Portugal says goodbye to its ‘father of democracy’
10 years agoBig pictures of the historic socialist leader and former Portuguese President Mario Soares are displayed on a facade of the Portuguese Socialist party headquarters in Lisbon on January 8, 2017, one day after his death. Mario Soares, widely seen as the father of Portugal's modern-day democracy, was a towering figure in the country's political scene who spearheaded its entry into the European Union. Soares, the founder of Portugal's Socialist party who died on January 7, 2017 at the age of 92, spent decades in politics, serving as foreign minister, prime minister and president as well as a European lawmaker. / AFP PHOTO / PATRICIA DE MELO MOREIRA
Thousands paid their last respects Monday to Mario Soares, widely seen as the father of Portugal's modern-day democracy, as his funeral cortege wound its way across Lisbon to applause from mourners.
