Henrique Galvão

Henrique Carlos da Malta Galvão ( born February 4, 1895 in Barreiro, † June 25, 1970 in São Paulo) was a Portuguese officer and author who was particularly known for his opposition to the Salazar regime and the spectacular Santa Maria affair.

Life

He was involved as a cadet in the coup, the Sidónio Pais in 1917 brought to power. He also belonged to the military, which ended the First Portuguese Republic on 28 May 1926, Gomes da Costa. After that, he held a number of public offices, including governor of the province Huíla, director of Exposição do Mundo Português, Portuguese colonial exhibition in 1940, and Head of Radio, the Emissora Nacional.

After he had written a number of books on the Portuguese colonial history and nature in the colonies, for which he had received in part official awards in Portugal, he was increasingly in opposition to the Salazar dictatorship. In 1952 he was arrested by the Estado Novo regime, and in 1958 dismissed from the army. Sentenced to 18 years in prison, he escaped on 15 January 1959. Two years later he was the head of the Santa Maria affair. He then lived in Brazil, where he died in 1970. Only in 1991 his remains were transferred to Portugal, where they were buried on the Cemitério dos Prazeres.

As an author he had dealt with both issues of policy, in particular the Portuguese colonial policy, as well as with issues of nature and literature. He translated among others eight works of Eugene O'Neill, and wrote their own plays. 2006 with Pele (directed by Fernando Vendrell) was filmed in one of his novels. He became known primarily, however, for his role as opposition.

Bibliography

• Francisco Teixeira da Mota: Henrique Galvão: To Herói Português. Oficina do Livro, Lisbon 2011, ISBN 978-989-555-827-8.
• Pedro Jorge Castro: O Inimigo n º 1 de Salazar. Esfera do Caos, Lisbon 2010, ISBN 978-989-626-260-0.