Dr M\u00e1rio Soares, known as Portugal\u2019s \u2018father of\ndemocracy\u2019 and a 1993 recipient of an honorary degree from the University of\nMacau (UM), died at the age of 92. Dr Soares was the only president of a\ncountry that received an honorary degree from UM while in office. He provided\ntremendous support to UM\u2019s development before the handover of Macao. UM is\ndeeply saddened by the passing of Dr Soares.<\/p>
In his honorary degree acceptance speech in 1993, Dr\nSoares said that UM played a key role in the preparation and development of the\nterritory into a special administrative region, according to the terms of 1987\nSino-Portuguese Joint Declaration. \u2018Succeeding the University of East Asia set\nup, with very specific objectives, by entrepreneurs of Macao and Hong Kong, the\nUniversity of Macau was acquired in 1988 by the Government of Macao which gave\nother context and purpose to it and achieved, in the past years, a big progress\nin the number of students and in the quality and variety of programmes offered,\u2019\nhe said. \u2018Other achievements will be accomplished \u2013 I am sure of that \u2013 during\nthe current transition so that, it may become, as it is the political will of\nthe Portuguese part, a true connecting link on the area of academic,\ntechnological and cultural exchange between Portuguese and the People\u2019s\nRepublic of China eventually fulfilling its main objective of promoting the encounter\nof cultures between East and West.\u2019<\/p>
\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n<\/p>
Dr Soares was also a great defender of the cause\nof national independence of Portuguese-speaking countries in Africa and one of\nthe greatest supporters of Portuguese-speaking communities worldwide. Dr Soares\nwas a Portuguese politician who served as the prime minister of Portugal from\n1976 to 1978, and from 1983 to 1985, and subsequently as the 17th<\/sup> President\nof Portugal from 1986 to 1996. Dr Soares was the president of Portugal during Portuguese\nnegotiations with Beijing in the late 1980s which secured the return of Macao\nto Chinese sovereignty in 1999.<\/p> <\/p> Media Contact Information: <\/p> <\/p> <\/p> <\/p> <\/p> <\/p> <\/p> Albee Lei Tel\uff1a(853) 88228004 <\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Dr M\u00e1rio Soares, known as Portugal\u2019s \u2018father of democracy\u2019 and a 1993 recipient of an honorary degree from the University of Macau (UM), died at the age of 92. Dr…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":126444,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[60],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-194319","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-press-release"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n
Communications Office, University of Macau<\/p>
Kelvin U Tel\uff1a(853) 88224322
Email\uff1aprs.media@um.edu.mo
UM Website\uff1awww.umac.mo<\/p><\/div><\/div>