António Mascarenhas Monteiro

António Manuel Mascarenhas Gomes Monteiro (Portuguese pronunciation: [ɐ̃ˈtɔniu mɐnuˈɛl mɐʃkɐˈɾeɲɐʒ ˈɡomɨʒ mõˈtejɾu]; 16 February 1944 – 16 September 2016) was the first democratically elected President of Cape Verde from 22 March 1991 to 22 March 2001.[1]

António Mascarenhas Monteiro
2nd President of Cape Verde
In office 22 March 1991 – 22 March 2001
Prime Minister	Pedro Pires Carlos Veiga Gualberto do Rosário
Preceded by	Aristides Pereira
Succeeded by	Pedro Pires
Personal details
Born	António Manuel Mascarenhas Gomes Monteiro 16 February 1944 Ribeira da Barca, Portuguese Overseas Province of Cabo Verde
Died	16 September 2016 (aged 72) Praia, Cabo Verde
Political party	Movement for Democracy
Spouse(s)	Antonina Mascarenhas Monteiro (?–2009; her death)
Alma mater	Catholic University of Leuven

Early life and education

Born in Ribeira da Barca in 1944, Monteiro went to university in Belgium and graduated with his law degree from the Catholic University of Leuven.

Political career

During the PAICV's single-party government, Monteiro served in various high level positions. He was the Secretary-General of the National Assembly from 1977 to 1980 and President of the Supreme Court of Justice from 1980 to 1990.[2]

Presidency of Cape Verde

Affiliated with the Movement for Democracy, he was the first president elected in a multi-party election in the country, defeating Aristides Pereira in the February 1991 presidential election.[3]

On February 1995, he awarded one of the archipelago's greatest writer during the colonial era Eugénio Tavares the Medal of the Ordem do Vulcão.[4]

He was re-elected without opposition in 1996, receiving 80% of the vote. After serving two five year terms, he stepped down in 2001; in the 2001 election, Movement for Democracy candidate Carlos Veiga, who had served as Prime Minister under Monteiro, was defeated by Pedro Pires of the African Party for the Independence of Cape Verde (PAICV).

East Timor controversy

On 19 September 2006, it was announced that Monteiro would succeed Sukehiro Hasegawa as head of the United Nations mission in East Timor.[5] The appointment was criticized in East Timor, partly because Monteiro had a poor knowledge of English.[6] It was reported that Timorese president Xanana Gusmão was among those who expressed their concern about the appointment.

On 25 September, Monteiro announced that he had changed his mind and would not be accepting the position. He told journalists that "I told the Deputy Secretary-General that I already knew that there were reservations about my name on the part of parties engaged in East Timor and that I was no longer interested in serving there." He explained that "the functions of a representative of the UN Secretary-General in East Timor are very broad and must be exercised with the goodwill of all parties involved."[7] Therefore, "it is better to stand down now than to create problems later on, especially in view of the complexity of the situation in East Timor."[7]

Memberships and awards

Honors

Year	Country	Order
1991	Portugal		Grand Collar Order of Liberty[2]
	Senegal		Grand Cross, National Order of the Lion
	Cuba		Order of José Martí

Global Leadership Foundation

Monteiro was a Member of the Global Leadership Foundation, an organization which works to support democratic leadership, prevent and resolve conflict through mediation and promote good governance in the form of democratic institutions, open markets, human rights and the rule of law. It does so by making available, discreetly and in confidence, the experience of former leaders to today’s national leaders. It is a not-for-profit organization composed of former heads of government, senior governmental and international organization officials who work closely with Heads of Government on governance-related issues of concern to them.

Personal life

Monteiro's wife, Antonina Mascarenhas Monteiro, known widely as Tuna Mascarenhas, the former First Lady of Cape Verde, died in Praia on September 8, 2009, at the age of 65.[8] He had three children, Gamal, Marisa and Liliana.

Monteiro died of natural causes on 16 September 2016 in Cape Verde at age 72.[9]

References

1. "Cape Verde – Death of former President Antonio Mascarenhas Monteiro (16.09.16) – ForeignAffairs.co.nz". foreignaffairs.co.nz. Archived from the original on 12 October 2016. Retrieved 5 October 2016.
2. "Global Leadership Foundation | Biography - António Monteiro". Archived from the original on 29 May 2016. Retrieved 5 October 2016.
3. Political Parties of the World (6th edition, 2005), ed. Bogdan Szajkowski, pages 113–114.
4. "Condecoração de Eugénio Tavares pelo presidente da Républica de Cabo Verde, Doutor António Mascarenhas Monteiro" [Decoration of Eugénio Tavares by the President of the Republic of Cape Verde, Dr. António Mascarenhas Monteiro] (in Portuguese). Eugénio Tavares Foundation. February 1995.
5. "History of Antonio Mascarenhas". Archived from the original on 16 September 2008.
6. "East Timor shock as new UN chief changes his mind - World - smh.com.au". www.smh.com.au. Retrieved 5 October 2016.
7. "Timor UN mission head leaves before he arrives - World - theage.com.au". www.theage.com.au. Retrieved 5 October 2016.
8. "Tuna Mascarenhas, former first lady, dead at 65". A Semana. 10 September 2009. Archived from the original on 18 September 2016. Retrieved 18 September 2016.
9. "Breaking: Cape Verde mourns the death of former president Mascarenhas Monteiro". Retrieved 5 October 2016.