António dos Santos Ramalho Eanes, GColL GCL GColTE CavA GCB RVC (; born 25 January 1935) is a Portuguese

general A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of highest military ranks, high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry. In some usages the term "general officer" refers t ...

and

politician A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking, a ...

who was the

16th 16 (sixteen) is the natural number following 15 and preceding 17. 16 is a composite number, and a square number, being 42 = 4 × 4. It is the smallest number with exactly five divisors, its proper divisors being , , and . In English speech, ...

president of Portugal The president of Portugal, officially the president of the Portuguese Republic ( pt, Presidente da República Portuguesa, ), is the head of state and highest office of Portugal. The powers, functions and duties of prior presidential offices, an ...

from 1976 to 1986.

Background

Born at

Alcains Alcains is a Portuguese civil parish in the municipality of Castelo Branco. The population in 2011 was 5,022, in an area of 36.94 km². History Remote history, indicated by diverse archaeological testaments, indicate a human presence in the ...

, Castelo Branco, he is the son of Manuel dos Santos Eanes, a

general contractor A general contractor, main contractor or prime contractor is responsible for the day-to-day oversight of a construction site, management of vendors and trades, and the communication of information to all involved parties throughout the course of ...

, and wife Maria do Rosário Ramalho.

Political career

After a long military career in the

Portuguese Colonial War The Portuguese Colonial War ( pt, Guerra Colonial Portuguesa), also known in Portugal as the Overseas War () or in the former colonies as the War of Liberation (), and also known as the Angolan, Guinea-Bissau and Mozambican War of Independence, ...

s, he was stationed in

Portuguese Angola Portuguese Angola refers to Angola during the historic period when it was a territory under Portuguese rule in southwestern Africa. In the same context, it was known until 1951 as Portuguese West Africa (officially the State of West Africa). I ...

when the 25 April revolution of 1974 took place. He joined the Movimento das Forças Armadas (MFA or Armed Forces Movement) and after returning to Portugal, he was made president of RTP (Portuguese public television). He ordered the military operations against the pro-

communist Communism (from Latin la, communis, lit=common, universal, label=none) is a far-left sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology and current within the socialist movement whose goal is the establishment of a communist society, a s ...

radical faction of the MFA on 25 November 1975, an event known as the

25 de Novembro The Coup of 25 November 1975 (usually referred to as the ' in Portugal) was a failed military ''coup d'état'' against the post- Carnation Revolution governing bodies of Portugal. This attempt was carried out by Portuguese far-left activists, who ...

, ending that year's "hot summer" (''Verão quente''). In

1976 Events January * January 3 – The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights enters into force. * January 5 – The Pol Pot regime proclaims a new constitution for Democratic Kampuchea. * January 11 – The 1976 Phila ...

he was elected

President of Portugal The president of Portugal, officially the president of the Portuguese Republic ( pt, Presidente da República Portuguesa, ), is the head of state and highest office of Portugal. The powers, functions and duties of prior presidential offices, an ...

. At the end of

1980 Events January * January 4 – U.S. President Jimmy Carter proclaims a grain embargo against the USSR with the support of the European Commission. * January 6 – Global Positioning System time epoch begins at 00:00 UTC. * January 9 – ...

he was re-elected, serving until February 1986. After his presidency, he headed the Democratic Renewal Party ( pt, Partido Renovador Democrático), and continued to support

Social Democratic Party The name Social Democratic Party or Social Democrats has been used by many political parties in various countries around the world. Such parties are most commonly aligned to social democracy as their political ideology. Active parties For ...

(PSD) minority government until 1987. He resigned in 1987 after defeated by PSD in

legislative election A general election is a political voting election where generally all or most members of a given political body are chosen. These are usually held for a nation, state, or territory's primary legislative body, and are different from by-elections ( ...

. He is also a Member of the

Portuguese Council of State The Council of State ( pt, Conselho de Estado, ) is a body established by the Portuguese Constitution to advise the President of the Republic in the exercise of many of his or her discretionary powers. History Although there are notices about the ...

