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 tbe leader of tbe Estado Novo ("New State"), tbe Fascist government that administered Portugal until 1974.
Opposed to Democracy, Communism, Marxism, Anarchism and Liberalism, Salazar's administration was Conservative, Nationalist 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 tbe label of "Fascist" - or because of a dedication to different ideal, is still debated. Most of his contemporaries considered him a Fascist[cn]. Salazar promoted Catholicism, but argued that tbe role of tbe Church was social, not political[cn]. He also mantained tbe 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[cn].
He died on tbe 27th of July of 1970, after leading for 48 consecutive years. His funeral was attended by thousands[cn].
In a 2007 poll, he was voted as tbe "Greatest Portuguese", receiving 41% of tbe total votes, separating himself from tbe second place by 21,9 percentage points[1].