The former PSD mayor who led the Valongo City Council for 18 years passed away today at the age of 89 at Santo António Hospital in Porto.
In a statement of condolences published on the official website of the Presidency of the Republic, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa extended “his most heartfelt and friendly condolences” to the family of Fernando Melo.
The head of state recalled him as a “politician, mayor, and public leader in the Porto Metropolitan Area, often a pioneer, later a patriarch, always characterized by humanity, social concern, and closeness.”
The President of the Republic added that Fernando Melo leaves behind “a very grateful memory in many who knew him and can attest to his enormous personal qualities.”
Fernando Horácio Moreira Pereira de Melo, born in 1936, graduated in Medicine from the Faculty of Medicine of Porto, specializing in gastroenterology.
Following the April 25, 1974 revolution, he joined the PSD as member number 87.
Among other positions, he served as president of the Northern Regional Health Administration (ARS-Norte), civil governor of Porto from 1991 to 1993, and then as the mayor of Valongo in Porto district for 18 years, until 2012.
