Presidential candidate Luís Marques Mendes suggested on Wednesday creating a journalism award named after Francisco Pinto Balsemão, who died on Tuesday at the age of 88. He described the former Prime Minister as “cultured, experienced, and informed.”
“Francisco Pinto Balsemão was an aristocrat of good manners. Elegant person. Direct, but elegant in political combat,” he stated to journalists near the Assembly of the Republic.
Marques Mendes also noted that the former Prime Minister was “a man of the world, very cultured, very experienced, and very informed.”
“But, Pinto Balsemão also had a political life as a deputy, as a minister, as Prime Minister, especially as the founder of the PSD, where he played an important role in the creation of the party and its cohesion,” he added.
The presidential candidate highlighted “a moment in 1978, in the crisis of unavoidable options,” where Francisco Pinto Balsemão had “a strategic vision” and avoided “a crisis” that could have been “fatal” for the PPD/PSD.
“Francisco Pinto Balsemão was an exemplary democrat. He was before April 25, fighting the old regime, and was, in a very special way, in 1982,” referring to the “constitutional changes made” that year, describing it as “a kind of constitutional April 25, a complete change in the course of our democracy.”
“And, as has already been noted from the Right to the Left, he also has perhaps one of the most significant, most consensual, and most impressive traits of his life in press freedom, in defending press freedom by founding Expresso, creating SIC, and always defending the independence of the media. He was a champion,” he remarked.
Luís Marques Mendes further proposed creating a journalism award named after Francisco Pinto Balsemão.
“I wanted to make a proposal, a public suggestion. The idea of, in the future, creating an award that could be called the Francisco Pinto Balsemão Press Freedom Award. With this or another name, the objectives are clear,” he emphasized, adding that the award would aim to “remember the remarkable example of Pinto Balsemão in the media” and “encourage journalistic work that can continue this work in favor of press freedom.”
It should be noted that Francisco Pinto Balsemão died on Tuesday evening, October 21.
In a statement, it was explained that Pinto Balsemão died “of natural causes,” with his “last moments” being attended by his family.
“A major figure in the defense of freedom, an uncompromising advocate of press and expression freedom, he marked the country’s history over the past decades. He launched Portugal’s most important newspaper, Expresso, in 1973, and the first private television channel, SIC, in 1992, among many other editorial projects,” the note read.
Francisco Pinto Balsemão died at dusk on Tuesday, October 21, at the age of 88. He was a unique figure in both politics and media. “Founder of democracy,” “one of the most significant personalities of the last sixty years,” as noted by the Prime Minister and the President of the Republic. “Portugal will never forget him.”
Natacha Nunes Costa with Lusa | 09:03 – 22/10/2025
The Council of Ministers approved, on Wednesday, a decree of two days of national mourning for the death of Francisco Pinto Balsemão, to be observed today and Thursday, already promulgated by the President of the Republic.
The wake for Francisco Pinto Balsemão will take place on Wednesday, starting at 18:30, at the Jerónimos Monastery in Lisbon. The mass will be held at the same location, at 13:00 on Thursday, with the celebration presided over by the Emeritus Patriarch of Lisbon, D. Manuel Clemente.
The wake for Francisco Pinto Balsemão will be held today, Wednesday, at the Jerónimos Monastery. Tomorrow, Thursday, at 13:00, the mass will take place, presided by the Emeritus Patriarch of Lisbon, D. Manuel Clemente.
Maria Gouveia | 11:52 – 22/10/2025
