Vasco Gonçalves

General Vasco dos Santos Gonçalves OA (Portuguese pronunciation: [ˈvaʃku ɡõˈsaɫvɨʃ]; Lisbon 3 May 1921 – 11 June 2005) was a Portuguese army officer in the Engineering Corps who took part in the Carnation Revolution and later served as the 104th Prime Minister from 18 July 1974 to 19 September 1975.

Vasco Gonçalves OA
Prime Minister of Portugal
In office 18 July 1974 – 19 September 1975
President	António de Spínola Francisco da Costa Gomes
Vice PM	José Teixeira Ribeiro António Arnão Metelo
Preceded by	Adelino da Palma Carlos
Succeeded by	José Pinheiro de Azevedo
Minister of Education and Culture
In office 29 November 1974 – 4 December 1974
Preceded by	Vitorino Magalhães Godinho
Succeeded by	Manuel Rodrigues Carvalho
Personal details
Born	Vasco dos Santos Gonçalves 3 May 1921 Lisbon, Portugal
Died	11 June 2005 (aged 84) Almancil, Portugal
Political party	Independent
Spouse(s)	Aida Rocha Afonso
Children	1 daughter and 1 son
Alma mater	Portuguese Military Academy
Profession	Army officer
Awards	Order of Aviz Order Playa Girón
Military service
Branch/service	Portuguese Army
Years of service	1942–1975
Rank	General

Early life

Vasco dos Santos Gonçalves was born on May 3, 1921, in Sintra, Portugal. His father, Vítor Gonçalves, was an amateur footballer turned foreign exchange dealer. He graduated from the Portuguese military academy as an engineer in 1942. Gonçalves married, in 1950, Aida Rocha Afonso, with whom he had a son, Vitor, and a daughter, Maria João.[1]

In 1942, Gonçalves graduated from a Portuguese military academy in the Army Engineering Corps. As an officer, Gonçalves served in Portuguese Goa, and spent part of his military career in the Portuguese overseas territories of Angola and Mozambique.[2]

In 1973, Gonçalves joined the Armed Forces Movement and was involved in the planning of the overthrow of the Estado Novo regime.[3]

Political career

Gonçalves's tenure as Prime Minister of Portugal was marked by political turmoil and instability. The PM oversaw the transition of the Portugal into a democracy known as the Processo Revolucionário Em Curso or the Ongoing Revolutionary Process.

Early in March 1975, Gonçalves's leadership was challenged by a right-wing coup attempt which ultimately failed. Emboldened by this, the Prime Minister proceeded to nationalize all Portuguese-owned capital in the banking, insurance, petrochemical, fertilizer, tobacco, cement, and wood pulp sectors of the economy, as well as the Portuguese iron and steel company, major breweries, large shipping lines, most public transport, two of the three principal shipyards, core companies of the Companhia União Fabril (CUF) conglomerate, radio and TV networks (except that of the Roman Catholic Church), and important companies in the glass, mining, fishing, and agricultural sectors.[4]

A mural in support of Vasco Gonçalves.

In April 1975, the Socialist Party and its allies gained a majority in the provisional constituent assembly; they quickly denounced Gonçalves, whom they accused of left-wing extremism, and they began a series of campaigns of civil disobedience against Gonçalves' government.[5] On August 18, Gonçalves delivered an impassioned speech decrying his political opponents. The tone of this speech raised doubts about his sanity and two weeks later, amid a growing threat of civil war, President Francisco da Costa Gomes dismissed Gonçalves.[6][7]

Gonçalves' dismissal was met with heavy opposition from the radical Portuguese left, most notably from the Portuguese Workers' Communist Party, which organized mass demonstrations in Lisbon in September 1975.[8]

Later life

After his tenure as Prime Minister, Gonçalves retired from politics and would occasionally attend rallies in support of movements from the left. His last public appearance was in 2004 at an event with Portuguese Prime Minister José Manuel Durão Barroso.[3]

While remaining independent throughout his life, Gonçalves identified as a Marxist.[9]

Vasco dos Santos Gonçalves died on June 11, 2005 at the age of 84 after drowning in his brother's swimming pool due to cardiac complications.[10]

References

1. "General Vasco Gonçalves Marxist Prime Minister of Portugal and the ideological brains behind the 1974 'Carnation Revolution'." Daily Telegraph [London, England], 23 June 2005, p. 001. Global Issues in Context, libraries.state.ma.us/login?gwurl=http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A133478663/GIC?u=mlin_b_suffuniv&xid=f7c0d9d6. Accessed 27 Feb. 2017.
2. Giniger, Henry (18 July 1974). "Unpretentious Portuguese Leader Vasco dos Santos Goncalves". New York Times. New York Times. Retrieved 3 February 2018.
3. Gallagher, Tom. "General Vasco Gonçalves". The Independent. Retrieved 28 March 2017.
4. Hammond, John L. Building popular power: Workers' and neighborhood movements in the Portuguese revolution. Monthly Review Press, 1988.
5. The Making of Modern Portugal, edited by Luís Trindade, Cambridge Scholars Publishing, 2013.
6. "General Vasco Gonçalves". New York Times. New York Times. Retrieved 23 February 2017.
7. Manuel, Paul Christopher. The Challenges of Democratic Consolidation in Portugal: Political, Economic, and Military Issues, 1976-1991. Greenwood Publishing Group, 1996.
8. "SYND 15 8 75 MAOISTS DEMONSTRATE FOR GONCALVES, SOCIALISTS AGAINST HIM". YouTube. Associated Press. Retrieved 27 February 2017.
9. Rodrigues, Miguel Urbano. "VASCO GONÇALVES — O general do povo que fez história". resistir. Retrieved 6 February 2018.
10. Macedo, Miguel. "Síncope cardíaca vitima general Vasco Gonçalves". Correio da Manha. Retrieved 28 March 2017.