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#CARD:Portugal:Background Notes
US DEPARTMENT OF STATE BACKGROUND NOTES:  PORTUGAL

May 1990
Official Name: Republic of Portugal

PROFILE
Geography
Area: 94,276 sq. km. (36,390 sq. mi.), including the Azores and Madeira
Islands; about the size of Indiana. Cities: Capital-Lisbon (pop. 2.1
million in the metropolitan district). Other city-Oporto (1.7  million
in metropolitan district). Terrain:  Mountainous in the north; rolling
in central south. Climate:  Maritime temperate.

People
Nationality:  Noun and adjective-Portuguese (sing. and pl.)  Population
(1989):  10.3 million. Annual growth rate (1989): 3%. Ethnic groups:
Homogeneous Mediterranean stock with small black African minority.
Religion:  Roman Catholic  97%.  Language:  Portuguese.  Education:
Years compulsory- 6.  Attendance-60%..  Literacy  (1985)-83.3%.  Health:
 Infant mortality rate (1987)-14.2/1,000. Life expectancy  (1985)-73
yrs. Work force (4.7 million, 1989):  Agriculture-19%.  Industry-35%.
Government,  commerce, and services-46%.

Government
Type:  Parliamentary democracy.
Constitution:  Entered into effect April 25, 1976; revised October 30,
1982 and June 1, 1989.
Branches:  Executive-president (chief of state), Council of State
(presidential advisory body), prime minister (head of government),
Council of Ministers. Legislative-unicameral Assembly of the Republic
(between 230 and 235 deputies). Judicial- Supreme Court, district
courts, appeals courts, Constitutional Tribunal.
Major political parties:  Social Democratic Party (PSD), Socialist Party
(PS), Portuguese Communist Party (PCP), Center Social Democratic Party
(CDS), Democratic Renewal Party (PRD), Popular Monarchist Party (PPM).
Suffrage:  Universal over 18.
Subdivisions:  18 districts, 2 autonomous regions, and 1 dependency.
Central government budget (1990):  $23.2 billion (expenditures).
Defense (1990):  2.2% of GDP.
Flag:  A vertically divided field-one-third green along the staff,
two-thirds red; centered on the dividing line is the Portuguese coat of
arms encircled in gold.

Economy
GDP (1989):  $45 billion.  Annual growth rate (1989):  5. 4%. Per capita
GDP (1989):  $4,363.  Avg. inflation rate (1989): 12.6%. Natural
resources:  Fish, cork, tungsten, iron, copper, tin and uranium ores.
Production (percentages of 1988 total gross value added):  Agriculture,
forestry, fisheries (7%). Industry (44% of GDP):  Types-textiles,
clothing, footwear (9%); construction (7%); food, beverages, tobacco
(6%). Services (49%):  Main branches-commerce (20%), government and
nonmarketable services (15%), housing and other marketable services
(10%), banking and finance (8%). Trade (1989):  Exports- $12.7 billion:
clothing, footware, electrical machinery and appliances, automobiles.
Imports-$18.9 billion: electrical and nonelectrical machinery,
automobiles, fuel, apppliances. Partners-European Community, US,
European Free Trade Association (EFTA). Official exchange rate (May
1990):  149 escudos=US$1.

Membership in International Organizations
 UN and its specialized agencies, Council of Europe, North Atlantic
Treaty Organization (NATO), European Community (EC), Western European
Union (WEU), Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development
(OECD), International Energy Agency (IEA), INTELSAT, African Development
Bank (ADB), African Development Fund (ADF), Coordinating Committee for
Multi-Lateral Export Controls (COCOM).

