Vitor Manuel Rodrigues Alves (30 September 1935

Mafra, Portugal Mafra () is a city and a municipality in the Lisbon District, district of Lisbon, on the west coast of Portugal, and part of the urban agglomeration of the Grande Lisboa, Greater Lisbon subregion. The population in 2011 was 76,685, in an area of 29 ...

– 9 January 2011) was a Portuguese

soldier A soldier is a person who is a member of an army. A soldier can be a Conscription, conscripted or volunteer Enlisted rank, enlisted person, a non-commissioned officer, a warrant officer, or an Officer (armed forces), officer. Etymology The wo ...

and

politician A politician is a person who participates in Public policy, policy-making processes, usually holding an elective position in government. Politicians represent the people, make decisions, and influence the formulation of public policy. The roles ...

. Alves, a former Captain of the Movimento das Forças Armadas (MFA), is regarded as a leading figure in 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 ...

, which transitioned

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from an

authoritarian Authoritarianism is a political system characterized by the rejection of political plurality, the use of strong central power to preserve the political ''status quo'', and reductions in democracy, separation of powers, civil liberties, and ...

dictatorship A dictatorship is an autocratic form of government which is characterized by a leader, or a group of leaders, who hold governmental powers with few to no Limited government, limitations. Politics in a dictatorship are controlled by a dictator, ...

to a

democracy Democracy (from , ''dēmos'' 'people' and ''kratos'' 'rule') is a form of government in which political power is vested in the people or the population of a state. Under a minimalist definition of democracy, rulers are elected through competitiv ...

Biography

Born in Mafra, he was the son of Eduardo Manuel da Silva Alves and D. Maria Palmira Rodrigues. He joined the Military School on 14 October 1954, and was a corporal by 1956, before attaining the rank of ensign in the infantry (1 November 1958). He obtained his first military commission to Mozambique (1958–1963); where he was assigned to the 2nd Division Regional Military detachment in Mozambique, obtaining the position of Lieutenant by 1 December 1960. He was married on 29 March 1962, in the provincial town of

Lourenço Marques Maputo () is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Mozambique. Located near the southern end of the country, it is within of the borders with Eswatini and South Africa. The city has a population of 1,088,449 (as of 2017) distributed ov ...

, to Maria Teresa Gomes Ferreira de Almeida Alves, daughter of Eugénio Ferreira de Almeida and Ermelinda Teixeira Gomes. Alves continued a successful military assignment with his promotion to Captain (14 July 1963), before being reassigned to a military commission in Angola (1963–1966). Before being included in the military commission in Angola (1967–1970), he was decorated with the Medal of Military Merit, 3rd Class in 1969. He was also decorated with the Governor General's Prize in Angola (1969) and Silver Medal for distinct service (1970).

Carnation Revolution

He was a well-respected career soldier, he obtained the status of Major by 1 March 1972. He became an active member of the group ''Direcção do Movimento dos Capitães of the MFA'' by 1973 and member of the political commission of the MFA by 8 March 1974. Alves helped to ensure that the uprising was not merely a military coup. At the time, his home was used by the conspirators for secret meetings, where he promoted the idea of including the generals in the National Salvation Junta, in order to give the revolution respectability. What followed was a full-scale civil revolution on the heels of a military coup. During the ''Hot Summer'' () period, Alves twice served as a government minister (defence and education) and once without portfolio, as a spokesman for the MFA. One of his projects during this period was a series of laws to help liberalize media activity, which were implemented until 1999.

Later life

In 1982, Alves was appointed as an advisor to Portuguese President

Ramalho Eanes Ramalho is a Portuguese surname. Ramalho may refer to: People *João Ramalho (1493–1580), Portuguese explorer *Ramalho Ortigão (1836–1915), Portuguese writer *Rosa Ramalho (1888–1977), Portuguese ceramist *José Ramalho (rower) (1901–1967) ...

. Alves later reached the rank of Colonel before transitioning into the army reserves in 1991, then retiring in 2001. Alves died from cancer at the Hospital Militar in

Lisbon, Portugal 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 ...

, on 9 January 2011, at the age of 75. He had been hospitalized for a period of time. His colleague, Otelo de Carvalho remembered Alves as ''"...an extremely important figure. He was always very moderate, always insisting that we should be realistic. And his arguments convinced us. He was a diplomat, and a gentleman to boot."''

References

;Notes {{DEFAULTSORT:Alves, Vitor 1935 births 2011 deaths Portuguese politicians People of the Carnation Revolution People from Mafra, Portugal