The ceremony to award Maria Manuela Ramalho Eanes with the City Honor Medal is scheduled for July 15 at 6 p.m. in the Hall of the Town Hall, announced the Lisbon City Council (CML).
Proposed by the CML president, Carlos Moedas (PSD), the award was approved by the municipal executive approximately two months ago, specifically on April 23, during a public council meeting through a secret ballot, where 16 votes were in favor and one abstention was recorded.
“Throughout her life, Manuela Eanes spoke firmly and unfiltered on poverty and child abuse, breaking with traditions, notably regarding the role of the first lady, which she used to advocate for social causes,” stated the proposal signed by the social democrat Carlos Moedas.
Born in Almada in December 1938, Manuela Eanes graduated in Law from the University of Lisbon’s Faculty of Law, where her dedication to social causes became apparent, having served as president of the Catholic University Youth.
During the 1960s and 1970s, she was associated with the Ministry of Health and Assistance, particularly the Institute of Social Works, where she served as deputy director, working on social projects for children and the elderly, promoting assistance to the most vulnerable populations, including implementing school canteens, kindergartens, and old-age and disability subsidies for former school principals.
In 1970, Manuela Eanes married António Ramalho Eanes, who would later be elected Portugal’s 16th President of the Republic and the first democratically elected after the April 25, 1974 Revolution, serving from 1976 to 1986.
As first lady, she founded the Child Support Institute (IAC) in 1983, dedicated to promoting and defending children’s rights, serving as its president until 2013, when she became honorary president.
In the proposal for the City Honor Medal, the CML president also noted that Manuela Eanes, aged 86, is an “indelible figure in society” with a significant impact on the country and the city of Lisbon.