, as a former elected

. He rejected any suggestion of becoming a

Marshal Marshal is a term used in several official titles in various branches of society. As marshals became trusted members of the courts of Medieval Europe, the title grew in reputation. During the last few centuries, it has been used for elevated o ...

, considering the title unnecessary.

Decorations

National: * Grand Collar of the

Order of Liberty The Order of Liberty, or the Order of Freedom ( pt, Ordem da Liberdade), is a Portuguese honorific civil order that distinguishes relevant services to the cause of democracy and freedom, in the defense of the values of civilization and human di ...

(18/12/2015) * Grand Cross of the

(25/04/2004) * Grand Collar of the

Order of the Tower and Sword The Ancient and Most Noble Military Order of the Tower and of the Sword, of the Valour, Loyalty and Merit ( pt, Antiga e Muito Nobre Ordem Militar da Torre e Espada, do Valor, Lealdade e Mérito), before 1910 Royal Military Order of the Tower an ...

(09/03/1986) * Knight of the

Order of Aviz The Military Order of Saint Benedict of Aviz ( pt, Ordem Militar de São Bento de Avis, ), previously to 1910 ''Royal Military Order of Saint Benedict of Aviz'' ( pt, Real Ordem Militar de São Bento de Avis), previously to 1789 ''Knights'' (of ...

(19/01/1972) Foreign: *

Royal Victorian Chain The Royal Victorian Chain is a decoration instituted in 1902 by King Edward VII as a personal award of the monarch (i.e. not an award made on the advice of any Commonwealth realm government). It ranks above the Royal Victorian Order, with which it ...

Family

He married at the

Palace of Queluz The Palace of Queluz ( pt, Palácio de Queluz, ) is an 18th-century palace located at Queluz, a city of the Sintra Municipality, in the Lisbon District, on the Portuguese Riviera. One of the last great Rococo buildings to be designed in Europ ...

on 28 October 1970 to Maria Manuela Duarte Neto de Portugal Ramalho Eanes (b. 29 December 1938), who was one of Portugal's most politically active

First Ladies First lady is an unofficial title usually used for the wife, and occasionally used for the daughter or other female relative, of a non-monarchical head of state or chief executive. The term is also used to describe a woman seen to be at the t ...

, making speeches at Democratic Renewal Party rallies while her husband was president. They had two sons, Manuel António (b. 5 May 1972) and Miguel (b. 1977).

Electoral results

1976 Portuguese presidential election

, - !style="background-color:#E9E9E9" align=left colspan="2" rowspan="2", Candidates !style="background-color:#E9E9E9" align=left rowspan="2", Supporting parties !style="background-color:#E9E9E9" align=right colspan="2", First round , - !style="background-color:#E9E9E9" align=Votes !style="background-color:#E9E9E9" align=% , - , style="width: 9px" bgcolor=gray align="center" , , align=left, António Ramalho Eanes , align=left,

Independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s * Independ ...

, align="right" , 2,967,137 , align="right" , 61.59 , - , style="width: 8px" bgcolor=gray align="center" , , align=left,

Otelo Saraiva de Carvalho Otelo Nuno Romão Saraiva de Carvalho, GCL (; 31 August 1936 – 25 July 2021) was a Portuguese military officer. He was the chief strategist of the 1974 Carnation Revolution in Lisbon. After the Revolution, Otelo assumed leadership roles in t ...

, align=left,

, align="right" , 692,147 , align="right" , 14.37 , - , style="width: 8px" bgcolor=gray align="center" , , align=left,

José Pinheiro de Azevedo José is a predominantly Spanish and Portuguese form of the given name Joseph. While spelled alike, this name is pronounced differently in each language: Spanish ; Portuguese (or ). In French, the name ''José'', pronounced , is an old vernacul ...

, align=left,

, align="right" , 593,021 , align="right" , 14.07 , - , style="width: 8px" bgcolor=red align="center" , , align=left, Octávio Rodrigues Pato , align=left,

Portuguese Communist Party The Portuguese Communist Party ( pt, Partido Comunista Português, , PCP) is a communist, Marxist–Leninist political party in Portugal based upon democratic centralism. The party also considers itself patriotic and internationalist,Portugue ...

