Manuel Alegre de Melo Duarte, GCL (born 12 May 1936) is a Portuguese

poet A poet is a person who studies and creates poetry. Poets may describe themselves as such or be described as such by others. A poet may simply be the creator ( thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems ( oral or wri ...

and

politician A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking ...

, member of the

Socialist Party Socialist Party is the name of many different political parties around the world. All of these parties claim to uphold some form of socialism, though they may have very different interpretations of what "socialism" means. Statistically, most of t ...

, and a candidate for the

2006 Portuguese presidential election The 2006 Portuguese presidential election was held on 22 January to elect a successor to the incumbent President Jorge Sampaio, who was term-limited from running for a third consecutive term by the Constitution of Portugal. The result was a victo ...

. He ran again in the 2011 presidential election, this time backed by the Left Bloc and the Socialist Party. Alegre was awarded the

Camões Prize The Camões Prize (Portuguese, ''Prémio Camões'', ), named after Luís de Camões, is the most important prize for literature in the Portuguese language. It is awarded annually by the Portuguese ''Direção-Geral do Livro, dos Arquivos e das Bi ...

in 2017.

Background

He is the son of Francisco José de Faria e Melo Ferreira Duarte, brother of sportsman Mário Duarte, son of the 1st

Baroness Baron is a rank of nobility or title of honour, often hereditary, in various European countries, either current or historical. The female equivalent is baroness. Typically, the title denotes an aristocrat who ranks higher than a lord or knig ...

of ''a'' Recosta, maternal grandson of the 1st Baron of Cadoro and matrilineal great-grandson of the 1st

Viscount A viscount ( , for male) or viscountess (, for female) is a title used in certain European countries for a noble of varying status. In many countries a viscount, and its historical equivalents, was a non-hereditary, administrative or judicia ...

of ''o''

Barreiro Barreiro may refer to: People * Bruno Barreiro (born 1965), American politician * Gustavo Barreiro (1959–2019), American politician * Manu Barreiro (born 1986), Spanish footballer Places * Barreiro, Portugal ** Barreiro Municipality, a mu ...

, and wife Maria Manuela Alegre. His sister Maria Teresa Alegre de Melo Duarte is also a Deputy and is the widow of another Deputy, António Jorge Moreira Portugal (1931–1994). Their son is

journalist A journalist is an individual that collects/gathers information in form of text, audio, or pictures, processes them into a news-worthy form, and disseminates it to the public. The act or process mainly done by the journalist is called journalis ...

Manuel Alegre Portugal. As he once stated, his ancestors were

hanged Hanging is the suspension of a person by a noose or ligature around the neck.Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed. Hanging as method of execution is unknown, as method of suicide from 1325. The ''Oxford English Dictionary'' states that hanging i ...

and

beheaded Decapitation or beheading is the total separation of the head from the body. Such an injury is invariably fatal to humans and most other animals, since it deprives the brain of oxygenated blood, while all other organs are deprived of the ...

at the Praça Nova,

Porto Porto or Oporto () is the second-largest city in Portugal, the capital of the Porto District, and one of the Iberian Peninsula's major urban areas. Porto city proper, which is the entire municipality of Porto, is small compared to its metropol ...

, during the

Liberal Wars The Liberal Wars (), also known as the Portuguese Civil War (), the War of the Two Brothers () or Miguelite War (), was a war between liberal constitutionalists and conservative absolutists in Portugal over royal succession that lasted from 18 ...

Career

He was a member of the

Portuguese Communist Party The Portuguese Communist Party ( pt, Partido Comunista Português, , PCP) is a communist, Marxist–Leninist political party in Portugal based upon democratic centralism. The party also considers itself patriotic and internationalist,Portu ...

from his youth until the Soviet invasion of

Czechoslovakia , rue, Чеськословеньско, , yi, טשעכאסלאוואקיי, , common_name = Czechoslovakia , life_span = 1918–19391945–1992 , p1 = Austria-Hungary , image_p1 ...

, which he staunchly opposed, in 1968. Today he's usually considered one of the most leftist members of the Portuguese

. He voted against all the revisions of the

Portuguese Constitution The present Constitution of Portugal was adopted in 1976 after the Carnation Revolution. It was preceded by a number of constitutions including the first one created in 1822 (following the Liberal Revolution of 1820), 1826 (drawn up by King ...

of 1976, and abstained at a commemorative vote for the 10th anniversary of the fall of Berlin Wall, in 1999. While studying

law Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior,Robertson, ''Crimes against humanity'', 90. with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. It has been vario ...

at the

University of Coimbra The University of Coimbra (UC; pt, Universidade de Coimbra, ) is a public research university in Coimbra, Portugal. First established in Lisbon in 1290, it went through a number of relocations until moving permanently to Coimbra in 1537. The u ...

, Alegre was noticed for his opposition to

António de Oliveira Salazar António de Oliveira Salazar (, , ; 28 April 1889 – 27 July 1970) was a Portuguese dictator who served as President of the Council of Ministers from 1932 to 1968. Having come to power under the ("National Dictatorship"), he reframed the r ...

