2017 in Portugal

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Centuries:	19th 20th 21st
Decades:	1990s 2000s 2010s 2020s
See also:	List of years in Portugal

Events in the year 2017 in Portugal.

Incumbents

• President: Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa
• Prime Minister: António Costa (Socialist)

Events

January to March

10 January: The state funeral for former President Mário Soares is held

• 10 January – The state funeral for former President Mário Soares is held in Lisbon three days after his death at the age of 92, with foreign dignitaries including Felipe VI of Spain, the President of Brazil Michel Temer, and former French Prime Minister Lionel Jospin in attendance.[1]
• 1 February – The Supreme Court of Justice dismisses a libel case brought by British couple Kate and Gerry McCann against former police detective Goncalo Amaral, who had accused the couple of being responsible for the disappearance of their daughter Madeleine in Praia da Luz in 2007.[2]
• 16 February:
  • Government prosecutors announce that they have filed charges of bribery and corruption against Manuel Vicente, the Vice President of Angola, who is accused of paying $810,000 to a former Portuguese state prosecutor to end earlier investigations of corruption.[3]
  • Data from the Instituto Nacional de Estatística reveals that tourist numbers to Portugal grew for the sixth successive year in 2016, rising to just under 11 million.[4]
• 9 March – Finance Minister Mário Centeno announces plans to create a new independent financial oversight body to supervise the rescue of struggling banks, a power that currently resides with the central Banco de Portugal. The move comes after criticism directed at the Banco de Portugal for failing to predict the failure of Banco Espirito Santo in 2014 and Banif in 2015, among others.[5]
• 29 March – Madeira International Airport is renamed after football player Cristiano Ronaldo in a ceremony attended by President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa and Prime Minister António Costa.[6]
• 31 March – The Banco de Portugal announces the sale of a 75% controlling stake in Novo Banco to American investment company Lone Star Funds.[7]

April to June

13 May: Pope Francis canonises Francisco and Jacinta Marto in Fátima

• 4 April – An explosion at a fireworks factory in the village of Avoes in the Viseu District kills six people.[8]
• 17 April – Five people are killed and four are injured when an Piper PA-31 Navajo aircraft crashes outside a Lidl supermarket in Tires near Lisbon.[9]
• 13 May:
  • Pope Francis canonises Francisco and Jacinta Marto in a ceremony held at the Sanctuary of Fátima on the centenary of the pair's reported visions of the Virgin Mary.[10]
  • Benfica secure a fourth consecutive Primeira Liga title with a 5–0 victory over Vitoria Guimaraes, the club's 36th top-flight championship.[11]
  • Salvador Sobral is voted the winner of the 2017 Eurovision Song Contest with the song "Amar Pelos Dois", securing Portugal's first victory in the competition.[12]
• 21 May – France's Sebastian Ogier wins the 2017 Rally de Portugal.[13]
• 17 June – A series of wildfires break out across Pedrógão Grande and neighbouring municipalities in central Portugal, killing 64 people and destroying more than 30,000 hectares of forest.[14] Three days of official mourning are declared on 18 June, which sees hundreds of firefighters tackling 156 separate fires,[15] the two largest of which are brought under control over 22–23 June.[14] The outbreak marks the country's deadliest spate of wild fires since 1966.[16]
• 28 June – A theft of weapons at a military base in Tancos, approximately 100 kilometres (62 mi) northeast of Lisbon, is discovered. Five military commanders are provisionally suspended and President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa orders a full inquiry into the incident. In the days following the discovery the Spanish newspaper El Espaňol obtains and publishes a list of the weapons stolen, which includes gun ammunition, hand and anti-tank grenades, and plastic explosives.[17]

July to September

• 2 August – Two sunbathers are killed when a Cessna light aircraft is forced to make an emergency landing on a crowded beach in Caparica. The two occupants of the plane, a student pilot and a flying instructor, escape unharmed.[18]
• 15 August – Thirteen people are killed and 49 are injured after a tree falls on attendants of a religious festival near the Madeiran capital of Funchal.[19]
• 16 August – The National Emergency and Civil Protection Authority reveals that to date 141,000 hectares (540 sq mi) of land has been destroyed by wildfires in 2017, with firefighters attending more than 10,000 fires, a rise of 25% compared to 2016.[20]
• 17 August – Wildfires surround and cut off access to the town of Mação in central Portugal, prompting the evacuation of approximately 130 people from neighbouring settlements.[20]

