Os Grandes Portugueses
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Os Grandes Portugueses (The Greatest Portuguese) was a public poll contest organized by the public broadcasting station RTP. Based on BBC's 100 Greatest Britons, it featured individual documentaries advocating the top ten candidates. The final vote took place in March 25th, 2007, the winner being António de Oliveira Salazar, Portugal's dictator between 1932 and 1968.
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[edit] The top ten
António de Oliveira Salazar was the most voted (41%), his lifelong communist political oponent Álvaro Cunhal second (19%), and the diplomat Aristides Sousa Mendes third (13%).
Salazar is often described in right wing media and conservative institutions forums as a model of austerity, rigor, and public service devotion, despite the authoritarianism of his regime, its suppression of political dissent, repressive state police, among others. A simultaneous opinion poll conducted by Marktest showed that, given the choice of the finalists, Salazar was the favourite of only 11%.[1] RTP itself commissioned a simultaneous poll, conducted by Eurosondagem, which ranked Salazar 7th, with 6.6% of the vote.[2] The difference of these statiscally representative polls to the final result suggest that the voting, consisting of voluntary telephone calls, may have been skewed by groups with vested interests. The same could hold for Álvaro Cunhal's result.
The 10 most voted personalities were revealed on January 14, 2007. All of the 10 finalists are deceased. The highest placed living Portuguese was former president Mário Soares (12th). In March the 25th the final results were announced:
- António de Oliveira Salazar – Political leader and statesman (41.0%)
- Álvaro Cunhal – Politician (19.1%)
- Aristides de Sousa Mendes – Diplomat (13.0%)
- D. Afonso Henriques – King (12.4%)
- Luís Vaz de Camões – Poet (4.0%)
- John II – King (3%)
- Henry the Navigator - Prince (2.7%)
- Fernando Pessoa – Poet (2.4%)
- Marquês de Pombal – Politician (1.7%)
- Vasco da Gama - Explorer (0.7%)
| Name | Birth | Death | Occupation | Name | Birth | Death | Occupation | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 |
Afonso I | 1111 | 1185 | Founder and first king of Portugal |  |
Henry the Navigator | 1394 | 1460 | Infante and fomenter of the Portuguese discoveries |
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Álvaro Cunhal | 1913 | 2005 | Communist leader during the Estado Novo regime and during the post-Carnation Revolution political scene |  |
John II | 1455 | 1495 | Thirteenth king of Portugal and restorer of the Atlantic ocean and African-coast explorations |
 |
António de Oliveira Salazar | 1889 | 1970 | President of the Council of Ministers for 48 years during the fascist dictatorial period of the Estado Novo |  |
Luís de Camões | 1524 | 1580 | Epic and lyrical poet, author of the national epic Os Lusíadas |
 |
Aristides de Sousa Mendes | 1885 | 1954 | Diplomat who fought against his own government for the safety of Jews living in Europe, during World War II |  |
Marquês de Pombal | 1699 | 1782 | Minister of Kingdom of José I and responsible for the reconstruction of Lisbon after the 1755 Earthquake |
 |
Fernando Pessoa | 1888 | 1935 | Modernist poet and writer widely known for the employment of multiple heteronyms |  |
Vasco da Gama | 1469 | 1524 | First explorer to discover the sea route from Europe to India |
[edit] The other 90
| Position | Name | Lived | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 11 | Salgueiro Maia | 1944-1992 | military chief |
| 12 | Mário Soares | born 1924 | former President of the Republic |
| 13 | Saint Anthony of Lisbon | 1195-1231 | saint |
| 14 | Amália Rodrigues | 1920-1999 | fado singer |
| 15 | Eusébio | born 1942 | footballer |
| 16 | Francisco Sá Carneiro | 1934-1980 | politician |
| 17 | Jorge Nuno Pinto da Costa | born 1937 | president of Futebol Clube do Porto |
| 18 | Nuno Álvares Pereira | 1360-1431 | strategist and general |
| 19 | João Ferreira Annes de Almeida | 1628-1691 | missionary |
| 20 | José Mourinho | born 1963 | football manager |
| 21 | Agostinho da Silva | 1906-1994 | philosopher |
| 22 | Eça de Queiroz | 1845-1900 | realist writer |
| 23 | Egas Moniz | 1874-1955 | doctor, first Portuguese to win a Nobel Prize |
| 24 | Denis of Portugal | 1261-1325 | 6th king of Portugal |
| 25 | Fernando Nobre | born 1951 | president of the AMI foundation |
| 26 | José Hermano Saraiva | born 1919 | historian, TV host |
| 27 | Cavaco Silva | born 1939 | President of the Portuguese Republic, former Prime Minister |
| 28 | Humberto Delgado | 1906-1965 | military officer and politician |
| 29 | Zeca Afonso | 1929-1987 | singer-songwriter |
| 30 | Luís Figo | born 1972 | footballer |
