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

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 deno ...

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...

in Florida,

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. Based in

Palm Coast Palm Coast is a city in Flagler County, Florida. As of the 2010 United States Census, the population was 75,180, more than twice the 32,832 counted in 2000. The population was estimated to be 89,800 in 2019. It is the most populous city in Flagler ...

, the honorary consulate had jurisdiction over the State of Florida. The first and only honorary consul was

Caesar DePaço César Manuel Cardoso Matos do Paço (born 21 September 1965) also known as César Do Paço is a Portuguese businessman and former honorary consul for both Portugal and Cape Verde in Palm Coast, Florida. DePaço is the chief executive officer of ...

, from 2014 to 2020.

History

The honorary consulate was created on October 3, 2014, with the appointment of Portuguese businessman

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

Portuguese flag The national flag of Portugal ( pt, Bandeira de Portugal) is a rectangular bicolour with a field divided into green on the hoist, and red on the fly. The lesser version of the national coat of arms of Portugal ( armillary sphere and Portuguese ...

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 Maria Teresa da Silva Morais (born 21 July 1959) is a Portuguese politician who served as Minister of Culture, Equality and Citizenship in 2015. From 2011 to 2015, Morais served as the Secretary of State for Parliamentary Affairs and Equality. ...

, former Minister of Culture. The honorary consulate's 2018 celebrations of Portugal Day 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 politician serving as the junior United States senator from Florida since 2019. A member of the Republican Party, he was the 45th governor of Florida from 2011 to 2019. Scott ...

, then-

Governor of Florida A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political r ...

, for his work with the Portuguese communities of Florida. The honorary consul met with

Carlos A. Giménez Carlos Antonio Giménez ( ; born January 17, 1954) is a Cuban-born American politician and retired firefighter serving as the U.S. representative for . He was redistricted from . A Republican, he served as mayor of Miami-Dade County from 2011 to ...

, Mayor of Miami-Dade, in 2018, as part of the honorary consulate's outreach with the communities in the state of Florida.Consulado de Portugal em Palm Coast - Cônsul Honorário de Portugal recebido em audiência pelo mayor de Miami-Dade County
/ref> In May 2020, DePaço resigned from his position of Honorary Consul.

History

List of honorary consuls

References

External links