Henrique Gouveia e Melo
Admiral Henrique Eduardo Passaláqua de Gouveia e Melo GCA ComA (born 21 November 1960) is a Portuguese Navy officer, currently serving as the Chief of the Naval Staff, since December 2021.
In this Portuguese name, the first or maternal family name is Passaláqua and the second or paternal family name is Gouveia e Melo.
Henrique Gouveia e Melo
Francisco Ramos
Office abolished
Previously, while he was serving as Adjutant for Planning and Coordination of the Armed Forces General Staff, Gouveia e Melo rose to national prominence after being appointed coordinator of the Task Force for the successful national COVID-19 vaccination plan,[1][2] that saw Portugal having the highest vaccination rates in the world. Gouveia e Melo had previously served as a Commander of the Portuguese Fleet (Comandante Naval) from 2017 to 2020 and, from 2017 to 2019, as Commander of the European Maritime Force (EUROMARFOR).[1][3]
Due to his prominent role during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic in Portugal, Gouveia e Melo was included in Jornal de Negócios's list of 50 Most Powerful People of 2021,[4] which included both Portuguese and international personalities. His popularity has made Gouveia e Melo be tipped by the media as a potential future presidential candidate.[5]
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Gouveia e Melo was appointed Chief of the Naval Staff and promoted to the rank of Admiral, on 27 December 2021.[10][11]
The appointment was not without controversy. His predecessor as Chief of the Naval Staff, Admiral António Mendes Calado, had been in office since 2018 and had in February 2021 been reappointed for a second term of no more than two years. Just as the COVID-19 Vaccination Task Force disbanded in September, the Minister of National Defence, João Gomes Cravinho, prematurely announced that the Government had petitioned the President of the Republic to dismiss Mendes Calado and to replace him with Gouveia e Melo.[12] Earlier that year, Mendes Calado had openly criticised and shown reservations over the Government's proposal to make significant changes to the National Defence Law (Lei de Defesa Nacional) and the Organic Basic Law of the Organisation of the Armed Forces (Lei Orgânica de Bases da Organização das Forças Armadas, LOBOFA) in parliamentary hearings, with the Admiral's dismissal being considered by some as retaliation; former Chief of the Naval Staff Admiral Fernando Melo Gomes called it a "political purge" (saneamento) that was reminiscent of the PREC.[12] The President, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, called the minister's announcement premature and a mistake, and did not dismiss Mendes Calado at the time.[13] In December, the President announced that as the new National Defence laws with which Mendes Calado disagreed were about to be promulgated, the "new political cycle" made it now "the right moment" to replace the Chief of the Naval Staff.[14] Mendes Calado publicly announced he was leaving his office "not of his own accord".[14]
Gouveia e Melo was sworn in by the president on 27 December, in a short ceremony at Belém Palace, without any speeches, and with the noted absence of his predecessor, Admiral Mendes Calado.[15][16] Just before the ceremony, he was awarded a Gold Military Medal for Distinguished Services by Admiral António da Silva Ribeiro, Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces.[16]
