Dionysus Sousa was “one of the striking figures” of Azorean socialism

O secretary-General of the PS today expressed “deep regret” for the death of Dionysius Sousa, former president of the parliament of the Azores and “one of the outstanding figures in the history of Azorean socialism and the construction of democratic autonomy” of the region.

“Professor, a man of culture and politician of recognized civic intervention, Dionysius de Sousa dedicated much of his life to public service and to affirming the values of democracy and autonomy,” wrote José Luís Carneiro in a note published on the party’s Facebook social network page.

Dionysio Mendes de Sousa, native to the parish of Vila de São Sebastião, in the municipality of Angra do Heroísmo, on Terceira Island, died on Thursday, at the age of 86.

The socialist leader recalls that Dionisio Sousa was a member of the Legislative Assembly of the Azores between 1980 and 2004, he presided over the parliamentary group of the Socialist Party between 1982 and 1992 and between 1996 and 1998 he served as president of the Regional Legislative Assembly, “in the wake of the historic political change in the Azores in 1996”.

He also had prominent responsibilities in the Socialist Party and chaired the PS/Azores.

Its path is “indissociably linked to a period determining the affirmation and consolidation of autonomous institutions and Azorean parliamentary democracy”, he says.

Dionisio Sousa “was one of the protagonists of a generation that, with a sense of responsibility and determination, contributed to transform the political life of the region and deepen its autonomy”.

“ Cultivated man, of free thought and assertive word, to which allied a sense of humor very own, also left an important intellectual and civic contribution, through his reflection and published work on the autonomy and evolution of the political and constitutional order of the Azores ", noted.

According to the national leader of the PS, his speech, his thinking and his legacy “will remain in the memory of the Socialist Party and of all those who recognize the value of those who dedicated their lives to the public cause and the construction of a more autonomous and democratic region”.

Dionysius Sousa graduated in philosophy and was a secondary school teacher.

It was also highlighted by the publication of articles in newspapers and works dedicated to the history and evolution of autonomy.

In 2014, he published “Axis sobre a Autonomia” and, in 2017, “Autonomia – 40 Years: Omens and Perspectives”, which he wrote with the former presidents of the Legislative Assembly Álvaro Monjardino and José Guilherme Reis Leite.

He received the Grand Cross of the Order of Infante D. Henrique in 2001 and the Autonomic Insignia of Valor in 2006.

The president of the Regional Government of the Azores, José Manuel Bolieiro, today decreed three days of regional mourning, to be fulfilled between today and Sunday, for the death of Dionysius Sousa.

The order of José Manuel Bolieiro, published in the Official Journal, states that in these three days “the flag of the Autonomous Region of the Azores must be placed at half a rod in all regional public services and in the companies of the public sector and regional business”.