Former Macau governor Carlos Montez Melancia passed away at the age of 95 in Lisbon on Sunday, public broadcaster TDM reported yesterday.
Melancia was governor of Macau – then still a territory under temporary Portuguese administration – between 1987 and 1990 when he resigned over corruption allegations which he steadfastly denied. He was acquitted of the bribe-taking charges in Portugal in 2002.
Before his posting to Macau, Melancia, an engineer by profession, was a minister in two Portuguese governments, successively holding the portfolios of industry and technology, public facilities, and maritime affairs. He was a member of parliament for the centre-left Socialist Party (PS) between 1985 and 1987.
Initial plans for Macau’s airport project were drafted during Melancia’s governorship.
Following the anti-colonialist Carnation Revolution in Lisbon in April 1974, Macau’s governors were appointed by and answerable to Portugal’s president. In 1974, Portugal unilaterally relinquished its claims of sovereignty over Macau, which became a “territory under Portuguese administration”, according to Portugal’s amended Constitution.
Undated file photo of former Macau governor Carlos Melancia talking to the media – Photo courtesy of RTP Arquivos
