300px, Former headquarters of the Portuguese Ministry of the Overseas, in Lisbon. The Overseas Ministry (in

Portuguese 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 ...

: ''Ministério do Ultramar'') was the

department Department may refer to: * Departmentalization, division of a larger organization into parts with specific responsibility Government and military *Department (administrative division), a geographical and administrative division within a country, ...

of the

Government of Portugal The Government of Portugal is one of the four sovereignty bodies of the Portuguese Republic, together with the President of Portugal, President of the Republic, the Assembly of the Republic (Portugal), Assembly of the Republic and Judiciary of Port ...

responsible for the administration of the

overseas province Overseas province ( pt, província ultramarina) was a designation used by Portugal for its overseas possessions, located outside Europe. History In the early the 19th century, Portuguese overseas territories were referred to as "overseas domini ...

s. In relation to the Portuguese Overseas territories, the Overseas Ministry had jurisdiction over almost all matters of

government A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive, and judiciary. Government is a ...

that, in the European Portugal, was divided by various ministries, including revenue and customs, economical affairs, internal security, public works, transports and communications, justice, civil administration, education and public health. The ministry also had responsibilities in the external relations with neighboring areas of the Portuguese overseas territories and in the military affairs. The Overseas Minister superintended all

governors-general Governor-general (plural ''governors-general''), or governor general (plural ''governors general''), is the title of an office-holder. In the context of governors-general and former British colonies, governors-general are appointed as viceroy t ...

and

governor 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 ...

s of the Portuguese Overseas. The ministry had its origins in the Overseas and Navy Ministry (''Ministério da Marinha e do Ultramar''), established in 1736, by

King King is the title given to a male monarch in a variety of contexts. The female equivalent is queen, which title is also given to the consort of a king. *In the context of prehistory, antiquity and contemporary indigenous peoples, the tit ...

John V of Portugal Dom John V ( pt, João Francisco António José Bento Bernardo; 22 October 1689 – 31 July 1750), known as the Magnanimous (''o Magnânimo'') and the Portuguese Sun King (''o Rei-Sol Português''), was King of Portugal from 9 December 1706 ...

. In 1911, the colonial affairs were separated from the Navy Ministry, being created an autonomous Colonies Ministry ('). In 1951, the department was renamed "Overseas Ministry". After the

Carnation Revolution The Carnation Revolution ( pt, Revolução dos Cravos), also known as the 25 April ( pt, 25 de Abril, links=no), was a military coup by left-leaning military officers that overthrew the authoritarian Estado Novo regime on 25 April 1974 in Lisbo ...

on 25 April 1974, the ministry continued to exist, provisionally, as the Interterritorial Coordination Ministry ('), until the independence of the last Portuguese territories of

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...

in 1975. From 1975, until its ultimate extinction in 1976, the structure of the ministry continued to function, first as the Secretariat of State for the Decolonization (''Secretaria de Estado da Descolonização'') and then as the Cooperation Ministry (''Ministério da Cooperação'').

See also