Jorge Sampaio

Nota sobre o falecimento do Presidente Jorge Sampaio

É com o mais profundo pesar que o gabinete do Presidente Jorge Sampaio tomou conhecimento do seu falecimento em Lisboa, a 10 de Setembro de 2021, com 81 anos de idade. Faleceu no Hospital de Santa Cruz onde tinha sido internado devido a problemas respiratórios que se agravaram devido a condições clínicas subjacentes.

O Gabinete apresenta sentidas condolências à família e a todos os seus inúmeros amigos, em Portugal e pelo mundo fora.

Statement on the Passing of President Jorge Sampaio, Lisbon, Portugal

It is with great sadness that the Office of President Jorge Sampaio learned of his passing on September, 10th, 2021 in Lisbon at the age of 81. He was admitted to hospital after feeling unwell and has been treated for a respiratory problem that worsened because of his underlying health condition.

We are mourning the loss of a wonderful person, a great personality, a role model and a most inspiring leader who devoted his life to public service. For so many he was a light in this world and now we need to continue shining his light by carrying it within us in our lives.

His office extends its deepest condolences to his family and to his innumerous friends in Portugal and from all around the world.

BIOGRAPHICAL NOTES

Born in 1939, Jorge Sampaio graduated in Law at Lisbon University in 1961. As elected head of the Students’ Union of the Lisbon Law Faculty, he became a leader in the struggle for the restoration of democracy in Portugal, which was eventually achieved through the Carnation Revolution (1974) and the establishment of a liberal democratic constitutional regime in 1976. In the 1960s and early 1970s Jorge Sampaio took numerous cases to the political courts of the dictatorship, defending political prisoners and exposing the abuses of the political police. He defended, on a pro bono basis, several victims of state repression. He also defended human rights as a member of the European Human Rights Commission of the Council of Europe from 1979 to 1984. 

From 1976 onwards, Jorge Sampaio became a consistent supporter of the consolidation of Portuguese democracy: as a Member of Parliament; as Speaker of the LabourParty (Partido Socialista); as Deputy Minister for External Co-operation; as Mayor of Lisbon from 1989 to 1995, and, from 1996 to 2006, as President of the Republic. 

As the UN Secretary General’s first Special Envoy to Stop Tuberculosis from 2006 to 2012, nominated by Kofi Annan and then by Ban ki Moon ,Jorge Sampaio has raised the international visibility of this poverty disease’s scale and its impact on the Millennium Development Goals’ agenda. As the UN High Representative for the Alliance of Civilizations from 2007 to 2013, appointed by then Secretary General Ban ki Moon, he set up an important UN Forum for dialogue and cooperation against hatred and violence and promoted common action at local, national and regional levels to meet the challenges of cultural diversity across the globe as a key driver for peace. 

Most recently he has been involved in two main international fields of action: as a member of the Global Commission on Drugs Policy he has been advocating a major reform on drug policy; he has also launched the Global Platform for Syrian Students, a multi-stakeholders initiative aimed at providing emergency scholarships to Syrian students that allow them to resume their university studies. In 2020 the Global Platform reframed its mission statement and enlarged its scope of action thus becoming the Global Platform for Higher Education in Emergencies. As Chairman of the Global Platform, he has been advocating the international community to step up higher education opportunities in emergencies and crisis situations as well as to set up a Rapid Response Mechanism for Higher Education in Emergencies in order to provide higher education opportunities for refugees and students at risk or in forced displacement in a sustainable and systemic way.

Jorge Sampaio was a member of the Clinton Global Initiative, the Club of Madrid and of the Global Commission on Drugs Policy. He was also a member of the Board of Trustees of the Carnegie Corporation of New York. He chaired the jury of  the Calouste Gulbenkian International Prize. 

Jorge Sampaio holds several Portuguese and Foreign Honors. In 2015, he was awarded together with Dr. H. Ndume, of Namibia, the United Nations Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela Prize for dedicating his life to the service of humanity by promoting the purposes and principles of the United Nations while honoring and paying homage to Nelson Mandela’s extraordinary life and legacy of reconciliation, political transition, and social transformation.

