Cavaco Silva's Former Ministers Reunite in Lisbon to Mark 40 Years of Reformist Governments

Former Ministers and Secretaries of State from Cavaco Silva's Governments to Gather for Lisbon Lunch

Ministers and Secretaries of State who served in the three governments of Aníbal Cavaco Silva will meet this Friday for a fellowship lunch in Lisbon, commemorating the 40th anniversary of the first inauguration.

Former Minister Fernando Faria de Oliveira, one of the event organizers, explained to Lusa news agency: "The goal and idea was to have a fellowship, reunion, and celebration of the 40th anniversary of the reformist governments led by Professor Cavaco Silva, of which we are proud to have been part precisely because of their reformist drive, their transformative impulse, which was of extreme importance for our country."

Faria de Oliveira emphasized that this is not a tribute but a moment of reunion and "fellowship among all" members of the governments led by Cavaco Silva.

He highlighted: "In some way, it is evident that this can also convey a message—that without reforms, without giving extreme importance to economic growth, and without a concern for a truly social-democratic experience, where social concertation, equity in income taxation, equality of opportunity, health protection, a vigorously functioning market economy, the ability to attract foreign direct investment, all these phenomena, the radical change of the country in terms of communications, land transport, bridges, other infrastructures, also communications—all this, in fact, has enormous importance for the country's development and for people to have better quality of life and better remuneration."

He also stressed that the 10 years when Aníbal Cavaco Silva was Prime Minister, between 1985 and 1995, represented "the period in recent history when the country had the most significant growth in all aspects, including culturally."

However, he defended that the objective of this event "is not to take a message" outward. "It exists intrinsically when we gather, because we feel particularly satisfied that all of us contributed to making this happen," he indicated.

Faria de Oliveira stated that nearly a hundred people will be present, and "the bulk of the ministers and Secretaries of State will be there in full force for this celebration," except for "one or another case" who will not attend due to illness or "other types of impossibilities."

"Unfortunately, 43 government members, between ministers and Secretaries of State, have already died. There were some whose contacts we could not retrieve, and therefore, we could not let them know about this lunch, but we will have almost 100 people gathered to exactly celebrate this action of the governments, which brings us great satisfaction, because we think we served Portugal very well," he noted.

Fernando Faria de Oliveira explained to Lusa that the idea for this meeting emerged at another lunch. "Since 1996, I have always maintained a periodic lunch with the people who were part of the governments when I was minister. And I was with Dr. Alexandre Relvas and Dr. Luís Palha at a lunch, and the importance of the meaning of this date exactly arose, and so Dr. Luís Palha was the one who suggested promoting a lunch among everyone, to cherish memories, including, and that's how the idea was born," he referred.

Faria de Oliveira said that "the most appropriate date would be November 6th"—the day that marks exactly 40 years since the first inauguration of Aníbal Cavaco Silva as Prime Minister—but "it was not possible to find a solution to hold this fellowship on that day."

Aníbal Cavaco Silva was Prime Minister for 10 years. His governments included figures such as Luís Marques Mendes, Eduardo Catroga, Durão Barroso, Luís Mira Amaral, or Manuela Ferreira Leite.