Jose Medeiros Ferreira

Jose Medeiros Ferreira   (politician, academic)
Born	1942 Ponta Delgada
Died	18 March 2014 (Age 71) Lisbon, Portugal
Nationality	Portuguese
Alma mater	Lisboa University
Portuguese politician

José Manuel de Medeiros Ferreira is a Portuguese politician. He was part of the first Constitutional Government of Portugal after the Salazar dictatorship, in 1976.

Student Activist

With Jorge Sampaio, he played a decisive role in the student struggles of the sixties, and was consequently prohibited from attending any Portuguese university, in the process of disciplinary expulsion. In 1968, he moved in exile to Geneva, Switzerland to study, and where he taught at the university since 1972.

At the same time, he did not give up political activity, adhering to social democratic views. His political ideal was the leader of the Social Democratic Party of Germany , Federal Chancellor of West Germany Willy Brandt.

The struggle for Portugal

After the 1974 Carnation Revolution, which happened during a general socialist mood in the country, leading Western circles feared Portugal might turn to the Soviet bloc or go neutral. They therefore tactically decided to support the Social Democrats heavily. In addition to its own labor organizations, the CIA channeled its financial support through the west European social-democratic parties. In particular the German Social Democratic Party and its Friedrich Ebert Foundation, but also other Western European Social Democrat unions, parties and foundations played a decisive role in bringing the country over to the Western bloc.

In the new Portugal

In 1974, after the Carnation Revolution, José Medeiros Ferreira returned to Portugal, where he actively participated in the activities of the Portuguese Socialist Party and entered its leadership. On April 25, 1975, he was elected from the PSP to the Constitutional Assembly and participated in its work on the development of a new Constitution from June 2, 1975 to April 2, 1976. At the same time, on September 19, 1975, Medeiros Ferreira entered as Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs in the VI Provisional Government of Admiral José Batista Pinheiro de Azevedo . He retained this post until July 1976, when the government resigned.

Foreign Minister 1976-1977

On July 23, 1976, he became the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Portugal in the first constitutional government of Mario Soares, formed from representatives of the Portuguese Socialist Party.

In August 1976, Portugal participated as a guest in the Conference of Non-Aligned Countries in Colombo. In September, an agreement was reached on the restoration of diplomatic relations with Angola that were severed in April. In November, a parliamentary delegation from Portugal visited the Soviet Union. The new democracy received many visits from heads of state including US Vice President Walter Mondale; and US Secretary of State Cyrus Vance in 1977. As Foreign Minister José Medeiros Ferreira signed the declaration for Portugal's accession to the European Economic Community.

After government

Medeiros Ferreira resigned as Foreign Minister in October 1977, and returned to scientific activity. From 1979 to 1981, Medeiros Ferreira was the director of a research project for the collection of documents on the Carnation Revolution at the Catholic University.

Connected with the right wing or reformist of the PS, he formed, together with António Barreto and Francisco Sousa Tavares, the the Reformation Movement, in 1978. This movement would, in 1979, join the Democratic Alliance (AD) coalition.

Later, Medeiros Ferreira withdrew his support for AD, until, in 1985, the movement ended its existence. In 1985 Medeiros Ferreira joined General António Ramalho Eanes in the creation of the Democratic Renovator Party, a formation that, when it presented itself to voters in the 1985 legislative elections, caused a great shock to the PSP's electoral result. Medeiros Ferreira would later return to the PS.

In 1986, Medeiros Ferreira was elected to the European Parliament. He became a prominent figure among parliamentarians, was vice-chairman of the European Democratic Alliance group from January 1, 1986 to October 11, 1987.

In 1984 - 1987 years Medeiros Ferreira was also part of the directorate of the research project "Portugal's position in the world" under the auspices of the Gulbenkian Foundation, designed to determine the country's prospects for the next 20 years.

 

Events Participated in

Event	Start	End	Location(s)	Description
Bilderberg/1977	22 April 1977	24 April 1977	United Kingdom Imperial Hotel Torquay	The 25th Bilderberg, held in Torquay, England.
Bilderberg/1980	18 April 1980	20 April 1980	Germany Aachen	The 28th Bilderberg, held in West Germany, unusually exposed by the Daily Mirror

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