GEOGRAPHY
 Portugal is made up of the mainland and the Azores and Madeira Islands.
Mainland Portugal is divided into two distinct topographical and
climatic regions by the Tagus River, which flows into the Atlantic at
Lisbon. North of the Tagus, Portugal is mountainous, with a rainy,
moderately cool climate; the south has rolling plains, less rainfall,
and a warm climate, particularly in the interior.
 The Azores consist of nine rugged, mountainous islands (2,300 sq.
km.-888 sq. mi.) of volcanic origin lying 1,300 kilometers (about 800
mi.)  west of Lisbon. Their climate is moist and moderate. The regional
capital is Ponta Delgada (pop. 35,000) on Sao Miguel Island.
 The Madeira Islands, located about 560 kilometers (350 mi.) west of
Morocco, are more rugged than the Azores. The archipelago consists of
two main islands and many uninhabited islets (790 sq. km.-305 sq. mi.).
Mild year-round temperatures attract many tourists.Macau, on the
southern coast of China, is an autonomous entity under Portuguese
administration. In April 1987, Portugal and China signed an accord to
return Macau to Chinese administration in 1999. The former overseas
territory of Goa, on the west coast of the Indian subcontinent, was
annexed by India in December 1961. The former colony of Portuguese
Timor, the eastern half of Timor Island in the Indian Ocean north of
Australia, was annexed by Indonesia in July 1976. Portugal's former
overseas territories in Africa-including Angola, Cape Verde,
Guinea-Bissau, Mozambique, and Sao Tome and Principe-achieved
independence between 1974 and 1975.

PEOPLE
 Portugal's earliest recorded inhabitants-members of an Ibero-Celtic
tribe known to Imperial Rome as the Lusitani and first mentioned in the
second century B.C.-have mixed with Germanic, Celtic, Roman, Arabic, and
African peoples to form today's relatively homogeneous Portuguese
population. Portuguese citizens of black African descent, who emigrated
to Portugal after decolonization of Portugal's African territories, make
up the country's only significant and distinct minority group but
probably number fewer than 100,000.
 Portuguese Culture Luis Vaz de Camoes (1524-80) is the most famous poet
to have written in Portuguese and is a Portuguese national hero. His
best-known work, The Lusiads, is an epic poem in 10 cantos about Vasco
da Gama's discovery of a sea route to India in 1497-98.
 The Portuguese concept of saudade-nostalgia mixed with a melancholy
acceptance of fate-finds its clearest expression in the songs of fado,
heard most often in restaurants in Lisbon's older districts, such as the
Alfama.
 Portugal has many ancient and medieval monuments and buildings, that
include the Pena and Sintra palaces; the ex-royal residence of Queluz;
the walled city of Obidos; the cathedrals at Batalha and Alcobaca; the
castle of Sao Jorge in Lisbon; Roman temple ruins in Evora; and the
castle of Afonso Henriques in Guimaraes, near Oporto, where the
Portuguese nation was founded.

