Lisbon, Oct. 22, 2025 (Lusa) - The chairman of British media group Daily Mail and General Trust (DMGT) told Lusa on Wednesday that deceased Portuguese politician and journalist, Francisco Pinto Balsemão "was an extraordinary man" and a loyal friend, "whose advice was always sincere, intelligent and wise".
Contacted by Lusa, Viscount Rothermere, chairman of the board of directors of the Daily Mail's owner, emphasised that "Francisco was an extraordinary man who, in many ways, represented the journey his country has taken over the last century".
In his words, he described the founder of the Impresa group as "extremely intelligent and independent, as well as wise and kind".
Francisco Pinto Balsemão "never let adversity get in his way, but faced challenges as a way to grow and succeed as a person and in business," the manager continued.
"He was a very loyal friend, whose advice was always sincere, intelligent and wise" and "loved life, lived it to the fullest and enjoyed the company of others who shared the same vision," he emphasised.
Francisco Pinto Balsemão "touched many people in a very positive way and will be greatly missed by them," concluded the chairman.
Pinto Balsemão was a non-executive member of the Board of Directors of the Daily Mail between 2002 and 2017.
The Portuguese Cabinet on Wednesday approved a decree of two days of national mourning for his death, to be observed today and Thursday, a source from the prime minister's office told Lusa.
Balsemão was a key figure in the history of the media in Portugal, a journalist who never ceased to be a politician, with the struggle for freedom of expression and the right to inform as his guiding principle.
Founder of the weekly newspaper Expresso, still during the dictatorship (1973), and of SIC, the first private television station in Portugal, he died on Wednesday at the age of 88, of natural causes.
In 1974, after the 25 April revolution, he founded, with Francisco Sá Carneiro and Magalhães Mota, the Popular Democratic Party (PPD), later the Social Democratic Party (PSD). He headed two governments after Sá Carneiro's death, between 1981 and 1983, and was, until now, a member of the Council of State, an advisory body to the country's president.
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