Francisco Balsemão played a pivotal role in the final years of the dictatorship through the creation of the Expresso newspaper, which has since become a cornerstone of the Portuguese press, a message by the MEP stated on social media.
Catarina Martins recalls that Balsemão was a founder and leader of the PSD and even served as Prime Minister for a short time.
The message concludes with, “My respect goes to a political opponent and to someone who sought to uphold journalism as a pillar of democracy.”
The Council of Ministers has approved a two-day national mourning decree due to the death of Francisco Pinto Balsemão, to be observed today and Thursday, which has been sanctioned by President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa.
The former Prime Minister Francisco Pinto Balsemão, founder and member number one of the PSD, where he also served as president, passed away on Tuesday at the age of 88.
Balsemão established the weekly Expresso in 1973, during the dictatorship, SIC, the first private television channel in Portugal, in 1992, and the media conglomerate Impresa.
In 1974, following the April 25 Revolution, he co-founded the Democratic Popular Party (PPD), later renamed the Social Democratic Party (PSD), with Francisco Sá Carneiro and Magalhães Mota.
He led two governments after the death of Sá Carneiro, from 1981 to 1983, and continued to be a member of the Council of State, an advisory body to the President, until his death.