HISTORY
 Portugal is one of the oldest states in Europe. It traces its modern
history to A.D. 1140 when, following a 9-year rebellion against the King
of Leon-Castile, Afonso Henriques, the Count of Portugal, became the
country's first king, Afonso I. Afonso and his successors expanded their
territory southward, capturing Lisbon from the Moors in 1147. The
approximate present-day boundaries were secured in 1249 by Afonso III.
 By 1337, Portuguese explorers had reached the Canary Islands. Inspired
by Prince Henry the Navigator (1394-1460), explorers such as Vasco da
Gama, Bartolomeu Dias, and Pedro Alvares Cabral made explorations from
Brazil to India and Japan. Portugal eventually became a massive colonial
empire with vast territories in Africa and Latin America (Brazil) and
outposts in the Far East (East Timor, Macau, Goa).
 Dynastic disputes led in 1580 to the succession of  Philip II of Spain
to the Portuguese throne. A revolt ended Spanish hegemony in 1640, and
the House of Braganca was established as Portugal's ruling family,
lasting until the establishment of the Portuguese Republic in 1910.
 During the next 16 years, intense political rivalries and economic
instability undermined newly established democratic institutions.
Responding to pressing economic problems, a military government, which
had taken power in 1926, named a prominent university economist, Dr.
Antonio Salazar finance minister in 1928, and prime minister in 1932.
For the next 42 years, Salazar and his successor, Marcelo Caetano,
appointed prime minister in 1968, ruled Portugal as an authoritarian
"corporate" state. Unlike most other European countries, Portugal did
not play a combatant role in World War II. It was a charter member of
NATO, joining in 1949.
 In the early 1960s, wars with independence movements in Portugal's
African territories began to drain labor and wealth from Portugal.
Professional dissatisfaction within the military, coupled with a growing
sense of the futility of the African conflicts, led to the formation of
the clandestine "Armed Forces Movement" in 1973.
 The downfall of the Portuguese corporate state came on April 25, 1974,
when the Armed Forces Movement seized power in a nearly bloodless coup
and established a provisional military government.
 Gen. Antonio de Spinola was installed as president after the coup but
resigned in September 1974 to protest the growing power exercised by
communist and leftist forces. He was replaced by another general,
Francisco da Costa Gomes, who retained a procommunist, Gen. Vasco dos
Santos Goncalves, as prime minister. On March 11, 1975, a rebellion by
rightist military officers failed, and former President Spinola fled the
country.
 On April 25 (now Portugal's national day), the first anniversary of the
1974 coup, Portuguese voters chose a Constituent Assembly to draft a
constitution. The vote gave an overwhelming majority of 72% to
candidates of three democratic political parties: the Socialists (PS),
Popular Democrats (which later changed its name to Social
Democrats-PSD), and Center Social Democrats (CDS).
 The communists and their allies in the Armed Forces Movement attempted
to play down their relative lack of popular support (the Communist Party
won only 12.5% of the vote) by tightening their hold on the provisional
government and by seeking to diminish sharply the role of political
parties.
 Goncalves resigned under mounting civilian and military pressure, and a
new provisional government (the sixth since April 1974) took office in
September 1975, led by Adm. Jose Pinheiro de Azevedo.
 The political tug-of-war continued until November 25, when left-wing
military elements seized control of several strategic military bases,
only to surrender peacefully the next day after a determined show of
force by loyal units under the direction of Lt. Col. Antonio Ramalho
Eanes.
 Portugal's new constitution took effect on April 25, 1976, when
elections for a parliamentary Assembly of the Republic also were held.
In June, Eanes was elected president with 62% of the vote after gaining
the support of the three major democratic parties. He chose Mario
Soares, whose Socialist Party had won a plurality in the parliamentary
elections, to serve as prime minister of Portugal's first democratic
government since the 1920s.
 Soares' minority socialist government fell in December 1977 and was
followed by a succession of short-lived coalition and minority
governments. In the July 1987 parliamentary elections, PSD leader Cavaco
Silva led his party to a stunning victory, resulting in the first
absolute majority for a single party.  The PSD received a slight
majority (just over 50%) of the popular vote but won 148 of the then-250
seats in parliament.  Mario Soares, who had been elected president in
February 1986, consequently invited Prime Minister Cavaco Silva to form
a government, the first that appeared likely to complete its 4-year term
since the 1974 revolution.
 Since entering office, the Cavaco Silva government has implemented
economic and social reforms intended to put Portugal on a more
competitive footing with its European partners.  The government and the
Socialist Party also cooperated in the assembly to eliminate Marxist
rhetoric from the constitution and to pave the way for full
privatization of public sector enterprises.  In the June 18, 1989,
European Parliamentary elections, the ruling Social Democratic Party won
32.5% of the vote (vice 37% in 1987).  The socialists increased their
vote to 28.5%.  Nearly half of the registered voters stayed away from
the polls.

GOVERNMENT
 The April 25, 1976, constitution defined Portugal as a
"Republic....engaged in the formation of a classless society."  The 1976
constitution was revised in 1982, and again in 1989.  The 1982 revision
placed the military under strict civilian control, trimmed the powers of
the president, and abolished the Revolutionary Council (a non-elected
committee with legislative veto powers).  The 1989 revision eliminated
much of the remaining Marxist rhetoric of the original document,
abolished the communist-inspired "agrarian reform," and laid the
groundwork for further privatization of nationalized firms and
government-owned communications media.
 The four main organs of national government are the presidency, the
prime minister and Council of Ministers (the government), the Assembly
of the Republic (parliament), and the courts.
 The president, elected to a 5-year term by direct, universal suffrage,
also is commander in chief of the armed forces.  Presidential powers
include appointing the prime minister and Council of Ministers (in which
the president must be guided by the assembly election results),
dismissal of the prime minister, dissolution of the assembly to call
early elections, veto over legislation (which may be overridden by the
assembly), and the declaration of states of war or siege.
 The Council of State, an advisory body to the president, is composed of
the incumbents of six senior civilian offices, any former presidents
elected under the 1976 constitution, five members chosen by the
assembly, and five chosen by the president himself.
 The government is headed by the presidentially appointed prime
minister, who names the Council of Ministers, subject to presidential
approval. A new government is required to define the broad outline of
its policy in a program and present it to the assembly for a mandatory
period of debate.  Failure of the assembly to reject the program by a
majority of deputies confirms the government in office.
 The Assembly of the Republic is a unicameral body, composed of between
230 and 235 deputies elected by direct universal suffrage according to a
system of proportional representation.  The term of office for deputies
is 4 years, unless the president dissolves the assembly and calls for
new elections.
 The constitution provides for district and appeals courts.  The
national Supreme Court is the court of last instance.  Military,
administrative, and fiscal courts are designated as separate court
categories.  The constitution also provides for a nine-member
Constitutional Tribunal to review the constitutionality of legislation.
 The constitution gives substantial autonomy to the locally elected
governments of the Azores and Madeira Islands.  A regional autonomy
statute for the Azores, establishing the Government of the Autonomous
Region of the Azores, was promulgated July 25, 1980, and amended in
1987.  The Government of the Autonomous Region of Madeira operates under
a provisional autonomy statute in effect since 1976.
 Finally, the constitution provides for the progressive decentralization
of administration, calling for future reorganization on a regional