's dictatorial government - the Estado Novo regime. He was

conscript Conscription (also called the draft in the United States) is the state-mandated enlistment of people in a national service, mainly a military service. Conscription dates back to antiquity and it continues in some countries to the present day un ...

ed, and sent to the

Azores ) , motto =( en, "Rather die free than subjected in peace") , anthem= ( en, "Anthem of the Azores") , image_map=Locator_map_of_Azores_in_EU.svg , map_alt=Location of the Azores within the European Union , map_caption=Location of the Azores wi ...

and later to

Portuguese Angola Portuguese Angola refers to Angola during the historic period when it was a territory under Portuguese rule in southwestern Africa. In the same context, it was known until 1951 as Portuguese West Africa (officially the State of West Africa). I ...

, where his involvement in an attempt to military rebellion led to his imprisonment. After serving his prison term in

Luanda Luanda () is the Capital (political), capital and largest city in Angola. It is Angola's primary port, and its major Angola#Economy, industrial, Angola#Culture, cultural and Angola#Demographics, urban centre. Located on Angola's northern Atl ...

, he returned to

Coimbra Coimbra (, also , , or ) is a city and a municipality in Portugal. The population of the municipality at the 2011 census was 143,397, in an area of . The fourth-largest urban area in Portugal after Lisbon, Porto, and Braga, it is the largest cit ...

, before going into exile in 1964. As a student at the University of Coimbra he was a very active figure of the

Associação Académica de Coimbra The Associação Académica de Coimbra (AAC) is the students' union of the University of Coimbra (UC). Founded in Coimbra on November 3, 1887, it is the oldest students' union in Portugal. It is also the biggest Portuguese students' union belongi ...

, the university's student's union, while member of the governing body, athlete and cultural agent (poetry and theatre). He would never graduate in law. He would live the next ten years in Algiers, where he was one of the main voices of a radio station directed to Portugal, Rádio Voz da Liberdade (''Freedom's Voice''), also called ''Rádio Argel'', from where he reportedly led a series of activities supporting African forces opposing the Portuguese military intervention in the

Portuguese Colonial War The Portuguese Colonial War ( pt, Guerra Colonial Portuguesa), also known in Portugal as the Overseas War () or in the former colonies as the War of Liberation (), and also known as the Angolan, Guinea-Bissau and Mozambican War of Independence, ...

, including by airing privileged information regarding Portuguese strategy in the theater of war. The distribution of his first books was forbidden by Salazar's government, so they circulated in

samizdat Samizdat (russian: самиздат, lit=self-publishing, links=no) was a form of dissident activity across the Eastern Bloc in which individuals reproduced censored and underground makeshift publications, often by hand, and passed the document ...

form. Alegre returned to Portugal in 1974, one week after the Carnation Revolution. He joined the Socialisty Party almost immediately, and was elected to Parliament in every election since 1975. He is currently one of the vice-presidents of Parliament, and sits in the President's advisory Council of State. Several of his poems were made into songs, sung among others by

Zeca Afonso Zeca may refer to: * José Afonso (1929–1987), Portuguese folk and political musician also known mononymously as Zeca * Zeca (footballer, born 1946), full name Jose Luiz Ferreira Rodrigues, Brazilian football manager known mononymously as Zeca ...

and

Adriano Correia de Oliveira Adriano Maria Correia Gomes de Oliveira, GCIH, ComL, or just Adriano (April 9, 1942 – October 16, 1982) was a Portuguese musician, born to a conservative Roman Catholic family in Porto. His family moved to Avintes after his birth. He went to ...

, and played by

Carlos Paredes Carlos Paredes ComSE (; 16 February 1925 – 23 July 2004) was a virtuoso Portuguese guitar player and composer. He is regarded as one of the greatest players of Portuguese guitar of all-time. Born in Coimbra, Portugal, in a family with a ...

. His words were set to music by Tony Haynes on world jazz ensemble

Grand Union Orchestra Grand Union Orchestra, also known as The Grand Union, is a multicultural world jazz ensemble based in London. It has been performing, touring and recording large-scale shows for over 30 years and is well known for its educational work. Biography ...

