Vasco de Almeida e Costa

Vasco de Almeida e Costa
135th Governor of Macau
In office 16 June 1981 – 14 May 1986
President	António Ramalho Eanes Mário Soares
Prime Minister	Francisco José Pereira Pinto Balsemão Mário Alberto Nobre Lopes Soares Aníbal António Cavaco Silva
Preceded by	Nuno de Melo Egídio
Succeeded by	Joaquim Pinto Machado
Acting Prime Minister of Portugal
In office 23 June 1976 – 23 July 1976
President	Francisco da Costa Gomes António Ramalho Eanes
Preceded by	José Pinheiro de Azevedo
Succeeded by	Mário Soares
Minister of the Internal Administration
In office 19 September 1975 – 22 July 1976
Prime Minister	José Pinheiro de Azevedo
Preceded by	Alfredo Cândido de Moura
Succeeded by	Manuel da Costa Brás
Personal details
Born	(1932-07-24)24 July 1932 São Sebastião da Pedreira, Lisbon, Portugal
Died	26 July 2010(2010-07-26) (aged 78) Lisbon, Portugal
Political party	Independent
Spouse	Maria Claudiana da Costa de Faria Araújo
Chinese name
Traditional Chinese	高斯達
Simplified Chinese	高斯达
Transcriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin Gāo Sīdá Yue: Cantonese Jyutping gou1 si1 daat6

Vasco Fernando Leote de Almeida e Costa, GCIH, GCL (24 July 1932 – 26 July 2010) was a Portuguese naval officer and politician.

Biography

He served as Minister of Internal Administration during José Pinheiro de Azevedo's government, between 19 September 1975 and 23 July 1976. He also had an important role during the Portuguese decolonization period. From 23 June 1976 he became interim Prime Minister after Pinheiro de Azevedo suffered a heart attack during his presidential campaign. He remained Prime Minister of Portugal as an interim official for the rest of Pinheiro de Azevedo's mandate, when he was substituted by the democratically elected Mário Soares. He was also the 134th Governor of Macau from 16 June 1981 to 15 May 1986. His reign in the colony was marked by considerable infrastructure development. Costa's decision to dissolve the local Legislative Assembly amid intensified power struggle with the local Macanese community was a major political crisis at that time. To balance the predominant Macanese legislature, he proposed electoral reform that empowered the Chinese business community and elites. During his tenure, Costa twice threatened to pull out of Macao unilaterally amid tense debate on the year of Handover.

He was the son of Américo de Almeida e Costa and wife Julieta da Conceição Leote and married in Viana do Castelo, Meadela, at the Chapel of São Vicente, on 11 January 1959 to Maria Claudiana da Costa de Faria Araújo (b. Viana do Castelo, Meadela, House of o Ameal, 17 May 1934), one of the fourteen children of a couple of Northern Portuguese Nobility, and by whom he had issue.

He died just after his 78th birthday.