The President expressed, “I have just lost a great friend, a remarkable man who fought for freedom, democracy, and both the material and spiritual growth of Portugal.”
José Maria Neves stated that he had frequent discussions spanning literature, journalism, politics, and the future of humanity with Balsemão. He remembered Balsemão’s political career as a former founder and leader of the PSD, a prime minister, and a “visionary, bold and innovative” figure who founded Expresso and SIC, expanding the dimension of Portuguese media.
Neves recalled the book they co-authored, “Um Futuro a Construir,” published in 2018, and mentioned that “several shared projects remain unfinished.”
The Cape Verdean president described Balsemão’s passing as “an irreparable loss for me.”
Francisco Pinto Balsemão, former PSD leader, ex-prime minister, and founder of Expresso and SIC, passed away on Tuesday at the age of 88.
The announcement of the death of PSD’s number one member was made by social-democratic president and Prime Minister Luís Montenegro during a national party council meeting in Lisbon.
Balsemão founded the weekly newspaper Expresso in 1973, during the dictatorship, SIC, the first private television channel in Portugal, in 1992, and the media group Impresa.
In 1974, after the April 25 Revolution, with Francisco Sá Carneiro and Magalhães Mota, he founded the Partido Popular Democrático (PPD), later known as the Partido Social Democrata (PSD).
He led two governments following Sá Carneiro’s death between 1980 and 1983 and remained a member of the Council of State, the advisory body to the President of the Republic.