Jorge Sampaio passed away on 10^th  September 2021 in Lisbon at the age of 81 years.

Gabinete de Jorge Sampaio

Casa do Regalo

Tapada das Necessidades

1350-213 LISBOA-PORTUGAL

 Nota à imprensa

 Lisboa, 13 de Setembro de 2010

 Este gabinete tem o prazer de informar que o Presidente Jorge Sampaio se encontra bem de saúde, tendo recuperado inteiramente de uma indisposição.

 Ontem, domingo dia 12 de Setembro, na sequência de uma baixa de tensão, acompanhada de tonturas, o Presidente Sampaio foi assistido no Hospital de S. José, tendo regressado a casa no próprio dia.

 Encontra-se agora em repouso e deverá retomar a sua agenda habitual nos próximos dias.

 Lisboa, 13 de Setembro de 2010

NAIROBI, December 1 2009: Kenya, Ethiopia, Uganda

MEDIA RELEASE

UN SPECIAL ENVOY VISITING AFRICA, CHALLENGING COUNTRIES TO TACKLE TUBERCULOSIS

December 1, 2009 – Nairobi, Kenya – The United Nations Secretary General’s Special Envoy to Stop Tuberculosis (TB) is visiting two African countries in a bold initiative to fight the spread of one of the biggest killer diseases on the continent. The mission is organized by the Stop TB Partnership in close collaboration with UNAIDS.

Dr. Sampaio, who is also a former President of Portugal, is asking key stakeholders including governments to take an active role in helping people in need to gain access to accurate TB diagnosis and effective treatment. The five-day official visit in the region will see Dr. Sampaio visit Ethiopia and Kenya.

TB is a major health issue in Africa and kills nearly two million people every year around the world–even though it can be cured with a six-month course of drugs that costs only US$ 20.

Dr Sampaio has reiterated his request to Ministers of Health in Africa to set ambitious national targets and mobilize the funding necessary to reduce the number of people living with HIV who die unnecessarily of TB. He made the initial request at a Special Ministerial Session on TB in Kigali, Rwanda two months ago.

Dr Sampaio’s visit to Kenya coincides with World AIDS Day, which is marked annually on December 1 across the globe. In Nairobi, an educational workshop for school children will focus on various aspects of the disease including its prevention and treatment. Mr Wilfried Lemke, the UN Secretary-General’s Special Adviser on Sports, Development, and Peace will also be on hand and join Dr Sampaio at a football tournament for boys and girls aged 12 to 14.

The tournament, which will be held at Mathare Depot field and feature 24 seven-a-side teams, is aimed at creating more awareness about TB through sports. The initiative has been organized in partnership with the Government of Kenya, through the Ministry of Health, Mathare Youth Sports Association and Vijana Amani Pamoja. Alive and Kicking and Street Football World are among other organizations engaged in the event.

The Stop TB Partnership will distribute an educational comic book featuring the international Portuguese football star and Stop TB Ambassador Luìs Figo as the main character. The comic book–which targets children and young adults with key information on tuberculosis–will be distributed to children and the media at the football event. Figo was the 2000 European Footballer of the Year and 2001 FIFA World Player of the Year.

Dr. Sampaio’s visit will provide a follow up to the implementation of his Commitment with the Clinton Global Initiative, which is aimed at increasing the engagement of global leaders in the fight against TB/HIV. Dr. Sampaio is also expected to ask National AIDS Councils to systematically integrate TB in their programmes as one of the objectives of his visit.

Dr. Sampaio’s visit will also help support the establishment of an African Leaders Tuberculosis Alliance with the main goal of fostering collaboration among African countries to build up common strategies to avoid an epidemic of drug-resistant tuberculosis.

In Africa, TB is the leading killer of people living with HIV and this visit comes nearly four months before the World TB Day which is held each year on 24 March. There are nearly nine million new cases of TB worldwide.

