Melo Antunes
Encyclopedia
Ernesto Augusto de Melo Antunes, GCL
(Lisbon
, 2 October 1933 - 10 August 1999) was a Portuguese
military officer who had a major role in the Carnation Revolution
of 25 April 1974.
at the age of 6, as a result of his father's military posting. He returned to Portugal at age 10 and lived in Aveiro and Tavira
. Under family pressure, he entered the Military College in 1953. An avid reader since youth, he audited classes at the University of Lisbon in Philosophy (his main interest) and Law. His intellectual curiosity led him to read Marx and other authors prohibited by the Dictatorship, and led to his "exile' to the Azores
in 1957.
Intensely involved in cultural and political activities, he formed with Manuel Alegre
, in 1962 the Patriotic Action of the Azores, which promoted activities to denounce political propaganda. His most daring project was to attempt a military and popular revolt in the Azores, with the promised support of General Humberto Delgado
. This attempt was unsuccessful, as General Delgado withdrew support.
In 1971-1973, he completed his third and last combat posting in Angola, an experience that was instrumental in forming his anti-colonialist political thinking. It was a traumatic experience, which led him to declare that he had fought on the "wrong side."
His initial participation in the Movement of Captains, a military group plotting to overthrow the dictatorship, occurred in 1974. His solid knowledge of doctrine and political consistency led to his immediate notice, and he was asked to draft the political program of the Movement of the Armed Forces (MFA). Thus began his role as the "intellectual in uniform" and author of some of the most important political documents of the Revolution.
He was Minister
without Portfolio of the II and II Provisional Governments. One of his first roles was to manage the complex decolonization process, following the promulgation of Law 7/74 on July 27, 1974 that "acknowledged the independence of overseas territories." Melo Antunes was the main negotiator of the independence of Guinea-Bissau
.
He was responsible for a Working Group tasked to establish a Socio-Economic Program, under the III Provisional Government. Although the Working Group comprised key socio-economic figures of the period (Rui Vilar, Silva Lopes, Maria de Lurdes Pintasilgo and Vitor Constancio), the document became known as the Plan Melo Antunes. It was a controversial plan, which caused tensions within the Movement of the Armed Forces (MFA), and this was finally overturned on March 11, 1975.
Appointed member of the Revolutionary Council on March 14, 1975, he retained this position until dissolution of the Council as a result of the Constitutional Revision of 1982. He was Minister of Foreign Affairs in the IV (March 26 to August 8, 1975) and VI (September 19, 1975 to July 22, 1976) Provisional Governments.
During the summer (Verao Quente) of intense political-ideological struggle, Melo Antunes produced on August 7, 1975 the Document of Nine (Documento dos Nove), a document released by the Movement of Nine (Movimento dos Nove). This document proposed a third way,an original political platform that rejected the extreme left-wing and the Communist Block inspired action of the Portuguese Communist Party
, as well as the social-democratic model of many countries of Western Europe, while maintaining the importance of a pluralistic democracy. This document was welcomed with relief by both the military and civilian population, disenchanted with the increasing hegemony of Vasco Goncalves and the Portuguese Communist Party, and ended up adopted by all as a common program.
Another of his major political intervention occurred on November 25, 1975, when in the face of pressure to ban the Communist Party, he appeared on television to defend its right to continued existence as an integral part of Portuguese democracy. This act caused him enemies lasting throughout his life, but also led to great admiration for his courage and to his being perceived by many as the "guiding light" for members of the Revolutionary Military who did not wish to see a new dictatorship imposed.
Between 1977 and 1983, he served as President of the Constitutional Commission, the percursor to the Constitutional Tribunal. During the second Presidency of Ramalho Eanes, he served as member of the Council of State, and again during the Presidency of Jorge Sampaio.
He was Advisor (1984) and Assistant Director General (1986–1988) of UNESCO
. Despite calls for his candidacy for the Presidency of UNESCO in 1992, the Portuguese Government declined support. In 1991, he joined the Socialist Party, his first formal adherence to any political party. In 2004, he was promoted posthumously to Colonel.
of the Order of Liberty
for his services to the country and to democracy.
, São Pedro, 19 December 1919) (great-great-niece in female line of the 1st Viscount
de Faria e Maia), both from the Nobility of Azores
, and had issue:
On 21 June 1997 in Sintra, he married a second time Maria Jose de Souza Pereira (b. 19 March 1952), daughter of Antonio Joaquim de Barros Pereira (1906–1969) and Elvie Irene de Souza Pereira (1917–2002) of Macau. She gave up her international career as banker and investment advisor upon marriage.
