THE SECRETARY GENERAL
LA SECRÉTAIRE GÉNÉRALE
075 CIR 20 E
29 March 2020
TO SECRETARIES OF DELEGATION FOR DISTRIBUTION TO ALL MEMBERS
Dear Member,
I am profoundly saddened to inform you that former NATO PA Vice-President Julio Miranda
Calha of Portugal passed away on Saturday 28 March 2020 after suffering a stroke.
In 1975, at just 28 years old, Julio was one of the members of the constituent assembly elected
following the Carnation Revolution. He was re-elected to parliament for the next 44 years.
A deeply committed Atlanticist, Julio was a leading and highly respected voice on defence
matters in Portugal, where he served as Secretary of State for Defence in 2000-2001, as well
as Vice-Chairman and later Chairman of the National Defence Committee. He was also Vice-
President of the Portuguese Parliament during the 12
th
legislature in 2011-2015. For his
contribution to the consolidation
of Portugal’s democracy and leadership role in the field of
defence, he was awarded the Grand Cross of the Order of Merit and the National Defence
medal and was made Grand Officer of the Order of the Infant.
Julio’s
contribution to the NATO PA is equally impressive and notable. He first joined the
Assembly in 1991 and quickly took on an active and prominent role in the
NATO PA’s
post-
Cold War transformation. He served in a plethora of leadership positions in the Assembly on
the Economics and Security, Defence and Security, and Political Committees. Among the
many leadership positions to which he was elected, he chaired the Defence and Security
Committee and served as the General Rapporteur of the Political Committee. As an active
participant in the Mediterranean and Middle East Special Group, he was a consistent leader
in focusing
the Assembly’s
attention on the Mediterranean region and on Africa.
Julio was elected Vice-President of the Assembly in 2011 and re-elected in 2012.
His colleagues and friends in the Assembly valued and respected Julio’s outstanding political
skills, vision, experience, and expertise as well as his clever sense of humour and gift for easily
making personal connections.
Julio retired from Parliament in 2019. His last NATO PA session was in London in October
2019, where he addressed his colleagues with a moving farewell to the Assembly. He
remained dedicated to the cause of NATO and transatlantic relations in his work as Chairman
of the Portuguese Atlantic Committee.
The Assembly is indebted to Julio for the many contributions that he made to its work.
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