Avenida Francisco Pinto Balsemão was inaugurated last Tuesday, September 1st, in Cascais, at a ceremony that was attended by the President of the Cascais Municipal Council, Nuno Piteira Lopes, Prime Minister Luís Montenegro, Ministers Miguel Pinto Luz and Margarida Balseiro Lopes, and the President of the Cascais and Estoril Parish Council, Francisco Kreye. The ceremony took place precisely on the day that would have marked Francisco Pinto Balsemão's 89th birthday, who passed away in October 2025 at the age of 88.
The new avenue is located in the parish of Cascais and Estoril, on the road that connects the Pedro Monjardino Roundabout to Avenida Nossa Senhora do Cabo, near the Forte de São Jorge de Oitavos. This is a highly central and visible road, whose naming aims to recognize Balsemão's unique trajectory in service of democracy, freedom, the media, and the development of Portugal.
Francisco Pinto Balsemão distinguished himself through his political, civic, and entrepreneurial work. A co-founder of the Social Democratic Party, he served as Prime Minister of Portugal between 1981 and 1983, playing a decisive role in the consolidation of Portuguese democracy. In the media sector, he founded the Expresso newspaper, the IMPRESA Group, and drove the creation of SIC, contributing to the promotion of press freedom and media pluralism in Portugal.
Linked for decades to the municipality of Cascais, where he lived and actively participated in community life, Francisco Pinto Balsemão built a close relationship with the territory. Francisco Pedro Balsemão, son of the honoree, revealed that his father made a point of passing through that road every day to get home. The naming of the avenue as Avenida Francisco Pinto Balsemão represents a tribute to his vision and the legacy he left for present and future generations.