Order of Liberty
The Order of Liberty, or Freedom, is a Portuguese honorific civil order that distinguishes relevant services to the cause of democracy and freedom, in the defense of the values of civilization and human dignification...
(Lisbon
Lisbon
Lisbon is the capital city and largest city of Portugal with a population of 545,245 within its administrative limits on a land area of . The urban area of Lisbon extends beyond the administrative city limits with a population of 3 million on an area of , making it the 9th most populous urban...
, 2 October 1933 - 10 August 1999) was a Portuguese
Portugal
Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...
military officer who had a major role in the Carnation Revolution
Carnation Revolution
The Carnation Revolution , also referred to as the 25 de Abril , was a military coup started on 25 April 1974, in Lisbon, Portugal, coupled with an unanticipated and extensive campaign of civil resistance...
of 25 April 1974.
Background
He was the son of Ernesto Augusto Antunes (1907–1986) and Maria José Forjaz de Melo (1911–1987). Born in Lisbon, he moved to AngolaAngola
Angola, officially the Republic of Angola , is a country in south-central Africa bordered by Namibia on the south, the Democratic Republic of the Congo on the north, and Zambia on the east; its west coast is on the Atlantic Ocean with Luanda as its capital city...
at the age of 6, as a result of his father's military posting. He returned to Portugal at age 10 and lived in Aveiro and Tavira
Tavira
Tavira is a Portuguese city, situated at 37°07' north, 7°39' west in the east of the Algarve on the south coast of Portugal. It is 30 km east of Faro and 160 km west of Seville in Spain. The Gilão River meets the Atlantic Ocean in Tavira....
. Under family pressure, he entered the Military College in 1953. An avid reader since youth, he audited classes at the University of Lisbon in Philosophy (his main interest) and Law. His intellectual curiosity led him to read Marx and other authors prohibited by the Dictatorship, and led to his "exile' to the Azores
Azores
The Archipelago of the Azores is composed of nine volcanic islands situated in the middle of the North Atlantic Ocean, and is located about west from Lisbon and about east from the east coast of North America. The islands, and their economic exclusion zone, form the Autonomous Region of the...
in 1957.
Intensely involved in cultural and political activities, he formed with Manuel Alegre
Manuel Alegre
Manuel Alegre de Melo Duarte, GCL , is a Portuguese poet and politician, member of the Socialist Party, and a candidate to the Portuguese presidential election, 2006...
, in 1962 the Patriotic Action of the Azores, which promoted activities to denounce political propaganda. His most daring project was to attempt a military and popular revolt in the Azores, with the promised support of General Humberto Delgado
Humberto Delgado
Humberto da Silva Delgado, GCL was a General of the Portuguese Air Force and politician.Delgado was born in Brogueira, Torres Novas. He was the son of Joaquim Delgado and wife Maria do Ó Pereira and had three younger sisters, Deolinda, Aida and Lídia....
. This attempt was unsuccessful, as General Delgado withdrew support.
In 1971-1973, he completed his third and last combat posting in Angola, an experience that was instrumental in forming his anti-colonialist political thinking. It was a traumatic experience, which led him to declare that he had fought on the "wrong side."
His initial participation in the Movement of Captains, a military group plotting to overthrow the dictatorship, occurred in 1974. His solid knowledge of doctrine and political consistency led to his immediate notice, and he was asked to draft the political program of the Movement of the Armed Forces (MFA). Thus began his role as the "intellectual in uniform" and author of some of the most important political documents of the Revolution.
Career highlights
Melo Antunes was the principal author of the political program of the military movement that overthrew the regime, the Movement of the Armed Forces. Known as the 3 D's, the Program of the MFA proposed decolonization, democratization, and development. After the revolution, Melo Antunes was in the forefront of political power and highly respected. He was a member of the Coordinating Commission of the Movement (MFA), and after the revolutionary period was member of the Portuguese Council of State.He was Minister
Minister (government)
A minister is a politician who holds significant public office in a national or regional government. Senior ministers are members of the cabinet....
without Portfolio of the II and II Provisional Governments. One of his first roles was to manage the complex decolonization process, following the promulgation of Law 7/74 on July 27, 1974 that "acknowledged the independence of overseas territories." Melo Antunes was the main negotiator of the independence of Guinea-Bissau
Guinea-Bissau
The Republic of Guinea-Bissau is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Senegal to the north, and Guinea to the south and east, with the Atlantic Ocean to its west....
