Humberto Delgado

Humberto Delgado was a Portuguese Air Force general, diplomat, and politician. He became a leading figure in the opposition to the Estado Novo dictatorship, most notably when he ran in the 1958 presidential election. Despite enjoying widespread popular support, he lost due to systematic electoral fraud. Delgado was killed by agents of the PIDE secret police on 13 February 1965, near the border between Portugal and Spain.

Delgado was born in Brogueira, Torres Novas, to Joaquim Delgado and Maria do Ó Pereira, and had three younger sisters. He began his military training at the Colégio Militar in Lisbon, attending from 1916 to 1922. He took part in the 28 May 1926 coup that ended the First Republic and established the Ditadura Nacional, which later evolved into the Estado Novo. For many years, he was a loyal supporter of the regime, serving as Director of the National Secretariat of Civil Aeronautics, General-Commander of the Portuguese Legion, Deputy National Commissar of the Mocidade Portuguesa, and a Procurator in the Corporative Chamber. He became the youngest general in Portuguese history. His friend Marcelo Caetano later described Delgado as an "exalted person" who "wore his heart on his sleeve." In 1933, he published an anti-democratic book titled *Da Pulhice do 'Homo Sapiens'*, which attacked both the monarchy and the republic. In 1941, he wrote in praise of Adolf Hitler, calling him a genius and an example of human potential in politics, diplomacy, social organization, and the military. Over time, his sympathies shifted toward the Allies, and he traveled to the Azores during World War II as part of the Portuguese-British Agreement.

Delgado founded Transportes Aéreos Portugueses (TAP) on 14 March 1945, while serving as Director of the Civil Aeronautics Secretariat. That year, he purchased the airline’s first aircraft, two DC-3 Dakotas. The first commercial route, between Lisbon and Madrid, opened on 19 September 1946. On 31 December 1946, the Imperial Air Line began service between Lisbon, Luanda (in Angola), and Lourenço Marques (now Maputo, in Mozambique). This route, with twelve stopovers and a round trip lasting 15 days, was the longest in the world operated by twin-engine aircraft. Under Delgado’s supervision, the first domestic line, between Lisbon and Porto, opened in 1947, the same year a Douglas C-54 Skymaster was purchased. In 1948, TAP became a full member of IATA, and flights began to Paris and Seville. Service to London started in 1949.

In 1952, Delgado was appointed military attaché at the Portuguese Embassy in Washington and a member of the NATO Military Representatives Committee. He was promoted to general at age 47, and in 1956 the U.S. government awarded him the rank of officer of the Legion of Merit.

His time as military and aeronautic attaché in Washington pushed his ideology toward liberal democracy and inspired him to run as a democratic opposition candidate in the 1958 presidential election. According to Marshal Costa Gomes, Delgado decided to run because he was not appointed director of the NATO Defense College. He missed the appointment due to a conflict with British Admiral Sir Michael Maynard Denny, former Commander-in-Chief of the Home Fleet. Delgado repeatedly made jokes at the admiral’s expense, including pulling the hair that grew from the admiral’s ears. Denny vetoed his appointment. Costa Gomes warned Delgado that the jokes would cost him the post, but Delgado said he could not help it. Costa Gomes described Delgado as very smart but with "a screw loose," and such episodes earned him the nickname "General sem juizo" (the senseless general). Incumbent president Craveiro Lopes was forced by Prime Minister António Salazar to step down after one term, and Delgado faced arch-conservative naval minister Américo Tomás, the regime’s candidate. Delgado launched his candidacy as an independent, surprising the traditional opposition. His supporters included intellectual António Sérgio, monarchists Vieira de Almeida and Almeida Braga, and fascist Francisco Rolão Preto. The Portuguese Communist Party fiercely opposed him, labeling him a "Fascist" and "General Coca-Cola" due to his pro-American stance. Delgado campaigned vigorously despite the heavily rigged electoral system. In a 10 May 1958 interview at the Chave d'Ouro café, when asked what he would do about Salazar, Delgado replied, "Obviamente, demito-o!" ("Obviously, I'll fire him!"). This outspokenness earned him the nickname "General sem Medo" ("Fearless General").