, align="right" , 365,586 , align="right" , 7.59 , - , colspan="3" align=left style="background-color:#E9E9E9", Total valid , width="65" align="right" style="background-color:#E9E9E9", 4,817,630 , width="40" align="right" style="background-color:#E9E9E9", 100.00 , - , align=right colspan="3", Blank ballots , width="65" align="right" , 43,242 , width="40" align="right" , 0.89 , - , align=right colspan="3" , Invalid ballots , width="65" align="right", 20,253 , width="40" align="right", 0.41 , - , colspan="3" align=left style="background-color:#E9E9E9", Total (turnout 75.47%) , width="65" align="right" style="background-color:#E9E9E9", 4,881,125 , width="40" align="right" style="background-color:#E9E9E9", , - , colspan=5 align=left, Source
Comissão Nacional de Eleições

1980 Portuguese presidential election

, align="right" , 3,262,520 , align="right" , 56.44 , - , style="width: 8px" bgcolor=#00FFFF align="center" , , align=left, António Soares Carneiro , align=left, Democratic Alliance , align="right" , 2,325,481 , align="right" , 40.23 , - , style="width: 9px" bgcolor=gray align="center" , , align=left,

, align=left,

, align="right" , 85,896 , align="right" , 1.49 , - , style="width: 9px" bgcolor=gray align="center" , , align=left,

Carlos Galvão de Melo Carlos Galvão de Melo (4 August 1921 – 20 March 2008) was a Portuguese military officer from the Portuguese Air Force. Life Galvão de Melo was the eldest of nine children of António Augusto Ferreira de Melo, a merchant based in Mozamb ...

, align=left,

, align="right" , 48,468 , align="right" , 0.84 , - , style="width: 9px" bgcolor=gray align="center" , , align=left,

António Pires Veloso António Elísio Capelo Pires Veloso (10 August 1926 – 17 August 2014) was a general in the Portuguese Army. He was known as the ''Vice-Rei do Norte'' (Viceroy of the North) for his role in quashing the Coup of 25 November 1975. He was also the ...

, align=left,

, align="right" , 45,132 , align="right" , 0.78 , - , style="width: 9px" bgcolor=red align="center" , , align=left, António Aires Rodrigues , align=left,

Workers Party of Socialist Unity Workers Party of Socialist Unity (Portuguese: Partido Operário de Unidade Socialista, , POUS) is a small Trotskyist former political party in Portugal, founded by Aires Rodrigues and Carmelinda Pereira in 1979 after a split from the Portuguese S ...

, align="right" , 12,745 , align="right" , 0.22 , - , style="width: 9px" bgcolor=red align="center" , , align=left, Carlos Brito , align=left,

, colspan="2" align="center" , ''left the race'' , - , colspan="3" align=left style="background-color:#E9E9E9", Total valid , width="65" align="right" style="background-color:#E9E9E9", 5,780,242 , width="40" align="right" style="background-color:#E9E9E9", 100.00 , - , align=right colspan="3", Blank ballots , width="65" align="right" , 44,014 , width="40" align="right" , 0.75 , - , align=right colspan="3" , Invalid ballots , width="65" align="right", 16,076 , width="40" align="right", 0.28 , - , colspan="3" align=left style="background-color:#E9E9E9", Total (turnout 84.39%) , width="65" align="right" style="background-color:#E9E9E9", 5,840,332 , width="40" align="right" style="background-color:#E9E9E9", , - , colspan=5 align=left, He left the race in favor of Ramalho Eanes. , - , colspan=5 align=left, Source
Comissão Nacional de Eleições

Notes

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Eanes, Antonio Ramalho 1935 births Living people People from Castelo Branco, Portugal Portuguese military officers Presidents of Portugal Democratic Renewal Party (Portugal) politicians Grand Crosses of the Order of Aviz Grand Crosses of the Order of Liberty Collars of the Order of Isabella the Catholic Honorary Knights Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath Recipients of the Order of the Tower and Sword Recipients of the Order of Timor-Leste 20th-century Portuguese politicians Grand Crosses Special Class of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany