this destruction, which took several years to be enacted and was followed by his successors, was to erase the "stain" of slavery on Brazilian history.^[4] However, historians today agree that Barbosa aimed to prevent any possible indemnification of the former slave-owners for this liberation.^[4] Indeed, eleven days after the abolition of slavery, a law project was deposed at the Chamber, proposing some indemnification to the slave owners.^[4]

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