António Pires Veloso Explained

António Pires Veloso
Birth Name:António Elísio Capelo Pires Veloso
Other Name:Vice-Rei do Norte (Viceroy of the North)
Birth Date:10 August 1926
Birth Place:Folgosinho, Gouveia, Portugal
Death Place:Porto, Portugal
Allegiance:Portugal
Branch:Portuguese Army
Serviceyears:1949–1977
Rank:General
Commands:Northern Military Region (September 1975 – November 1977)
Awards:Porto Municipal Medal of Merit, gold class
Memorials:Bust in Praça da República, Porto
Alma Mater:University of Porto, Military Academy
Relations:Aureliano Veloso (brother), Rui Veloso (nephew)
Laterwork:Governor, later High Commissioner of Portuguese São Tomé and Príncipe (April 1974 – July 1975);
Presidential candidate (1980)

António Elísio Capelo Pires Veloso (10 August 1926 – 17 August 2014) was a general in the Portuguese Army. He was known as the Vice-Rei do Norte (Viceroy of the North) for his role in quashing the Coup of 25 November 1975. He was also the final Governor and High Commissioner of Portuguese São Tomé and Príncipe from 1974 to 1975, and a candidate in the 1980 Portuguese presidential election.

Biography

Early life and colonial service

Pires Veloso was born in Folgosinho, Gouveia, Guarda District. His family moved to Vila Nova de Gaia in the Porto metropolitan area in 1936. He graduated in Military Preparation at the University of Porto in 1944, and at 20 he enrolled at the Military Academy.[1]

He was stationed in Macau (1949–1951) and fought in Portugal's colonial wars in Angola (1961–1964) and Mozambique (1965–1974). Following the Carnation Revolution in April 1974, he served as Portugal's colonial governor in São Tomé and Príncipe and later its High Commissioner, until the archipelago gained independence on 12 July 1975.[1]

Vice-rei do Norte and presidential campaign

From September 1975 to November 1977, Pires Veloso was the military leader of Northern Portugal, and played a key role in quashing the Coup of 25 November 1975. The attempted coup was led by left-wing factions, principally in the south, while the north was mainly conservative. He mobilised his troops against the coup and offered to host a provisional government in Porto should Lisbon have fallen; he also locked down the port of Leixões so no northern ship entered the south. Álvaro Cunhal, the leader of the Portuguese Communist Party, ordered the revolutionaries to cease, due to the strength of opposition in the north.[2] These exploits earned Pires Veloso the nickname "vice-rei do norte" (Viceroy of the North). He was an independent candidate in the 1980 Portuguese presidential election, won by fellow general António Ramalho Eanes.[1]

Later years

On 25 April 2006, a public holiday marking the Carnation Revolution, Pires Veloso was awarded by Porto mayor Rui Rio the Municipal Medal of Merit, gold class, for his military service. He spent his later life farming in his place of birth and published his memoirs in 2006.[1] In a 2012 interview with Lusa on the anniversary of the Carnation Revolution, he said that "I look at the current situation with a lot of apprehension and a lot of sadness. Because I feel that we have an institutionalised lie in our country. There is no truth. Speak the truth and the country will be different. This is gravely serious; (...) it gives the impression that we would need another '25 April' in all senses, to correct and reinstate truth in the system and in society."[3]

Months after his death, it was proposed that Porto's Praça da República square be renamed in Pires Veloso's honour.[4] A bust was erected in the square in September 2015, was vandalised days later, and a sword-shaped detail was stolen the following January.[5]

Personal life

Pires Veloso's older brother, Aureliano (1924–2019), was the first democratically elected mayor of Porto in 1977.[6] Aureliano's son, Rui (born 1957), is a singer-songwriter.[7]

Notes and References

  1. News: Teixeira . Manuel . Pires Veloso – o "espírito do norte". Pires Veloso – the "Spirit of the North" . 26 February 2021 . . 18 August 2014 . Portuguese.
  2. News: Silva . Graciosa . Pires Veloso sublinha o peso do Norte na resolução do sobressalto militar. Pires Veloso underlines the role of the north in resolving the military scare. 27 February 2021 . Diário de Notícias . 24 November 2012 . Portuguese.
  3. News: General Pires Veloso defende um novo 25 de Abril. General Pires Veloso defends a new 25 April. 26 February 2021 . . 23 April 2012 . Portuguese.
  4. News: Santos . Lina . Nome do "vice-rei do Norte" proposto para praça do Porto. Name of the "Viceroy of the North" proposed for Porto square. 26 February 2021 . Diário de Notícias . 16 September 2014 . Portuguese.
  5. News: Furtada "Espada de Honra" do vice-rei do Norte. Viceroy of the North's "Sword of Honour" stolen . 26 February 2021 . . 18 January 2016 . Portuguese.
  6. News: Botelho . Leonete . Morreu Pires Veloso, o "vice-rei do Norte" . Pires Veloso, the "Viceroy of the North", dies. 26 February 2021 . . 17 August 2014 . Portuguese.
  7. News: Martinho . Maria . Morreu Aureliano Veloso, antigo presidente da Câmara do Porto e pai de Rui Veloso. Aureliano Veloso, former mayor of Porto and father of Rui Veloso, dies. 26 February 2021 . . 12 June 2019 . Portuguese.