basis.  Apart from the Azores and Madeira, the country is currently
divided into 18 districts, each headed by a governor appointed by the
Minister of Internal Administration.

Principal Government Officials
President of the Portuguese Republic-Mario Soares
Prime Minister-Anibal Cavaco Silva
Ministers:
Defense Minister and the Presidency of the Council of State-Fernando
Nogueira
Minister of Foreign Affairs-Joao de Deus Pinheiro
Minister of Interior-Manuel Pereira
Minister of Justice- Laborinho Lucio
Minister of Finance-Joaquim Ferreira do Amaral
Armed Forces Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces- Gen. Antonio da
Silva Osorio Soares Carneiro
Service Chiefs of Staff-Gen. Mario Firmino Miguel (Army), Adm. Manuel da
Cunha Esteves de Andrade e Silva (Navy),  Gen. Tomas George Conceicao
Silva (Air Force)
Ambassador to the United States-Joao Pereira Bastos

 Portugal maintains an embassy in the United States at 2125 Kalorama
Road NW., Washington, DC 20008 (tel. [phone]); Consulates General
in New York City, Boston, and San Francisco; Consulates in Providence,
RI; Newark, NJ; and New Bedford, Mass.; and Honorary Consulates in
Honolulu, Los Angeles, Houston, New Orleans, Chicago, Philadelphia,
Miami, Puerto Rico, and Waterbury, Conn.  The Portuguese National
Tourist Office in the United States is located at 548 Fifth Avenue, New
York, NY 10036 (tel:  [phone]).