.
He was responsible for a Working Group tasked to establish a Socio-Economic Program, under the III Provisional Government. Although the Working Group comprised key socio-economic figures of the period (Rui Vilar, Silva Lopes, Maria de Lurdes Pintasilgo and Vitor Constancio), the document became known as the Plan Melo Antunes. It was a controversial plan, which caused tensions within the Movement of the Armed Forces (MFA), and this was finally overturned on March 11, 1975.
Appointed member of the Revolutionary Council on March 14, 1975, he retained this position until dissolution of the Council as a result of the Constitutional Revision of 1982. He was Minister of Foreign Affairs in the IV (March 26 to August 8, 1975) and VI (September 19, 1975 to July 22, 1976) Provisional Governments.
During the summer (Verao Quente) of intense political-ideological struggle, Melo Antunes produced on August 7, 1975 the Document of Nine (Documento dos Nove), a document released by the Movement of Nine (Movimento dos Nove). This document proposed a third way,an original political platform that rejected the extreme left-wing and the Communist Block inspired action of the Portuguese Communist Party
Portuguese Communist Party
The Portuguese Communist Party is a major left-wing political party in Portugal. It is a Marxist-Leninist party, and its organization is based upon democratic centralism. The party also considers itself to be patriotic and internationalist....
, as well as the social-democratic model of many countries of Western Europe, while maintaining the importance of a pluralistic democracy. This document was welcomed with relief by both the military and civilian population, disenchanted with the increasing hegemony of Vasco Goncalves and the Portuguese Communist Party, and ended up adopted by all as a common program.
Another of his major political intervention occurred on November 25, 1975, when in the face of pressure to ban the Communist Party, he appeared on television to defend its right to continued existence as an integral part of Portuguese democracy. This act caused him enemies lasting throughout his life, but also led to great admiration for his courage and to his being perceived by many as the "guiding light" for members of the Revolutionary Military who did not wish to see a new dictatorship imposed.
Between 1977 and 1983, he served as President of the Constitutional Commission, the percursor to the Constitutional Tribunal. During the second Presidency of Ramalho Eanes, he served as member of the Council of State, and again during the Presidency of Jorge Sampaio.
He was Advisor (1984) and Assistant Director General (1986–1988) of UNESCO
UNESCO
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations...
. Despite calls for his candidacy for the Presidency of UNESCO in 1992, the Portuguese Government declined support. In 1991, he joined the Socialist Party, his first formal adherence to any political party. In 2004, he was promoted posthumously to Colonel.
Decorations
He received the Grand CrossGrand Cross
The phrase Grand Cross is used to denote the highest grade in many orders of knighthood. Sometimes the holders of the highest grade are referred to "knights grand cross" or just "grand crosses"; in other cases the actual insignia itself is called "the grand cross".Alternatively, in some other...
of the Order of Liberty
Order of Liberty
The Order of Liberty, or Freedom, is a Portuguese honorific civil order that distinguishes relevant services to the cause of democracy and freedom, in the defense of the values of civilization and human dignification...
for his services to the country and to democracy.
Marriage and issue
He married Gabriela Maria da Câmara de Ataide Mota (b. 9 July 1941), daughter of Luís de Ataíde Mota (1912–1969) and Maria Eduarda de Medeiros da Câmara de Melo Cabral (b. Ponta DelgadaPonta Delgada
Ponta Delgada is a city and municipality on the island of São Miguel in the archipelago of the Azores, an autonomous region of Portugal. It includes 44,403 residents in the urban area, and approximately 20,113 inhabitants in the three central parishes that comprise the historical city: São Pedro,...
, São Pedro, 19 December 1919) (great-great-niece in female line of the 1st Viscount
Viscount
A viscount or viscountess is a member of the European nobility whose comital title ranks usually, as in the British peerage, above a baron, below an earl or a count .-Etymology:...
de Faria e Maia), both from the Nobility of Azores
Azores
The Archipelago of the Azores is composed of nine volcanic islands situated in the middle of the North Atlantic Ocean, and is located about west from Lisbon and about east from the east coast of North America. The islands, and their economic exclusion zone, form the Autonomous Region of the...
, and had issue:
- Catarina de Ataíde Mota de Melo Antunes (b. Ponta DelgadaPonta DelgadaPonta Delgada is a city and municipality on the island of São Miguel in the archipelago of the Azores, an autonomous region of Portugal. It includes 44,403 residents in the urban area, and approximately 20,113 inhabitants in the three central parishes that comprise the historical city: São Pedro,...
