'Father of Portuguese democracy', Mário Soares is in 'critical condition'.
The health of former Portuguese President Mário Soares suddenly worsened on Saturday afternoon (24), a spokesman for the Red Cross hospital in Lisbon told AFP; the 92-year-old former socialist president returned to the hospital on Saturday after being discharged on Friday (23), when he completed a 10-day hospitalization period; "His condition is now critical," added spokesman José Barata; commonly described as the "father of Portuguese democracy," Mário Soares was one of the founders of the Socialist Party, Minister of Foreign Affairs, twice Prime Minister, President of the Republic and Member of the European Parliament.
Da Radio France International - The health condition of former Portuguese president Mário Soares suddenly worsened on Saturday afternoon (24), a spokesperson for the Red Cross hospital in Lisbon told AFP.
The former socialist president, aged 92, returned to the hospital this Saturday after being discharged on Friday (23), when he completed a 10-day period of hospitalization. "His condition is now critical," added spokesman José Barata, without, however, clarifying the cause of Mário Soares' hospitalization.
The current president of the republic, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, cancelled his schedule for this Saturday to visit Mário Soares in the hospital, where his family is already located.
The former president was initially hospitalized on December 13th due to a general worsening of his health condition, and was admitted to the Intensive Care Unit.
According to his family and friends, Soares never fully recovered from encephalitis suffered in 2013 and the death of his wife in 2015.
Glorious past
Commonly described as the "father of Portuguese democracy," Mário Soares contributed significantly to the establishment of democracy and Portugal's integration into the European Union.
At the forefront of the Portuguese political scene, Soares was one of the founders of the Socialist Party, Minister of Foreign Affairs, twice Prime Minister, President of the Republic, and Member of the European Parliament.