ECONOMY
 The Portuguese economy has made impressive economic gains both since
the tumultous post-1974 revolutionary period and since the recessionary
period of 1983-84.  In 1989, GDP grew by 4.5% (over 1988), exports by
14%, gross investment by 28%, and unemployment fell to 6.7%.  Foreign
investment in Portugal has grown at an annual rate of 50% since 1984,
reaching $1.2 billion in 1989.  This occurred because the majority
government has pursued a comprehensive plan of structural economic
reform with objectives to:
 -- Promote investment-led growth;
 -- Modernize industry and agriculture;
 -- Privatize most state-owned enterprises;
 -- Reduce the public sector deficit; and,
 -- Hold down inflation.
 The most ambitious element of the plan has been to  privatize firms
that were nationalized in 1974-75.  In 1988, the government began the
partial privatization (49% of the shares) of two enterprises, the
country's largest brewery and a mid-sized bank.  Both share offerings
were several times oversubscribed.  Future partial privatizations,
including another brewery, a cement company, and other financial and
insurance institutions, including the country's largest commercial bank,
are planned.  The major obstacle to majority privatization of state
enterprises was overcome by the June 1989 revision of the constitution
that removed restrictions on private ownership in industry.
 Portuguese economic structure has changed dramatically since the 1974
revolution.  Finance and commercial relations with the former colonies
are less important, and the large industrial-financial groups that once
controlled much of the economy have been dismantled.  Since 1960, the
proportion of the labor force engaged in agriculture has dropped from
42% to 19%.  Agricultural production now contributes only 7% of the
country's GDP.  Portugal imports a substantial share of its food and
animal feed.
 Industrial employment has risen from 21% to 35% of the labor force
since 1960.  Industry contributes 44% of the GDP.  Major products are
textiles, clothing, cork products, electronic equipment, machinery,
steel, woodpulp and paper, cement, tomato paste, canned seafood, olive
oil, assembled automobiles, and refined petroleum and chemical products.
 Portugal also has large shipbuilding and repair yards.  Tourism has
expanded and now accounts for more than 5% of GDP.
 The volume of foreign trade has increased from $873 million in 1960 to
$31.6 billion in 1989, with imports of $18.9 billion and exports of
$12.7 billion.  Portugal's main trading partners are Western Europe (EC
countries now account for nearly 70% of all Portuguese trade) and the
United States.
 Since 1979, Portuguese governments have sought to expand the scope for
private investment in the economy.  The 1982 constitutional revision
modified many of the socialist features of the 1976 constitution and set
the stage for legislation that opened up several sectors, including
banking, to private enterprise.  In 1984, six foreign banks (including
three from the United States) and four Portuguese private banks began
operations.  Portugal's foreign investment legislation, liberalized
considerably in 1986, streamlined the approval process.  Investment
proposals from EC countries and, in practice, those from other
countries, generally are approved on a pro-forma basis by the Portuguese
Government's Office of Foreign Investment Services of the Foreign Trade
Institute.
 Inflation continued to rise in 1988-89, forcing the government to raise
its inflation target for 1989.
 A plan to restrict consumer credit, increase bank reserves, and reduce
credit ceilings was imposed in March 1989 to deal with the inflation
problem.  Nevertheless, inflation by the end of 1989 reached 12%.
 The Portuguese current account balance has gone from a modest surplus
of $200 million in 1987 to a deficit of $650 million.  The March 1989
plan to curb inflation may have a mitigating effect on the current
account imbalance since consumer purchases have accounted for most of
Portugal's imports:  up 15% in 1989.  The imbalance is partially offset
by substantial capital inflows that should lead to greater productivity
in coming years.
 The public sector deficit has fallen from 12% of GDP in 1985 to 7% in
1989.  The government continues efforts to pare employment roles and
streamline programs.  Further reductions may prove more difficult, but
the government expects the sale of shares in state enterprises to reduce
the debt service on behalf of these ailing businesses and to generate
revenues sufficient to retire government debt.
 Portugal joined the European Community (EC) in January 1986.
Transition periods to bring Portuguese agricultural prices and tariffs
in line with those of other EC countries and to liberalize capital
movements generally will continue through the mid-1990s.  EC structural
adjustment assistance- about $650 million, net of Portuguese
contributions in 1988-and future flows will help the Portuguese
Government modernize its industry and agriculture.  Portugal's entry
into the EC and the concomitant obligations to open its markets and
compete freely with its EC partners by the 1992 Single Market have been
the primary stimulus for many of the recent reforms and will continue to
influence much of Portuguese economic policy and business strategy.
 Labor unions-before the revolution mainly instruments of government
policy-have become active, independent agents. Two major labor
confederations have emerged.  The oldest, the General Confederation of
Portuguese Workers (CGTP-Intersindical), is communist controlled.  In
January 1979, the General Union of Workers (UGT) was formed as the
democratic alternative.  The UGT has become a major force in the
Portuguese labor movement and has gained international respect.