October to December

• 1 October – Local elections: The Socialist Party wins the highest number of municipalities and the greatest share of the vote ahead of the Social Democratic Party, which suffers its poorest ever performance in a local election. Prime Minister António Costa hails the result as a "historic victory" for the Socialist Party, while Pedro Passos Coelho announces he will re-evaluate his position as Social Democratic leader in the new year.[21]
• 3 October – Following a meeting of the Social Democratic Party in the aftermath of the local elections, Pedro Passos Coelho states that he will relinquish his role as party leader once the party selects his successor in December.[22]
• 11 October – Former Prime Minister José Sócrates is formally charged by state prosecutors on counts of corruption, money laundering, document forgery, and tax fraud committed between 2006 and 2015.[23]
• 19 October – Interior Minister Constanca Urbano de Sousa resigns from her position after criticism mounts over the government's response to this year's wildfires, which to date have killed more than 100 people. She is replaced in her role by the deputy Prime Minister Eduardo Cabrita.[24]
• 7 November – The Directorate-General of Health confirms that an outbreak of Legionnaires' disease at the São Francisco Xavier hospital in Lisbon has killed two of 34 infected patients.[25]
• 30 November – The government is accused of censorship by the University of Coimbra's Xavier Viegas, an author of an official report into the June wildfires, after restricting 96 pages of the finished document solely to members of the victims' families.[26]
• 4 December – Finance Minister Mário Centeno is elected as the next President of the Eurogroup. He is scheduled to take office in January 2018.[27]

Deaths

January to June

Mário Soares in 1975

Belmiro de Azevedo

• 1 January – Cláudio Panta Nunes, musician (b. 1984)
• 2 January – Jacinto Durães, actor (b. 1972)
• 3 January – Augusto Mascarenhas Barreto, historian and poet (b. 1923)
• 7 January – Mário Soares, President of Portugal (1986–1996) (b. 1924).[28]
• 20 February – José Fernandes Fafe, diplomat and writer (b. 1927).[29]
• 15 April – Alberto Carneiro, sculptor (b. 1937).[30]
• 9 May – Armando Baptista-Bastos, author and journalist (b. 1934).[31]
• 25 June – José Manuel Mourinho Félix, football player and manager (b. 1938).[32]

July to December

• 3 July – Henrique Medina Carreira, jurist and politician, Minister of Finance (1976–1978).[33]
• 13 July – Américo Amorim, businessman (b. 1934).[34]
• 5 October – António de Macedo, filmmaker and writer (b. 1931).[35]
• 7 November – João Hall Themido, diplomat, Ambassador to the United States (1971–1981).[36]
• 24 November – Clotilde Rosa, harpist, composer, and music educator (b. 1930).[37]
• 29 November – Belmiro de Azevedo, businessman (b. 1938).[38]

