Salgueiro Maia
Fernando José Salgueiro Maia (born July 1, 1944 in Castelo de Vide , Portugal , † April 4, 1992 in Santarém ) was a captain in the Portuguese army . He was instrumental in the Carnation Revolution , which in 1974 led to the overthrow of one of the longest fascist dictatorships on the European continent .
Carnation Revolution
Fernando José Salgueiro Maia, a young captain who trained officer and non-commissioned officer candidates , was privy to the Movimento das Forças Armadas (MFA) plans for the dictatorship's coup. When the signal of the uprising came on the radio (the song Grândola, Vila Morena by José Afonso agreed by the insurgents ), Maia and his cadets attacked against the will and sometimes even resistance of several professional officers (including the commandant on duty, whom Maia had unceremoniously arrested) to arms and moved to Lisbon.
Fernando José Salgueiro Maia forced the then ruling dictatorship with his troops to surrender and it is largely thanks to his intelligence and common sense that only four people died in the Carnation Revolution , but the secret police , the infamous PIDE, were responsible.
After the revolution
Salgueiro Maia was not promoted, nor did he ever ask for promotions or positions of power for his services at the time. In Castelo de Vide , the city of his birth, as well as in Santarém , where he was buried, streets were named after him and monuments were erected. In Lisbon, where he stood with a megaphone, his troops and hundreds of civilians, forcing the government to surrender, is an inscription written in the ground:
"For Salgueiro Maia, in memory of April 25, 1974. Honored by the City of Lisbon, 1992"
Salgueiro Maia died on April 4, 1992 to cancer . Four Presidents of the Republic of Portugal paid tribute to him at his funeral .
The 2000 film " Carnations for Freedom " (English title: "April Captains", Portuguese title: "Capitães de Abril" by the director Maria de Medeiros ) deals with the events of April 24 and 25, 1974 in Portugal and shows, among other things, the achievements of Salgueiro Maia.
Quotes from Salgueiro Maia
- “I came and saw a crowd of people, all raising their voices, flowers in the barrels of their guns. Nobody had to kill or be killed. Nobody had to order an attack or even arrest the king and his entourage. "
- “When I became involved in planning this mission, I swore on my honor that I would see it through to the end. For that I would give my soul - my life. "
additional
The Ponte Salgueiro Maia bridge is named after him.
Web links
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Maia, Salgueiro |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Portuguese officer |
| DATE OF BIRTH | July 1, 1944 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Castelo de Vide , Portugal |
| DATE OF DEATH | April 4, 1992 |
| Place of death | Santarém (Portugal) |