FOREIGN RELATIONS
 Portugal's foreign policy reflects the country's geographic, cultural,
and historic roots in the Western community and the determination of the
post-1974 elected governments to reinforce those bonds and the
democratic values they help sustain.  The government took a major step
in that direction by formally entering the European Community in January
1986. A charter member of NATO, Portugal seeks to modernize its armed
forces to play an enhanced role in alliance defense.
 Five proud centuries of exploration have bequeathed to Portugal a
significant legacy of ties with Africa, the Western Hemisphere, and
Asia.  Since granting independence to the former overseas territories of
Angola, Mozambique, Cape Verde, Guinea-Bissau, and Sao Tome and
Principe, the Portuguese Government has made major efforts to maintain
and strengthen diplomatic, economic, and assistance relationships with
those nations.  In recent years, Portugal also has sought to broaden
diplomatic contacts with moderate Arab states in order to lay the basis
for expanded economic and commercial relations.  Portugal maintains
relations with Israel at the ambassadorial level.
 Following the 1974 revolution, Portugal opened relations with the
Soviet Union and East European communist regimes.  Trade and cultural
exchanges, however, remain at a low level.  As a NATO and EC member,
Portugal approaches East-West issues in the framework of its own strong
political, economic, and military ties to Western Europe.
 Portugal continues to administer the overseas territory of Macau, near
Hong Kong.  Portugal and China concluded an agreement on April 13, 1987,
to return the territory to Chinese rule in 1999.
 Portugal and Indonesia broke relations on December 7, 1975, because of
a dispute over the status of Portuguese East Timor.  Indonesia then
annexed East Timor in July 1976.  Portugal does not recognize the
annexation as an act of self-determination by the East Timorese and has
contested the Indonesian action in international forums.  In 1982, the
UN General Assembly asked the UN Secretary General to consult with both
governments in an effort to resolve the issue;  both countries
subsequently have held discussions under the auspices of the Secretary
General.
 More than 2 million Portuguese reside in Europe, Africa, and the
Western Hemisphere as permanent emigrants or-particularly in the case of
Western Europe-as temporary workers.  Through cultural and educational
programs as well as diplomatic efforts, Portugal seeks to maintain ties
to these emigrant communities and to support efforts by emigrant workers
to secure adequate social benefits from their host countries.

US-PORTUGUESE RELATIONS
 Bilateral ties date from the earliest years of the United States. On
February 21, 1791, President George Washington opened formal diplomatic
relations between the two countries, naming Col. David Humphreys as US
Minister. Portugal's history of looking toward the Atlantic, rather than
toward continental Europe, and the US position as an Atlantic power,
have long brought the two nations into close contact. Emigration has
furthered this relationship, and sizable Portuguese communities in the
United States represent a strong cultural bond.
 The United States encourages a stable and democratic Portugal that is
closely associated with the industrial democracies of Western Europe and
NATO. Portugal's nearly bloodless transition from authoritarian rule to
constitutional democracy during 1974-76, the exclusion of communists
from its parliamentary governments, and its excellent human rights
record demonstrate the commitment of the Portuguese to democratic
values. The United States has supported Portugal's successful entry into
the West European economic and defense mainstream.

US Economic and Developmental Aid
 Since 1975, US economic assistance to Portugal managed by the Agency
for International Development (AID) has totaled $1.2 billion, including
refugee and disaster assistance, agriculture, schools and rural
education, health, low income housing and Housing Guaranties, basic
sanitation, consultants and training, balance of payments loans, PL 480
loans and Economic Support Funds (ESF) cash transfers.
 In fiscal year 1989, the program included disbursement of $50 million
in ESF and $25 million in previously authorized low-income Housing
Guaranty loans, as well as authorization of an additional $25 million in
new Housing Guaranties.  In addition, the USAID/Lisbon manages grants
funded in previous years for technical consultants and training and
supports trilateral cooperation with Portugal on assistance to some
African countries.  The last of the project activities directly managed
by USAID/Lisbon will be completed in December 1989.
 The Government of Portugal has used ESF support, in part, to build the
endowment of the Luso-American Development Foundation to promote and
support enduring professional and institutional linkages with the United
States in education, science and technology, private sector development,
culture, public administration, and regional development.  Since 1985,
the foundation has received $110 million and through 1988 had made
grants, loans, and equity investments in nearly 600 development
projects.

DEFENSE
 US-Portuguese defense cooperation traditionally has been excellent.
Under the 1951 bilateral defense agreement and subsequent technical
agreements, US Armed Forces enjoy access to the Portuguese Air Base at
Lajes in the Azores.  The United States, together with other NATO
allies, also provides security assistance to Portugal.  This includes
modern equipment and training to support increased Portuguese
participation in NATO defense.
 In addition to US use of facilities at Lajes Air Base, Portugal also
has agreed in principle to accept a US satellite observation station in
southern Portugal.

