Manuel dos Santos Machado

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Manuel dos Santos Machado
Mayor of the Municipality of Tomar
In office 1971 – 1974
Preceded by	Aurélio de Melo e Castro Ribeiro
Succeeded by	Luís Carlos da Silva Bonet
Governor of Leiria
In office 1974–1974
Preceded by	José Damasceno Campos
Succeeded by	Joaquim da Rocha Silva
Member of the European Parliament
In office 1987 – 1991
Member of the Portuguese National Electoral Commission
In office 2001 – 2013
Personal details
Born	Manuel dos Santos Machado (1933-07-15) July 15, 1933 Vila Velha de Ródão, Portugal
Died	(2013-06-15) June 15, 2013 Lisboa, Portugal
Citizenship	Portuguese
Nationality	Portuguese
Political party	CDS – People's Party
Spouse(s)	Maria Emília Pedrosa Machado (m. 1959)
Parents	António Oliveira Machado Júlia dos Santos Machado
Residence	Cascais, Portugal
Education	University of Coimbra (Bachelor of Law)
Occupation	Lawyer politician

Manuel dos Santos Machado (Vila Velha do Ródão, 15 de july de 1933 — Lisboa, 15 de july de 1933 was a Portuguese lawyer and politician.. He was Mayor of the Municipality of Tomar, Governor of Leiria, Member of the European Parliament, Secretary-General and Member of the Board of Directors of the Board of Directors of SUCH (Hospitals Common Use Service), member of the Superior Council of the Portuguese Public Prosecutor's Office, member and substitute for the President of the Portuguese National Electoral Commission, a position he held until his death.

Early life and education

He did his military service in Angola in the early 1950s and worked at the Rádio Clube de Angola in Luanda. He graduated in Law from the Faculty of Law of the University of Coimbra in 1961. As a student in Coimbra, he was President of the Students' Theatre of the University of Coimbra, Chairman of the Supervisory Board of the Coimbra Academic Association and a member of its Cultural Council. He was also Secretary General of the Organising Committee of the VIII Delfíada (International University Theatre Festival). He was a student and Professor of History at the Colégio Nun'Álvares de Tomar, the city where, after completing his law degree, he did his legal training between 1961 and 1963, later chairing the respective Delegation of the Portuguese Bar Association for several terms.

Political activity and public service

He was Mayor of Tomar between 1971 and 1974, focusing his activity on the electrification and development of the city's sanitary structures, in an intense mandate with implications in various areas of the city. He was Civil Governor of Leiria in 1974. After the revolution, he participated in the founding of the CDS – People's Party, being President its National Council of Jurisdiction President with all the presidents of the party during his lifetime (Diogo Freitas do Amaral, Francisco Lucas Pires, Adriano Moreira, Manuel Monteiro, Paulo Portas and José Ribeiro e Castro) holding various positions in the party and being a candidate in numerous elections, in Tomar, in Portugal and in the European Union. In 1987 he was elected as an MEP, a position he held until 1991]], having been chosen as the European People's Party (EPP) Spokesperson for Regional Policy, being the EPP Representative in the intergroup for local authorities, member of the Committee on Regional Policy and Spatial Planning, member of the Committee on Foreign Economic Relations. In the European Parliament, his work, much of it still unpublished, on regional development stood out. As a result and in recognition of his work and his qualities as a lawyer, he was also a member of the Superior Council of the [[Public Prosecutor's Office and, by election, served as a member of the National Elections Commission, in successive terms and until the time of his death, being, at the time, a member and Substitute for the President of that Commission. He was also Secretary-General and Member of the Board of Directors of SUCH - Hospital Common Use Service.

Political-administrative, associative, sporting, philanthropic, journalistic and cultural activities

In the areas of journalism and culture, he was an announcer for Rádio Clube de Angola, between 1951 and 1954, was Director of the newspaper "O Templário", President of the Board of Directors and of the General Assembly of the Gualdim Pais Philharmonic Society, Member of the Union of Friends of the Monuments of the Order of Christ, President of the Advisory Board of the Centre for Tourism and Culture Studies of the Polytechnic Institute of Tomar and President of the General Assembly of the Vila Velha de Ródão Council House, of which he was founder. Thus, he was one of the 45 founding members of the Casa do Concelho, in a constituent general meeting held in Lisbon on 18 March 1989 and, from then until his death, he always integrated the association's Social Bodies, being its President of the General Assembly since 1999: "His regular presence at the presidency of the board of our general meetings was appreciated by all the members present and characterised by a simple but very efficient conduct of the work. Whenever possible, Dr Manuel Machado was not absent from the social gatherings and outings in our municipality. I myself would contact him beforehand to ask his opinion on some details of the trip and especially on the menu to be chosen, and I would almost always receive the following reply: - Oh, President - that's how he used to treat me - we're not going to eat roast pork loin or steaks with mushrooms. We eat that here in Lisbon every day. I already knew what he wanted me to do, which was to choose one of the typical dishes of our municipality, which he greatly appreciated: "Soups of Fish from the River", "Soup of Boda" and "Salad of Almeirão with Roasted Morcela". Of course, not forgetting the dessert, also from the region: "arroz doce" and "tigelada". Here we express our remembrance and our gratitude to this friend of ours. May he rest in peace"[1].

