ANTÓNIO RAMALHO EANES

General António Ramalho Eanes was the first president of Portugal democratically elected after the revolution on 25 April 1974, which changed the Portuguese regime from an authoritarian dictatorship to a democracy. After a long military career, during which he was stationed in Goa, Macao, Mozambique, Guinea, and Angola, General Ramalho Eanes ordered the military operations that brought all political forces to the reconstruction of democracy on 25 November 1975.

 

A pragmatic man, the general was President from 1976 to 1986, in an unstable period of Portuguese politics, becoming the face of an interventive President, able to ensure democratic pluralism, to establish a semi-presidential constitutional system, to restructure the Armed Forces, to reestablish international relations, namely with Portuguese-speaking African countries, and to defend the independence of East Timor. General Ramalho Eanes obtained the doctorate in Political Philosophy with a thesis on Organization Government by the University of Navarra in 2006 and is currently a member of the Portuguese Council of State. He is also an Honorary Doctor of the University of Lisbon

Defending an ethical perspective of politics, he maintains an intense civic activity, both in political and cultural terms, in Portugal and abroad, participating in several conferences and meetings, drawing citizens’ attention to the need to get organized and participate civically.