Lawyer José Manuel Galvão Teles died this Thursday, in Lisbon, at the age of 84, the victim of a prolonged illness, with his funeral being held on Saturday, announced the law firm he founded.
José Manuel Galvão Teles had been a lawyer for 60 years, enrolled in the Bar Association in 1963, and from a young age he stood out in the active struggle for democracy, having been “recognized as a politician convinced of the importance of fundamental rights and a man of culture” .
He founded Morais Leitão, Galvão Teles, Soares da Silva e Associados, a merger of two of the main law firms, and in 2010 he received the Medal of Honor from the Bar Association in 2010, says the firm, in a note of regret released this Thursday- fair.
“His experience in Portuguese law is, in itself, a faithful representation of the political and economic history of Portugal, having defended defendants accused of political crimes during the Estado Novo, later participating in international processes for peace and against “apartheid”, consolidating in democratic Portugal a career dedicated to mergers and acquisitions, but also to litigation, having sponsored some of the most valuable civil actions judged in Portuguese courts and, with success, some of the most important and mediatic criminal proceedings”, says a statement.
Galvão Teles was a member of the Council of State, Portugal’s ambassador to the United Nations between 1975 and 1976, in a period considered fundamental for the negotiation of decolonization, and head of delegation in important missions of a political, economic and financial nature.
In 2005, he was awarded the Grand Cross of the Military Order of Christ by the then President of the Republic Jorge Sampaio, and in November 2022 he was awarded the Grand Cross of the Order of Freedom by the head of State Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa.
He was president of Juventude Católica, founder and director of “Cooperativa Pragma” (later dissolved by PIDE), editor of “Cadernos GEDOC”, president of the “Centro Nacional de Cultura” and contributor to the magazine “O Tempo e o Modo” (and, consequently questioned by the regime regarding his activities), candidate for deputy for the Opposition (CDE) in the 1969 elections and defense lawyer in important political processes, such as the defense of architect Nuno Teotónio Pereira. He always opposed the colonial war, with a very active voice, intervening and publicly warning of the national political situation, writes the magazine Advocatus.
He founded and headed several associations and private foundations linked to culture, such as the Serralves Foundation, the Mário Soares Foundation, the Casas de Fronteira and Alorna Foundation and the Júlio Pomar Foundation.