He was Administrative Director of the Municipalised Services of Coimbra, Lawyer-Syndicate of the Municipality of Tomar and Legal Advisor of the Polytechnic Institute of Tomar. In the sports area, he was President of the Santarém Football Association (representing União de Tomar), was a Member of the General Council of União de Tomar, was President of the General Assembly of Sporting Club de Tomar, was President of the Jurisdictional Council of the 1st Sport Fishing Association and President of the Jurisdictional Council of the Portuguese Archery Federation. In the area of assistance, philanthropy and services, in Tomar, he was Secretary of Santa Casa da Misericórdia de Tomar, Vice-President of the General Assembly of the Social Assistance Centre and President of the Lions Club, being District Governor of Lions Clubs and Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Lions Foundation of Portugal. He was also Representative of European Lions at the Council of Europe (in Strasbourg), Vice-President of the European Forums of Lions Clubs in Aahrus (Denmark) and Gothenburg (Sweden) and President of the European Forum in Lisbon.

Family and personal life

He was married to Maria Emília Santos Gallo Teodósio Santos Machado, a teacher in the Lisbon School Group, had a daughter, four sons, and seventeen grandchildren. He maintained a law practice in Tomar and Lisbon until his death. He lived in Cascais and said that his life "had followed the course of the river Tagus: Portuguese from Portas do Ródão, refuelling at Zêzere and with its mouth in Lisbon". He lived in Cascais and was transferred to hospital in Lisbon, where he died. His funeral was marked by farewells from friends from the most diverse political, social and geographical backgrounds, illustrating his life and relationships, from north to south, from left to right, from the youngest to the oldest.

Ideology and recognitions

He was always a bridge-builder, establishing himself as a right-wing, [[conservative and [[liberal Portuguese [[politician, in the mold of Adelino Amaro da Costa, Francisco Lucas Pires and Adriano Moreira. Although he held public and political office in both regimes, he always asserted himself primarily as a lawyer, being recognised by his peers, from left to right, and recognised by the Portuguese Bar Association with a medal of merit in 2013. The National Electoral Commission (CNE), of which he was a member and the substitute of its President, issued a special statement regarding his death in the middle of his duties (which he maintained scrupulously, having only been absent, due to illness, on the 11th, a few days before he left). The CNE stated that "The loss felt in these circumstances assumes, however, a greater and deeper meaning when it results, for the survivors, the added responsibility of maintaining the necessary conviviality between people with different perspectives and objectives, sometimes antagonistic, the dedication, the impartiality, the sense of balance and justice that, with the presence and action of Dr Manuel Machado, always seemed to spring naturally and almost effortlessly. Well done". This resolution was adopted unanimously at the plenary session of 18 June 2013 and messages of condolence were received from the Portuguese Communist Party, the Ecologist Party "Os Verdes" and others on an individual basis. Four days after his death, on 19 June 2013, the Portuguese Assembly of the Republic unanimously approved a vote of regret in his honour, with a minute's silence also unanimous

External links

• «Manuel dos SANTOS MACHADO», Página do Parlamento Europeu;
• «Voto de Pesar pelo falecimento de Manuel dos Santos Machado», Assembleia da República;
• «Visita de Américo Tomás a Tomar», Arquivos da RTP;
• «Tomada de posse de Manuel dos Santos Machado», Arquivos da RTP;
• «Manuel Santos Machado no Bombarral», Arquivos da RTP;
• «Falecimento do Senhor Dr. Manuel dos Santos Machado», Comissão Nacional de Eleições;
• «O Concelho de Vila Velha do Ródão - Manuel dos Santos Machado», Jornal "O Concelho de Vila Velha de Ródão", n.º 368;
• «Morreu Manuel dos Santos Machado», Jornal "Expresso";
• «Manuel dos Santos Machado», Jornal "O Mirante", semanário regional.

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