Antonio de Oliveira Salazar (28 April 1889 - 27 July 1970) was a Portuguese politician and economist who served as Prime Minister of Portugal for 36 years; from 1932 to 1968. Salazar founded and led the Estado Novo ('New State'); the corporatist authoritarian government that ruled Portugal until 1974.

Salazar used police; censorship and suppression to quell opposition; especially that related to the Communist movement. He supported Francisco Franco in the Spanish Civil War; but kept Portugal neutral during World War II. The doctrine of Pluricontinentalism was the basis of his territorial policy; conceiving of the Portuguese Empire as a unified state that spanned multiple continents. The Estado Novo would eventually collapse during the Carnation Revolution; four years after Salazar's death.