Camilo Tavares Mortágua (29 January 1934 – 1 November 2024) was a Portuguese anti-fascist activist and revolutionary. He was a member of the and was a Grand Officer of the

Order of Liberty The Order of Liberty, or the Order of Freedom (), 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 dignity. The order was cr ...

Biography

Born in

Oliveira de Azeméis Oliveira de Azeméis () is a city and municipality in the Porto Metropolitan Area of Portugal. Administratively, the municipality belongs to the District of Aveiro. The population of the municipality in 2011 was 68,611, in an area of 161.10 ...

on 29 January 1934, Mortágua's family moved to

Lisbon Lisbon ( ; ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 567,131, as of 2023, within its administrative limits and 3,028,000 within the Lisbon Metropolitan Area, metropolis, as of 2025. Lisbon is mainlan ...

at the age of 12. In 1951, his family emigrated to Venezuela. In 1961, he took part in one of the most prolific terrorist acts against the Estado Novo regime, Operation Dulcineia, in which rebels seized control of a Portuguese passenger ship, led by General

Humberto Delgado Humberto da Silva Delgado (Portuguese pronunciation: �ˈbɛɾtu dɛɫˈɡadu 15 May 1906 – 13 February 1965) was a General of the Portuguese Air Force, diplomat and politician. Early life and military career Delgado was born in Brogueira, To ...

. On 10 November 1961, he hijacked a

TAP Air Portugal TAP Air Portugal is the flag carrier of Portugal, headquartered at Lisbon Airport which also serves as its airline hub, hub. TAP – Transportes Aéreos Portugueses – has been a member of the Star Alliance since 2005 and operates on average 2, ...

plane along with Hermínio da Palma Inácio and other collaborators with the goal of flying over Lisbon at a low altitude and dropping leaflets against the regime. On 17 May 1967, he participated in a heist on a

Banco de Portugal The Banco de Portugal (, ) is the National central bank (Eurosystem), national central bank for Portugal within the Eurosystem. It was the Portuguese central bank from 1846 to 1998, issuing the Portuguese escudo, escudo. Since 2014, it has also ...

branch in

Figueira da Foz Figueira da Foz (), officially Figueira da Foz City (), often called simply Figueira for short, is a city and a municipality in the Coimbra District, in Portugal. Practically at the midpoint of the Iberian Peninsula's Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic coa ...

. The heist had a goal of financing revolutionary activities against

António de Oliveira Salazar António de Oliveira Salazar (28 April 1889 – 27 July 1970) was a Portuguese statesman, academic, and economist who served as Portugal's President of the Council of Ministers of Portugal, President of the Council of Ministers from 1932 to 1 ...

. Following the

Carnation Revolution The Carnation Revolution (), code-named Operation Historic Turn (), also known as the 25 April (), was a military coup by military officers that overthrew the Estado Novo government on 25 April 1974 in Portugal. The coup produced major socia ...

, he was decorated as a Grand Officer of the Order of Liberty by

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...

Jorge Sampaio Jorge Fernando Branco de Sampaio (; 18 September 1939 – 10 September 2021) was a Portuguese lawyer and politician who was the 18th President of Portugal from 1996 to 2006. Sampaio was a member of the Socialist Party, a party which he ...

. Mortágua was the father of Assembly of the Republic members

Mariana Mortágua Mariana Rodrigues Mortágua (born 24 June 1986) is a Portuguese economist and politician who is the National Coordinator of the Left Bloc, serving since 28 May 2023. In 2013, she was elected to the Assembly of the Republic of Portugal, replac ...

and

Joana Mortágua Joana Rodrigues Mortágua (born 24 June 1986) is a Portuguese politician. A member of the Left Bloc (''Bloco de Esquerda''), she has been a deputy in the Portuguese Assembly of the Republic since 2015, representing Setúbal. Early life and e ...

. He died in Alvito on 1 November 2024, at the age of 90.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mortagua, Camilo 1934 births 2024 deaths Portuguese democracy activists Portuguese revolutionaries People from Oliveira de Azeméis