See also

• List of Portuguese films of 2017

References

1. "Foreign dignitaries attend funeral of former Portugal leader". Associated Press. 10 January 2017. Retrieved 11 July 2020.
2. "Madeleine McCann's parents lose libel case appeal in Portugal". The Guardian. Guardian Media Group. Press Association. 1 February 2017. Retrieved 12 July 2020.
3. "Angola VP Manuel Vicente 'to face Portugal corruption charges'". BBC News. British Broadcasting Corporation. 16 February 2017. Retrieved 10 July 2020.
4. Khalip, Andrei (16 February 2017). Ken Ferris (ed.). "Portugal tourist arrivals hit sixth straight record in 2016". Reuters. Retrieved 10 July 2020.
5. Goncalves, Sergio; Bugge, Axel (9 March 2017). Mark Trevelyan (ed.). "Portugal to create new regulator for financial stability". Reuters. Retrieved 13 July 2020.
6. "Fasten your seatbelts: Cristiano Ronaldo Airport is here". Associated Press. 29 March 2017. Retrieved 14 July 2020.
7. Bray, Chad (31 March 2017). "Lone Star to Buy Controlling Stake in Portugal's Novo Banco". The New York Times. Retrieved 12 July 2020.
8. Bugge, Axel (4 April 2017). Stephen Powell (ed.). "Six dead in Portugal fireworks explosions". Reuters. Retrieved 14 July 2020.
9. "Five dead after plane crash near to Lidl supermarket in Portugal". ITV News. 17 April 2017. Retrieved 19 July 2020.
10. "Pope Francis canonises two children at Portugal's Fatima shrine". BBC News. British Broadcasting Corporation. 13 May 2017. Retrieved 17 July 2020.
11. "Benfica wins 4th straight Portuguese league title". Associated Press. 13 May 2017. Retrieved 17 July 2020.
12. Shea, Christopher (13 May 2017). "A Portuguese Ballad Earns Country's First Eurovision Victory". The New York Times. Retrieved 20 July 2020.
13. Beer, Matt; Cozens, Jack (21 May 2017). "WRC Rally of Portugal: Ogier takes comfortable second win of season". Autosport. Retrieved 19 July 2020.
14. Jones, Sam (22 June 2017). "Portugal forest fires under control after more than 60 deaths". The Guardian. Guardian Media Group. Retrieved 28 July 2020.
15. "Portugal forest fires: Three days of mourning for 62 victims". BBC News. British Broadcasting Corporation. 18 June 2017. Retrieved 28 July 2020.
16. Badcock, James (19 June 2017). "Portugal declares three days of mourning as at least 61 killed in forest fire". The Telegraph. Telegraph Media Group. Retrieved 28 July 2020.
17. Jones, Sam (3 July 2017). "Grenades and plastic explosives stolen from Portuguese arsenal". The Guardian. Guardian Media Group. Retrieved 13 October 2018.
18. Connett, David (2 August 2017). "Two sunbathers killed as plane lands on beach in Portugal". The Guardian. Guardian Media Group. Retrieved 21 July 2020.
19. Minder, Raphael; Stevens, Matt (15 August 2017). "Oak Tree Falls in Portugal During Ceremony, Killing 13". The New York Times. Retrieved 23 July 2020.
20. "Wildfires trap 2,000 people in town in central Portugal". The Guardian. Guardian Media Group. Agence France-Presse. 17 August 2017. Retrieved 3 July 2020.
21. Wise, Peter (2 October 2017). "Portugal's Socialists secure victory in local elections". Financial Times. Retrieved 25 July 2020.
22. Ames, Paul (4 October 2017). "Portugal's opposition leader steps down after election defeat". Politico. Retrieved 29 July 2020.
23. Khalip, Andrei (11 October 2017). Mark Heinrich; Robin Pomeroy (eds.). "Portuguese ex-PM Socrates indicted on corruption charges". Reuters. Retrieved 23 July 2020.
24. "Portugal: interior minister resigns after wildfires kill 100". The Guardian. Guardian Media Group. Press Association. 19 October 2017. Retrieved 28 July 2020.
25. Khalip, Andrei (7 November 2017). Gareth Jones (ed.). "Legionnaires' disease in Lisbon hospital kills two, 32 infected". Reuters. Retrieved 30 July 2020.
26. Morgan, Martin (30 November 2017). "Portugal fire report in 'censorship' row". BBC News. British Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 30 July 2020.
27. Smith-Meyer, Bjarke (4 December 2017). "Eurogroup's next leader will be Portugal's Mário Centeno". Politico. Retrieved 29 July 2020.
28. Hooper, John (8 January 2017). "Mário Soares obituary". The Guardian. Guardian Media Group. Retrieved 11 July 2020.
29. Goucha Soares, Manuela (20 February 2017). "Morreu o embaixador José Fernandes Fafe". Expresso (in Portuguese). Retrieved 24 July 2020.
30. "Morreu o escultor Alberto Carneiro". Diário de Noticias (in Portuguese). Lusa News Agency. 15 April 2017. Retrieved 24 July 2020.
31. Ribeiro, Nuno (9 May 2017). "Morreu Baptista-Bastos. Estava a escrever as suas memórias". Publico (in Portuguese). Retrieved 23 July 2020.
32. Carotenuto, Gianni (26 June 2017). "Lutto per Josè Mourinho: è morto a 79 anni papà Felix". Il Giornale (in Italian). Retrieved 23 July 2020.
33. Kosters, André (3 July 2017). "Morreu Medina Carreira, o incómodo "pessimista"". Observador (in Portuguese). Lusa News Agency. Retrieved 25 July 2020.
34. Ferreira, Cristina; Torres, Hugo; Carvalho Silva, Claudia; Louro, Manuel (13 July 2017). "Morreu o empresário Américo Amorim". Publico (in Portuguese). Retrieved 25 July 2020.
35. Mourinha, Jorga (5 October 2017). "António de Macedo (1931-2017): morreu o realizador de todas as surpresas". Publico (in Portuguese). Retrieved 27 July 2020.
36. "Morreu João Hall Themido, ex-embaixador de Portugal nos EUA". Sapo (in Portuguese). Lusa News Agency. 8 November 2017. Retrieved 31 July 2020.
37. "Morreu a compositora Clotilde Rosa, pioneira da expressão contemporânea em Portugal". Diário de Noticias (in Portuguese). Lusa News Agency. 24 November 2017. Retrieved 31 July 2020.
38. Campos, Anabela (29 November 2017). "Morreu Belmiro de Azevedo". Expresso (in Portuguese). Retrieved 31 July 2020.