's 1997 album, ''The Rhythm of Tides''. One of his poems ''Uma flor de verde pinho'' won 1976's ''Festival RTP da Canção'', who represented Portugal in Eurovision Song Contest. In 2004, he lost to

José Sócrates José Sócrates Carvalho Pinto de Sousa, GCIH (born 6 September 1957), commonly known as José Sócrates (), is a Portuguese politician who was the prime minister of Portugal from 12 March 2005 to 21 June 2011. For the second half of 2007, he ...

a bid for the party leadership. In 2005, a statue in his honour was erected in

. On 24 September 2005, he announced that he would be a candidate in the

, despite his party's official support for former president

Mário Soares Mário Alberto Nobre Lopes Soares, GColTE, GCC, GColL (; 7 December 1924 – 7 January 2017) was a Portuguese politician, who served as prime minister of Portugal from 1976 to 1978 and from 1983 to 1985, and subsequently as the 17th pres ...

as a candidate. On the elections held 22 January 2006, he ended up collecting 20.7% of the valid votes (the second largest amount after the elected President, Cavaco Silva, and ahead of his party's official candidate Mário Soares). He is also a Member of the

Portuguese Council of State The Council of State ( pt, Conselho de Estado, ) is a body established by the Portuguese Constitution to advise the President of the Republic in the exercise of many of his or her discretionary powers. History Although there are notices about th ...

, elected by the Assembly of the Republic.

Decorations

Grand-Cross of the

Order of Liberty The Order of Liberty, or the Order of Freedom ( pt, Ordem da Liberdade), is a Portuguese honorific civil order that distinguishes relevant services to the cause of democracy and freedom, in the defense of the values of civilization and human dig ...

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...

(19 May 1989) * PRT Order of Saint James of the Sword - Grand Cross BAR

Grand-Cross of the

Military Order of Saint James of the Sword The Military Order of Saint James of the Sword ( pt, Ordem Militar de Sant'Iago da Espada) is a Portuguese order of chivalry. Its full name is the Ancient, Most Noble and Enlightened Military Order of Saint James of the Sword, of the Scientif ...

(20 May 2016)

Family

He was once married to Isabel Sousa Pires, born in

Figueira da Foz Figueira da Foz (), also known as Figueira for short, is a city and a municipality in the Coimbra District, in Portugal. Practically at the midpoint of the Iberian Peninsula's Atlantic coast, it is located at the mouth of the Mondego River, west ...

, without issue, and is now married to Mafalda Maria de Campos Durão Ferreira, born in Lisbon, 13 December 1947, daughter of António Durão Ferreira and wife Fernanda Furtado de Antas de Campos and only sister of António Miguel de Campos Durão Ferreira (b. 21 January 1946, unmarried), and has three children: * Francisco Durão Ferreira Alegre Duarte * Afonso Durão Ferreira Alegre Duarte (b. 1976) * Joana Durão Ferreira Alegre Duarte (b. 1985)

Electoral results

2006 Portuguese presidential election

Manuel Alegre finished second with 1,138,297 votes (20.74%).

2011 Portuguese presidential election

Manuel Alegre finished second with 831,838 votes (19.74%).Comissão Nacional de Eleições
(2011)

Bibliography

Poetry * ''Praça da Canção'' (1965) * ''O Canto e as Armas'' (1967) * ''Um Barco para Ítaca'' (1971) * ''Letras'' (1974) * ''Coisa Amar, Coisas do Mar'' (1976) * ''Nova do Achamento'' (1979) * ''Atlântico'' (1981) * ''Babilónia'' (1983) * ''Chegar Aqui'' (1984) * ''Aicha Conticha'' (1984) * ''Obra Poética, Vol. I, O Canto e as Armas'' (1989) * ''Obra Poética, Vol. II, Atlântico'' (1989) * ''Rua de Baixo'' (1990) * ''A Rosa e o Compasso'' (1991) * ''Com que Pena'' (1992) * ''Sonetos do Obscuro Quê'' (1993) * ''Coimbra Nunca Vista'' (1995) * ''Trinta Anos de Poesia'' (1993) * ''As Naus de Verde Pinho'' (1996) * ''Alentejo e Ninguém'' (1996) * ''Che'' (1997) * ''Senhora das Tempestades'' (1998) * ''Pico'' (1998) * ''Rouxinol do Mundo'' (1998) * ''Obra Poética'' (1999) * ''Livro do Português Errante'' (2001) * ''Diálogos = Cristina Valada + Manuel Alegre'' (2001) Prose * ''Jornada de África'' (1989) * ''O Homem do País Azul'' (1989) * ''Alma'' (1995) * ''Contra a Corrente'' (1997) * ''A Terceira Rosa'' (1998) * ''Uma Carga de Cavalaria'' (1999) * ''Arte de Marear'' (2002) * ''Cão Como Nós'' (2002) * ''Um Velho em Arzila'' (2003) * ''Rafael'' (2004) * ''O Quadrado'' (2005) * ''Tudo é, e não é'' (2013)

References

External links

Official site of the candidate
(in Portuguese)

{{DEFAULTSORT:Alegre, Manuel 1936 births Living people People from Águeda Socialist Party (Portugal) politicians Members of the Assembly of the Republic (Portugal) Candidates for President of Portugal Portuguese anti-fascists Portuguese agnostics 20th-century Portuguese poets Portuguese male poets University of Coimbra alumni 21st-century Portuguese poets 20th-century male writers 21st-century male writers Pessoa Prize winners Grand Crosses of the Order of Liberty Grand Crosses of the Order of Saint James of the Sword Camões Prize winners