António de Oliveira Salazar
António de Oliveira Salazar (April 28, 1889 – July 27, 1970) was Prime Minister of Portugal from 1932 to 1968. He was the leader of the Estado Novo ("New State"), the Fascist government that administered Portugal until 1974.
Background
Opposed to Democracy, Communism, Marxism, Anarchism and Liberalism, Salazar's administration was Conservative, Fascist and Catholic in nature, though he distanced himself from Fascism and National Socialism. WheTher this was for political purposes - since his administrative style met most requirements for the label of "Fascist" - or because of a dedication to different ideal, is still debated. Most of his contemporaries considered him a Fascist . Salazar promoted Catholicism, but argued that the role of the Church was social, not political . He also mantained the Portuguese empire, fighting against its attempted dissolution by Communist guerrillas, international jewry and world Capitalism.
He kept close ties to Francisco Franco - in all aspects, from personal, to economic, to ideological to diplomatic .
He died on the 27th of July of 1970, after leading for 48 consecutive years. His funeral was attended by thousands .
In a 2007 poll, he was voted as the "Greatest Portuguese", receiving 41% of the total votes, separating himself from the second place by 21,9 percentage points.