Dutra was commissioned a second lieutenant in the cavalry in 1910 and received routine assignments and promotions for the next 22 years. He consistently supported the established government against all revolutionary movements. Dutra thus opposed Getúlio Dorneles Vargas (Vargas, Getúlio), who seized power in a coup in 1930, but he later defended Vargas in the 1932 São Paulo revolt. Dutra became one of the principal figures in devising the 1937 constitution for Brazil under Vargas's rule and served as minister of war throughout the Estado Novo dictatorial period (1937–45). In 1945 he became the official candidate of the Social Democratic Party (Partido Democrático Social; PSD) to succeed Vargas. Following a successful coup (October 1945) by anti-Vargas military officers, Dutra was elected president in December with the support of the PSD and, on Vargas's recommendation, of the Brazilian Labor Party.

Dutra returned Brazil to respected democratic freedoms and strove to improve relations with the United States by clamping down on Brazil's communists. His administration, however, lacked leadership and wavered in its financial policy; with the resulting public discontent, Dutra was defeated by Vargas in the 1950 presidential election. With his time as president viewed as a basically well-intentioned but weak interlude between two Vargas-led administrations, Dutra enjoyed a long and dignified retirement.