Francisco José Pereira Pinto Balsemão

          

Francisco José Pereira Pinto Balsemão

1 September 1937 – 21 October 2025

Honorary Member of the Royal British Club

Francisco Pinto Balsemão was a Portuguese businessman, journalist, and politician, who served as Prime Minister from 1981 to 1983.

He was a Member of Parliament before the revolution (1969–1973), and helped to found the Social Democratic Party (PSD), of which he was member number 1.

His early career was as a journalist and he founded the Expresso magazine in 1973 and continued to direct it until 1980. He was Chief Executive Officer of the Impresa media group and Chair of the European Publishers’ Council. He was also the founder, in October 1992, of the Sociedade Independente de Comunicação (SIC), the first Portuguese private television network.

The Royal British Club extends sincere condolences to his wife, Maria Mercedes Aliu Presas and to his five children at this sad time.

May he rest in peace.