Jaime Gama Explained

Honorific-Prefix:His Excellency
Jaime Gama
Honorific-Suffix:GCC GCIH GCL
Office:President of the Assembly of the Republic
Term Start:16 March 2005
Term End:19 June 2011[1]
Predecessor:Mota Amaral
Successor:Maria da Assunção Esteves
Office1:Chancellor of the Ancient Military Orders
Term Start1:14 March 2016
Predecessor1:Vasco Rocha Vieira
President1:Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa
Office2:Minister of Foreign Affairs
Term Start3:9 June 1983
Term End3:6 November 1985
Primeminister3:Mário Soares
Predecessor3:Vasco Futscher Pereira
Successor3:Pedro Pires de Miranda
Term Start2:28 October 1995
Term End2:6 April 2002
Primeminister2:António Guterres
Predecessor2:José Manuel Barroso
Successor2:Teresa Gouveia
Office4:Minister of National Defence
Term Start4:29 May 1999
Term End4:25 October 1999
Primeminister4:António Guterres
Predecessor4:José Veiga Simão
Successor4:Júlio Castro Caldas
Office5:Minister of the Internal Administration
Term Start5:27 February 1978
Term End5:29 August 1978
Primeminister5:Mário Soares
Predecessor5:Alberto Oliveira e Silva
Successor5:António Gonçalves Ribeiro
Term Start6:31 May 1983
Term End6:19 June 2011
Constituency6:Lisbon
Term Start7:3 June 1976[2]
Term End7:30 May 1983
Constituency7:Azores
Birth Date:8 June 1947
Birth Place:Senhora da Rosa, Fajã de Baixo, Ponta Delgada, São Miguel, Azores, Portugal
Party:Socialist Party
Spouse:Alda Taborda
Profession:Philosopher, university professor, journalist
Alma Mater:University of Lisbon
Signature:Amsterdam Treaty FA Portugal.png
Website:Official website
Children:1

Jaime José de Matos da Gama (born 8 June 1947) is a Portuguese former politician. In the Portuguese government, he served as Minister of Internal Administration in 1978, Minister of Foreign Affairs from 1983 to 1985 and from 1995 to 2002, and Minister of National Defence in 1999. From 2005 to 2011 he was President of the Assembly of the Republic.

Since leaving politics, he has worked as Senior Strategic Counsel at the Albright Stonebridge Group, a global strategy and business advisory firm, and as Chairman of the bank Novo Banco dos Açores.

Background

Born at Senhora da Rosa, Fajã de Baixo, Ponta Delgada, São Miguel, Azores in 1947, he is a son of Jaime da Rosa Ferreira da Gama (Matriz, Horta, Faial, Azores, January 1914  - Lisbon, 29 July 2003) and wife Lucília Vaz do Rego de Matos (São Sebastião, Ponta Delgada, São Miguel, Azores, 12 September 1916  - Hospital Militar, Estrela, Lisbon, 21 September 1987).[3]

Political life

He graduated as a Licentiate in Philosophy from the Faculty of Letters of the University of Lisbon. He was involved in the opposition to the fascist Estado Novo (New State) regime, since his youth, and was first arrested, aged only 18, due to an article published in the local press. He was a member of the socialist CEUD in the campaign for the 1969 legislative elections, won by the National Union (the regime party), due to massive fraud. He was a journalist of the opposition newspaper República, in the last years of the fascist regime.

He was a founder of the Socialist Party, in the German exile of Bad-Munstereifel. He was elected for his party as a Deputy to the Assembly of the Republic for the Azores from 1975 and for Lisbon from 1983.

In the 1st Constitutional Government, he was Minister of Internal Affairs (1978), and Minister of Foreign Affairs in the 9th Constitutional Government, from 1983 to 1985. He returned to the same ministry, in António Guterres' governments, from 1995 to 2002, and was also Minister of National Defence, in 1999, and Minister of State from 1999 to 2002.[4]

He was President of the United Nations Security Council during June 1998. He was the chairman of the Presidency of the Council of Europe from 1 January 2002 until 6 April 2002, when he lost his post as Foreign Minister when the new government of José Manuel Durão Barroso took office in Portugal.

From 2005 to 2011, he was President of the Assembly of the Republic.

Foreign policy

As Minister of Foreign Affairs, Jaime Gama signed the Accession Treaty of Portugal to the European Communities, the Friendship, Cooperation and Consultation Treaty with Brazil, and initiated and concluded negotiations with China on the handover of Macau.He negotiated and signed the New York Agreements between the UN, Indonesia, and Portugal that led to the self-determination and independence of East Timor. On several occasions, he managed crisis and peace and reconciliation efforts in Angola, Mozambique, and Guinea-Bissau. Jaime Gama was the Portuguese Minister of Foreign Affairs in 2002 when Angola reached peace after a 27-year civil war.

Jaime Gama proposed, negotiated and launched the Community of Portuguese Speaking Countries (CPLP).

As Foreign Minister he proposed and organized, with Algeria and Egypt, the first Africa-EU Summit, paving the way for the Africa-EU Partnership. As Speaker of the Parliament he negotiated and implemented the Parliamentary Forum of the Ibero-American Community of Nations.

Life after politics

Jaime Gama is Senior Strategic Counsel at the Albright Stonebridge Group, a global strategy and business advisory firm led by former U.S. Secretary of State in the Clinton administration Madeleine Albright and former Commerce Secretary and Kellogg Company CEO Carlos Gutierrez.[5]

Presently, he is a member of the General Council of the University of Lisbon, of the Supervisory Board and of the Strategy Board of the Political Studies Institute, both of the Lisbon Catholic University, of the European Council on Foreign Relations and of the Aspen Ministers Forum.

In addition, he was the Chairman of the Board of Directors of the bank Novo Banco dos Açores, is Chairman of the Supervisory Board for the electronic newspaper "Observador" and a member of the Board of Directors of the Francisco Manuel dos Santos Foundation.

Honours

National

Foreign

Grand Cordon of the Order of Leopold (9 October 2000)

Grand Cross of the Order of Merit (30 September 2001)

First Class of the Order of the White Star (29 March 2006)

Grand Cross of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany (9 May 1989) [7]

Grand Cross of the Order of Honour (17 March 2000)[7]

Grand Cross of Order of St. Gregory the Great (3 September 2010)[6]

Knight Grand Cross of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic (1 April 2002)[7]

Grand Cordon of the Order of the Star of Jordan (28 May 2009)[7]

Grand Cordon of the Order of Ouissam Alaouite (6 February 1992)[7]

Grand Cross of Royal Norwegian Order of Merit (25 September 2009)[6]

Commander's Cross with Star of the Order of Merit of the Republic of Poland (22 September 1997)[7]

Grand Cross of the Order of Civil Merit (17 August 1998)[7]

Medal of the Oriental Republic of Uruguay (12 August 1997)[8]

Family

He married in Lisbon on 18 September 1971 Alda Taborda and their son, João Taborda da Gama, born in 1977, is a Tax Law Professor of the Law School of the Catholic University of Portugal.They have five grandchildren.[9]

References

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Notes and References

  1. Web site: Antigos Presidentes da Assembleia da República (Jaime Gama) . parlamento.pt . Assembleia da República. 31 July 2024.
  2. Web site: As legislaturas da Assembleia da República.
  3. Web site: Jaime José Matos da Gama, * 1947 | Geneall.net .
  4. Web site: Jaime Gama (Biografia) . parlamento.pt . Assembleia da República. 31 July 2024.
  5. Web site: About Us | Albright Stonebridge Group.
  6. Web site: Cidadãos Nacionais Agraciados com Ordens Portuguesas. Página Oficial das Ordens Honoríficas Portuguesas. 29 January 2017.
  7. Web site: Cidadãos Nacionais Agraciados com Ordens Estrangeiras. Página Oficial das Ordens Honoríficas Portuguesas. 29 January 2017.
  8. Web site: Resolución N° 749/997. 2020-11-27. www.impo.com.uy.
  9. Web site: Faculdade de Direito da Universidade Católica Portuguesa - Escola de Lisboa . 2012-07-16 . https://web.archive.org/web/20120122112314/http://www.fd.lisboa.ucp.pt/site/custom/template/ucptplpopup.asp?sspageid=3013&lang=1&docenteid=109000506 . 2012-01-22 . dead .