Portugal is mourning the loss of one of its most influential figures, Francisco Pinto Balsemão, who died late on October 21, 2025, at the age of 88. Balsemão’s passing marks the end of an era that saw the country transition from dictatorship to democracy, and its media landscape transformed by his pioneering vision. According to the Portuguese president’s office and Impresa—the media group Balsemão founded—he died on Tuesday night, though no cause of death was shared. The announcement, quickly echoed by major news outlets and dignitaries, sent ripples through both the political and media worlds, underscoring his immense legacy.
Born on September 1, 1937, in Lisbon, Balsemão’s early life was shaped by Portugal’s authoritarian Estado Novo regime. He graduated in law from Lisbon University and completed two years of mandatory military service, during which he edited the Portuguese Air Force magazine. Even then, his interest in journalism and public affairs was evident. Balsemão became an attorney but also worked part-time at the daily newspaper Diário Popular, holding a small stake he’d inherited from his father. When Diário Popular was sold, he used the proceeds to launch a bold new venture: Expresso, a weekly newspaper modeled on the British press, in 1972.
Launching Expresso under the shadow of censorship was no small feat. Portugal was still under the grip of António Salazar’s dictatorship, and the press was tightly controlled. Yet, Expresso quickly became known for its investigative journalism and liberal editorial stance, contributing to the crumbling of the old regime. As the Portuguese-American Journal notes, Balsemão “championed independent reporting and public debate” during these final years of dictatorship, setting the stage for a freer, more open society.
Politically, Balsemão was a reformer at heart. He entered the National Assembly in 1969 as an independent, joining a group of liberals who advocated for democracy. After the 1974 Carnation Revolution—a peaceful coup that ended four decades of dictatorship—he took a seat in the Constituent Assembly, which was responsible for drafting the new democratic constitution. By 1979, he had joined parliament as a co-founder and leading lawmaker of the Social Democratic Party (PSD), a center-right party that would shape Portugal’s post-revolutionary trajectory.
Balsemão’s moment on the national stage came in 1981, when tragedy struck. Prime Minister Francisco Sá Carneiro died in a plane crash under murky circumstances, plunging the government into crisis. The Social Democrats, governing in coalition as the Democratic Alliance, turned to Balsemão to lead. Accepting what he later described as “the hardest thing I’ve ever done,” he became Portugal’s eighth prime minister in just five years—a testament to the political instability of the era.
His tenure was marked by formidable challenges: internal party criticism, coalition tensions, and opposition attacks on his legitimacy as an unelected leader. Nevertheless, Balsemão’s government left a lasting mark. In 1982, he oversaw a major revision of the constitution, stripping away some of the left-wing features enshrined in the 1976 version and paving the way for the re-privatization of companies nationalized after the revolution. According to the Associated Press, this reform “sought to shed some of the left-wing ideological features… and free the economy from centralized government.”
As Prime Minister, Balsemão also negotiated the terms for Portugal’s entry into the European Economic Community (EEC), now the European Union, a historic step that would be finalized in 1986. He paid an official visit to the United States in December 1982, meeting with President Ronald Reagan at the White House. The visit, as reported by the Portuguese-American Journal, reaffirmed Portugal’s role as a key NATO ally and deepened ties between Lisbon and Washington. President Reagan praised Portugal’s democratic progress, while Balsemão emphasized the importance of the Portuguese-American community and the enduring alliance between the two nations. “We in Portugal look forward to working in close cooperation with the United States and for that effort we count very much on the strong Portuguese American community living and working here in the United States,” Balsemão remarked at the time.
Despite these achievements, Balsemão’s time as Prime Minister was fraught with political headwinds. Amid mounting criticism and coalition rifts, he resigned in mid-1983, stepping back from front-line politics. Yet, his influence was far from over. Returning to his roots in journalism, Balsemão focused on expanding Expresso and building Impresa, a media empire that would come to dominate Portuguese news and entertainment. By the early 1990s, Impresa included more than 30 newspapers, magazines, television, and online channels. In 1992, he launched SIC, Portugal’s first private television channel, which quickly became the country’s leading broadcaster.
Balsemão’s commitment to press freedom and democratic values remained a constant throughout his life. As he told his biographer, Joaquim Vieira, “Of everything I have done in life, the constant theme running through it and the main aim has been… the fight for freedom of expression in general and, specifically, the right to inform and to be informed.” His leadership extended beyond Portugal’s borders: he served as chairman of the European Publishers’ Council and headed the European Institute for the Media, advocating for media integrity and pluralism across the continent.
Tributes poured in from across Portugal and abroad following news of his death. President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa issued a heartfelt statement on October 22, 2025, declaring, “Portugal has lost… one of its most important figures of the past 60 years.” In another tribute, Prime Minister Luís Montenegro remarked, “He transformed the life of the country and brought into political decisions the principles of valuing private initiative, fundamental rights, and access to health, education, mobility, and housing as instruments of human dignity.”
The government declared two days of official mourning, with funeral rites that included a public wake at the historic Mosteiro dos Jerónimos in Lisbon—a fitting farewell to a man whose life’s work was so deeply entwined with the fabric of Portuguese society. Balsemão is survived by his second wife, Mercedes, five children, and several grandchildren.
As Portugal and the international community reflect on his legacy, it’s clear that Francisco Pinto Balsemão’s impact will endure. From the newsroom to the halls of government, his vision helped shape modern Portugal, fostering a culture of free expression and democratic resilience that continues to define the nation today.
