The Honorary Consulate of Portugal in Palm Coast was an ''

ad honorem ''Ad honorem'' is a Latin phrase that literally can be translated as "to the honor". When used today, it generally means "for the honor of"; that is, not seeking any material reward. It is commonly used in universities for certain unpaid teaching ...

diplomatic mission A diplomatic mission or foreign mission is a group of people from a state or organization present in another state to represent the sending state or organization officially in the receiving or host state. In practice, the phrase usually denotes ...

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. Featuring Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point in continental Europe, Portugal borders Spain to its north and east, with which it share ...

in Florida,

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. Based in

Palm Coast Palm Coast is a city in Flagler County, Florida, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, the population was 89,258, an increase of almost 200% since the 2000 count of 32,832. The population was estimated to be 98,411 as of July 1, ...

, the honorary consulate had jurisdiction over the

State of Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

. The first and only honorary consul was Caesar DePaço, from 2014 to 2020.

History

The honorary consulate was created on October 3, 2014, with the appointment of Portuguese businessman Caesar DePaço as the "Consul ''ad honorem'' of the Portuguese Republic in the State of Florida". The honorary consulate's premises were opened in April 2015. DePaço chose to refuse his stipend from the

Portuguese Government Portuguese may refer to: * anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Portugal ** Portuguese cuisine, traditional foods ** Portuguese language, a Romance language *** Portuguese dialects, variants of the Portuguese language ** Portu ...

and instead funded the honorary consulate entirely, as a gift to the Portuguese people. In 2015, the honorary consulate received its first visit by the Secretary of State for the Portuguese Communities. Since 2015, the honorary consulate has helped to organize the

Portugal Day Portugal Day, officially Portugal, Camões, and Portuguese Communities Day (), is the national day of Portugal celebrated annually on 10 June. It is one of the public holidays in Portugal and celebrated by Portuguese people throughout the world ...

celebrations each year on Palm Coast. At the 2017 celebrations, the honorary consul raised the

Portuguese flag The national flag of the Portuguese Republic, often referred to as the Portuguese flag consists of a rectangular bicolour with a field divided into green on the hoist, and red on the fly. The version without laurels of the country’s nationa ...

at a government building, for the first time in the history of Florida. In 2017, the honorary consulate received the first official visit of the Portuguese Ambassador in Washington, Domingos Fezas Vital, as well as a visit from parliamentarian Teresa Morais, former Minister of Culture. The honorary consulate's 2018 celebrations of

were attended by Secretary of the Assembly of the Republic Duarte Pacheco. In 2018, DePaço was recognized and honored by

Rick Scott Richard Lynn Scott ( Myers; born December 1, 1952) is an American attorney, businessman, politician, and United States Navy, Navy veteran serving as the Seniority in the United States Senate, senior United States senator from the state of F ...

, then-

Governor of Florida The governor of Florida is the head of government of the U.S. state of Florida. The Governor (United States), governor is the head of the Government of Florida#Executive branch, executive branch of the government of Florida and is the comman ...

, for his work with the Portuguese communities of Florida. The honorary consul met with Carlos A. Giménez, Mayor of Miami-Dade, in 2018, as part of the honorary consulate's outreach with the communities in the state of Florida. In May 2020, DePaço resigned from his position of Honorary Consul.

History

List of honorary consuls

References

External links