…ENDS…

BACKGROUND

The Stop TB Partnership, which is hosted by the World Health Organization. Stop TB consists of more than 900 international organizations, countries, donors from the public and private sectors, and non-governmental and governmental organizations working together to eliminate TB.

The Partnership’s Global Plan to Stop TB (2006-2015) sets forth a roadmap for treating 50 million people for TB and enrolling 3 million patients who have both TB and HIV on antiretroviral therapy over the next 10 years, saving about 14 million lives. It aims to halve TB prevalence and deaths compared with 1990 levels by 2015.

In September 2008, Dr Jorge Sampaio, spoke at the 2008 Annual Meeting of the Clinton Global Initiative and urged participants to intensify their commitment to collaborative action on HIV and TB. Dr Sampaio formally endorsed a Commitment with the Clinton Global Initiative to aim at increasing engagement of global leaders in supporting the coordination of TB and HIV services and ensure that their Ministries of Health implement nationwide programmatic scale up and capacity building for these combined services.

In order to implement the Commitment on TB/HIV, Dr Sampaio asked the Regional Director of the WHO Regional Office for Africa to include a special ministerial discussion on tuberculosis at the 59th Regional Committee with the aim of assessing progress in the implementation of the Maputo Declaration and agreeing on the next priority steps to advance the fight against TB and TB/HIV in the Region.

The Special Session was held on 3 September 2009 in Kigali, Rwanda, and introduced by the Chair, the Hon. Minister of Health of the U.R. of Tanzania. Key note speeches were delivered by the Regional Director of the WHO Regional Office for Africa and Dr Sampaio himself.

Dr Sampaio inspired the audience with a powerful address highlighting the economic, social and personal burden of TB in the continent, the threat of MDR-TB in settings of high HIV prevalence and the engagement of African leaders needed to make concrete progress. He also focused on the special impact of in women.

Dr Sampaio made four requests to the attending Ministers of Health:
1. Set ambitious national targets and mobilize the funding necessary to reduce the number of people living with HIV who die unnecessarily of TB;
2. Mobilize HIV-affected communities, broader civil society and the private sector for a response to tuberculosis; and educate and empower them to become active partners in the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of TB.
3. Support the establishment of an African Leaders Tuberculosis Alliance with the main goal of fostering collaboration among African countries to build up common strategies to avoid an epidemic of drug-resistant tuberculosis.
4. Target action to deliver world-class TB services through strengthened primary services.

The meeting was attended by delegations of all the 43 Member States of the WHO African Region. Ministers or representatives of Malawi, Benin and South Africa shared with participants the challenges they are confronted in their countries to tackle TB and TB-HIV epidemics, underlining progress and shortcomings as well main difficulties they face.

For further information, please contact:

David Kimondo
Account Manager
Hill & Knowlton
Tel. +254 445 4461-8
Email: ek.oc.notlwonkdnallihnull@odnomiK.divaD

Gabinete de Jorge Sampaio
Alto Representante das Nações Unidas para a Aliança das Civilizações
Casa do Regalo
Tapada das Necessidades
1350-213 Lisboa

NOTA À IMPRENSA

Segundo Forum da Aliança das Civilizações,
Istambul, 6-7 de Abril de 2009

O Segundo Forum da Aliança das Civilizações terá lugar em Istambul, a 6 e 7 de Abril de 2009, e será aberto à comunicação social.
Contará com a participação do Primeiro-Ministro turco, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, o Presidente do Governo de Espanha, José Luis Zapatero, o Secretário-Geral das Nações Unidas, Ban Ki moon, bem como de representantes do Grupo de Amigos da Aliança das Civilizações – uma comunidade composta por cerca de uma centena de países e organizações internacionais e regionais -, de organizações da sociedade civil, empresas e fundações.
Nas palavras do Secretário-Geral das Nações Unidas, “o próximo Forum da Aliança visa promover a compreensão mútua e um melhor conhecimento inter-cultural e inter-religioso, contribuindo assim para o reforço da cooperação e da harmonia na comunidade internacional”.