, 6 October 1962), married on 5 September 1988 to Jorge Miguel Lupi Alves Caetano (b. 23 April 1959), paternal grandson of Marcelo CaetanoMarcelo CaetanoMarcelo José das Neves Alves Caetano, GCTE, GCC, also spelled Marcello Caetano , was a Portuguese politician and scholar, who was the last prime minister of the Estado Novo regime, from 1968 until his overthrow in the Carnation Revolution of 1974....
and Teresa Teixeira de Queirós de Barros, and had issue - Ernesto Luís de Ataíde Mota de Melo Antunes (b. Ponta DelgadaPonta DelgadaPonta Delgada is a city and municipality on the island of São Miguel in the archipelago of the Azores, an autonomous region of Portugal. It includes 44,403 residents in the urban area, and approximately 20,113 inhabitants in the three central parishes that comprise the historical city: São Pedro,...
, 14 December 1963), married in CascaisCascaisCascais is a coastal town in Cascais Municipality in Portugal, 30 kilometres west of Lisbon, with about 35,000 residents. It is a cosmopolitan suburb of the Portuguese capital and one of the richest municipalities in Portugal. The former fishing village gained fame as a resort for Portugal's royal...
, at the Casa de Santa Marta, on 13 February 1999 to María del Pilar de Amat Tasso de Vasconcelos (b. LisbonLisbonLisbon is the capital city and largest city of Portugal with a population of 545,245 within its administrative limits on a land area of . The urban area of Lisbon extends beyond the administrative city limits with a population of 3 million on an area of , making it the 9th most populous urban...
, 11 November 1970), daughter of Luís Ricardo Vaz Monteiro de Vasconcelos Franco (b. Ponta DelgadaPonta DelgadaPonta Delgada is a city and municipality on the island of São Miguel in the archipelago of the Azores, an autonomous region of Portugal. It includes 44,403 residents in the urban area, and approximately 20,113 inhabitants in the three central parishes that comprise the historical city: São Pedro,...
, 27 October 1941 and divorced), also of the Nobility of AzoresAzoresThe Archipelago of the Azores is composed of nine volcanic islands situated in the middle of the North Atlantic Ocean, and is located about west from Lisbon and about east from the east coast of North America. The islands, and their economic exclusion zone, form the Autonomous Region of the...
, and first wife María del Pilar de Amat y Aboim Inglez (LisbonLisbonLisbon is the capital city and largest city of Portugal with a population of 545,245 within its administrative limits on a land area of . The urban area of Lisbon extends beyond the administrative city limits with a population of 3 million on an area of , making it the 9th most populous urban...
, 17 March 1946), of SpanishSpanish peopleThe Spanish are citizens of the Kingdom of Spain. Within Spain, there are also a number of vigorous nationalisms and regionalisms, reflecting the country's complex history....
paternal descent and of maternal noble descent from Alentejo, and had issue:- Ernesto Luís de Amat de Vasconcelos de Melo Antunes (b. LisbonLisbonLisbon is the capital city and largest city of Portugal with a population of 545,245 within its administrative limits on a land area of . The urban area of Lisbon extends beyond the administrative city limits with a population of 3 million on an area of , making it the 9th most populous urban...
, 11 April 2000) - Maria Luísa de Amat de Vasconcelos de Melo Antunes (b. LisbonLisbonLisbon is the capital city and largest city of Portugal with a population of 545,245 within its administrative limits on a land area of . The urban area of Lisbon extends beyond the administrative city limits with a population of 3 million on an area of , making it the 9th most populous urban...
, 16 April 2002)
- Ernesto Luís de Amat de Vasconcelos de Melo Antunes (b. Lisbon
- Joana de Ataíde Mota de Melo Antunes (b. LisbonLisbonLisbon is the capital city and largest city of Portugal with a population of 545,245 within its administrative limits on a land area of . The urban area of Lisbon extends beyond the administrative city limits with a population of 3 million on an area of , making it the 9th most populous urban...
, São Sebastião da Pedreira, 8 March 1975), unmarried and without issue
On 21 June 1997 in Sintra, he married a second time Maria Jose de Souza Pereira (b. 19 March 1952), daughter of Antonio Joaquim de Barros Pereira (1906–1969) and Elvie Irene de Souza Pereira (1917–2002) of Macau. She gave up her international career as banker and investment advisor upon marriage.