| 31 | Marcelo Caetano | 1906-1980 | politician and professor |
| 32 | Pedro Nunes | 1502-1578 | scientist and mathematician |
| 33 | Father António Vieira | 1608-1697 | writer and preacher |
| 34 | Florbela Espanca | 1894-1930 | poet |
| 35 | Ferdinand Magellan | c. 1480-1521 | navigator |
| 36 | Maria de Lurdes Pintasilgo | 1930-2004 | the only female prime-minister of Portugal |
| 37 | John I of Portugal | 1357-1433 | 10th king of Portugal |
| 38 | Sophia de Mello Breyner | 1919-2004 | writer and poet |
| 39 | Ferreirinha (Antónia Ferreira) | 1811-1896 | businesswoman |
| 40 | Father Américo | 1887-1953 | philanthroper |
| 41 | António Damásio | born 1944 | scientist |
| 42 | Afonso de Albuquerque | 1462-1515 | military strategist and governor of India |
| 43 | Manuel I of Portugal | 1469-1521 | 14th king of Portugal |
| 44 | José Saramago | born 1922 | Nobel-laureate writer |
| 45 | Elizabeth of Aragon | 1271-1336 | The Saint Queen, queen consort of Portugal |
| 46 | Catarina Eufémia | 1928-1954 | popular heroine |
| 47 | Carlos Paredes | 1925-2004 | classical guitar player and composer |
| 48 | José Sócrates | born 1957 | Prime-Minister of Portugal |
| 49 | Pedro Álvares Cabral | 1467-1520 | navigator who discovered Brazil |
| 50 | Ruy de Carvalho | born 1927 | actor |
| 51 | Brites de Almeida, The Baker of Aljubarrota | 14th century | popular heroine |
| 52 | Alberto João Jardim | born 1943 | president of the Autonomous Region of Madeira |
| 53 | Almada Negreiros | 1893-1970 | modern painter and writer |
| 54 | Vasco Gonçalves | 1921-2005 | military officer and politician |
| 55 | Álvaro Siza Vieira | born 1933 | architect |
| 56 | Belmiro de Azevedo | born 1938 | businessman - the richest Portuguese |
| 57 | Sousa Martins | 1843-1897 | doctor |
| 58 | Maria do Carmo Seabra | born 1955 | former minister of Education |
| 59 | Father António Andrade | 1580-1624 | missionary explorer |
| 60 | Charles I of Portugal | 1860-1908 | 32nd king of Portugal |
| 61 | Mariza | born 1973 | fado singer |
| 62 | Eleanor of Portugal | 1458-1525 | queen consort of Portugal |
| 63 | Rosa Mota | born 1958 | athlete |
| 64 | António Teixeira Rebelo | 1748-1825 | founder of the military school |
| 65 | Afonso III of Portugal | 1210-1279 | 5th king of Portugal |
| 66 | Vítor Baía | born 1969 | football goalkeeper |
| 67 | Bartolomeu Dias | c. 1450-1500 | navigator |
| 68 | Otelo Saraiva de Carvalho | born 1936 | military officer and politician |
| 69 | Cristiano Ronaldo | born 1985 | footballer |
| 70 | Herman José | born 1954 | actor and humourist |
| 71 | Mary II of Portugal | 1819-1853 | queen of Portugal |
| 72 | Carlos Lopes | born 1947 | athlete |
| 73 | Afonso Costa | 1871-1937 | politician |
| 74 | Fontes Pereira de Melo | 1819-1887 | politician |
| 75 | Gago Coutinho | 1869-1959 | geographer - first to cross the South Atlantic by plane |
| 76 | Ricardo de Araújo Pereira | born 1974 | humourist |
| 77 | Manuel Sobrinho Simões | born 1947 | doctor and scientist |
| 78 | Bocage | 1765-1805 | poet |
| 79 | Hélio Pestana | born 1985 | actor, teenage idol |
| 80 | Jorge Sampaio | born 1939 | former President of the Portuguese Republic |
| 81 | António Champalimaud | 1918-2004 | businessman |
| 82 | António Lobo Antunes | born 1942 | writer |
| 83 | Gil Vicente | c. 1465-1536 | playwright |
| 84 | Maria Helena Vieira da Silva | 1908-1922 | painter |
| 85 | Miguel Torga | 1907-1995 | writer |
| 86 | Natália Correia | 1923-1993 | poet and writer |
| 87 | Edgar Cardoso | 1913-2000 | engineer |
| 88 | Fernão Mendes Pinto | c. 1510-1583 | explorer and writer |
| 89 | Sister Lúcia | 1907-2005 | nun |
| 90 | Alfredo da Silva | 1871-1942 | industrialist |
| 91 | Pedro Hispano | c. 1205-1277 | Pope John XXI |
| 92 | Damião de Góis | 1502-1574 | humanist writer and humanist |
| 93 | John IV of Portugal | 1604-1656 | 20th king of Portugal |
| 94 | Joaquim Agostinho | 1943-1984 | cyclist |
| 95 | Adelaide Cabete | 1867-1935 | doctor |
| 96 | Almeida Garrett | 1799-1854 | romanticist writer |
| 97 | António Gentil Martins | born 1930 | doctor |
| 98 | António Variações | 1944-1984 | singer-songwriter |
| 99 | Paula Rego | born 1935 | painter |
| 100 | Maria João Pires | born 1944 | pianist |
[edit] Trivia
- There are 19 women in the top 100.
- There are 33 living persons in the top 100. A further 33 are predominantely 20th century figures.
- Brites de Almeida (51) is the only (likely) fictional person listed in top 100. Zé Povinho didn't make the cut.
- Both the second and third placed were victims of Salazar's repression.
- The program Eixo do Mal (Axis of Evil) of SIC Notícias opened a parallel vote for the role of Os Piores Portugueses (The Worst Portuguese), won, ironically, also by António de Oliveira Salazar.
