Vasco Gonçalves | |
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Prime Minister of Portugal | |
In office July 18, 1974 – September 19, 1975 ( 1 year, 63 days) |
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President | António de Spínola Francisco da Costa Gomes |
Preceded by | Adelino da Palma Carlos |
Succeeded by | Pinheiro de Azevedo |
Personal details | |
Born | May 3, 1922 Lisbon, Portugal |
Died | June 11, 2005 | (aged 83)
Political party | Independent (with Left Wing inclination) |
General Vasco dos Santos Gonçalves (Portuguese pronunciation: [ˈvaʃku ɡõˈsaɫvɨʃ]; Lisbon 3 May 1922 – 11 June 2005) was a Portuguese army officer in the Engineering Corps who took part in the Carnation Revolution and later served as the 104th Prime Minister from 18 July 1974 to 19 September 1975.
He was best known for his controversial left-wing positions, including nationalization of banks and insurance companies after the events of 11 March 1975. The matter of fact is that those nationalizations were provoked by the bank conglomerates' huge debt to the Portuguese State and their directors' escape to Brazil.
In parallel, other measures implemented by his Government, such as imposing a minimum wage and the attribution of the "Christmas subsidy" (equal to one month's pay), were hardly radical in democratic Europe, even by today's standards.
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