O Secretário-Geral sublinhou também que a participação do Presidente Barack Obama, emprestará a este Forum um significado muito especial, tratando-se da primeira vez que os Estados Unidos estarão presentes na Aliança das Civilizações.
Anexa-se comunicado à imprensa sobre o Forum. Sobre o programa e processo de acreditações, por favor consultar o site http://www.aocistanbul.org/. Para mais informações, por favor contacte Helena Barroco tp.obactennull@ocorrabh; tel 21 3931440 ou 91-7776309)

Lisboa, 13 de Março de 2009

Gabinete do Dr. Jorge Sampaio
Nota à imprensa
29 de Janeiro de 2009

Atendendo ao elevado número de questões que têm chegado a este Gabinete relacionados com a promulgação dos Decreto-Lei 140/2002 e 141/2002, a 2 de Maio de 2002, pelo Dr. Jorge Sampaio, então Presidente da República, esclarecem-se a seguir os pontos que mais dúvidas têm suscitado:

1. Governos de gestão e governos em fase de transição
Há uma questão normalmente confundida e que deve ser esclarecida. Uma coisa é um governo de gestão, situação em que o Governo fica após a sua demissão, com competências de alguma forma diminuídas. Outra coisa é um Governo no termo do seu mandato que, já após a realização de eleições, pode estar na plenitude das funções, mas que só as exerce até à nomeação e posse do novo Governo.

2. Questão dos limites de um governo de gestão
A questão das competências dos governos de gestão é matéria de grande controvérsia dado que a interpretação da norma constitucional não é unívoca nem de resultados seguros.
No período em causa, em Janeiro de 2002, fui chamado a promulgar um diploma sobre designação das direcções técnicas dos hospitais que me merecia as maiores dúvidas no que respeita à observância dos limites constitucionais que incidem especificamente sobre os governos de gestão. Tratando-se de matéria de constitucionalidade, pedi naturalmente ao Tribunal Constitucional a respectiva fiscalização, não apenas para me permitir uma decisão fundamentada sobre aquele diploma, mas também, como disse expressamente no requerimento que fiz ao Tribunal Constitucional, para firmar jurisprudência aplicável a todas as situações análogas, ou seja, competências dos governos de gestão. O Tribunal Constitucional pronunciou-se pela não inconstitucionalidade em Março de 2002 e estabelecendo um critério que, em termos práticos, deixa a decisão sobre a matéria quase integralmente nas mãos do Governo. Independentemente da opinião pessoal sobre a posição do Tribunal Constitucional, não deixei, como devia, de a seguir.

3. Questão dos limites da promulgação de diplomas de um Governo que vai ser substituído a curto prazo por um novo Governo.
Relativamente às competências legislativas dos governos em fase de transição (estivessem ou não em gestão, porque um Governo pode estar prestes a ser substituído e manter-se constitucionalmente na plenitude das funções), o Dr. Jorge Sampaio adoptou um padrão uniforme de actuação durante os seus dois mandatos: sempre que um diploma aprovado ainda pelo governo em funções pudesse de algum modo condicionar ou criar obstáculos ao novo Governo, ele só era promulgado se os responsáveis do novo Governo não manifestassem a propósito quaisquer reservas ou objecções.

4. Caso dos Decretos-Lei n.º 140/2002 e n.º 141/2002
Como aconteceu em todas as situações análogas, os decretos-lei 140/2002 e 141/2002 só foram promulgados, já em 2 Maio de 2002, após os responsáveis do novo Governo prestes a entrar em funções, ao terem sido chamados a pronunciar-se, não terem manifestado quaisquer reservas ou objecções ao diploma.
É bom esclarecer ainda que a promulgação destes diplomas nada tem a ver com processos de licenciamento. Estes são actos administrativos, da competência exclusiva do Governo e relativamente aos quais o Presidente da República não é chamado a promulgar ou assinar.

Gabinete do Dr. Jorge Sampaio
Lisboa, 29 de Janeiro de 2009