Principal US Officials
Ambassador-Everett E. Briggs
Deputy Chief of Mission-John W. Penfold
Political Affairs-Jeffrey Millington
Economic Affairs-David Norman Miller
Consular Affairs-Arturo Macias
Administrative Affairs-Thomas  Widenhouse
Public Affairs (USIS)-Gail Gulliksen
Commercial Affairs-Carlos F. Poza
Agricultural Affairs-Daniel Berman
Agency for International Development- David C. Leibson
Military Attaches Defense and Air-Col.Van C. Sanders Army-
Col. Robert G. Hasty Navy-Capt. Richard J. Burns Military
Advisory Assistance Group (MAAG) Chief-Col. Robert A. Young
Consuls Oporto- Herbert Yarvin
Ponta Delgada-Mahlon Henderson

 The US Embassy is located at  Avenida Forcas Armadas, Lisbon 1600 (tel.
7266600). The Oporto consulate is located at Rua Julio Dinis 826, 3d
Floor, Oporto 4000 (tel. 63094). The Ponta Delgada Consulate is at
Avenida Infante D. Henrique, Ponta Delgada, Sao Miguel, Azores 9502
(tel. 22216). The consular agent in Funchal, Madeira is Antonio Drummond
Borges (tel. 47429).

Travel Notes
 Entry requirements:  A visa is not required of US citizens for stays of
up to 60 days, but a valid passport is necessary. Immunizations are not
mandatory. Travelers may import or export foreign currency in any
amount, provided it is for "touristic purposes." No more than 5,000
Portuguese escudos per traveler may be imported into Portugal, although
up to 25,000 escudos may be exported.
 Climate and clothing:  Wear summer clothing during the temperate sunny
days and cool nights May-September. Fall-weight clothing and a topcoat
or warm raincoat are appropriate for winter. A rainhat or umbrella is
recommended. Health:  Health and sanitation standards generally are
good. Tapwater is potable year round in large cities and in outlying
areas during rainy seasons. Bottled spring water is available.
 Telecommunications:  Telephone and telegraph circuits are available to
Western Europe and to almost all other points worldwide.  Lisbon is five

time zones ahead of eastern standard time.  AT&T card services are
available through Marconi Operators.  AT&T cards can only be used for
calls to the United States.
 Transportation:  Direct flights are available from the United States,
and worldwide connections are good.  Domestic air services fly to Oporto
in the north, Faro in the Algarve, and to several other provincial
cities.  Railroads and buses serve the entire country.  Lisbon has good,
inexpensive taxi, bus, streetcar, and subway service.
 National holidays: The US Embassy and Consulates are closed on the
following holidays:
January l (New Year's), February 7 (Carnival), March 24 (Good Friday),
April 25 (Liberty Day), May l (Labor Day), May 25 (Corpus Christi), June
l0 (Portugal Day), June l3 (St. Anthony's Day-only in Lisbon), August l5
(Assumption Day), October 5 (Portuguese Republic), November l (All
Saint's Day), December l (Portuguese Independence), December 8
(Immaculate Conception), December 25 (Christmas Day).

US Economic Assistance ($ millions by year authorized)
  FY 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988  1989

Economic Support Funds
  20  40  80  77  32    50
Housing Guaranty Loans
  14  11  25  25   -     25

US Defense Assistance ($millions)
 FY 1982-84   1985    1986   1987   1988   1989

Military Assistance Program (grant)
      117.5           70        67      80        80        -
International Military Education and Training Program (grant)
         7.4            2.9      2.3     2.6       2.6      2.6
Foreign Military Sales Credits (loan)
     142.5             55     43.1      -        2.5      100*

 *Forgiven Foreign Military Sales loan

Further Information
 These titles are provided as a general indication of the material
published on this country. The Department of State does not endorse
unofficial publications.
 Buneau, Thomas C.  Politics and Nationhood: Post- Revolutionary
Portugal.  New York:  Praeger, 1984.
 de Macedo, Jorge, and Simon Sarfaty, eds.  Portugal Since The
Revolution:  Economic and Political Perspectives. Boulder,   Colo.:
Westview Press, 1981.
 Gallagher, Tom. Portugal: A Twentieth-Century Interpretation. Dover,
N.H.: Manchester University Press, 1982.
 Graham, Lawrence F., and Harry M. Makler, eds. Contemporary Portugal:
The Revolution and its Antecedents. Austin:    University of Texas
Press, 1979.
 Graham, Lawrence F., and Douglas L. Wheeler, eds.  In Search of Modern
Portugal:  The Revolution and its Consequences.    Madison:  University
of Wisconsin Press, 1983.
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 Available from the Superintendent of Documents, US Government Printing
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 Published by the United States Department of State --  Bureau of Public
Affairs  -- Office of  Public Communication -- Washington, DC -- May
1990 --  Editor:  Juanita Adams.
 Department of State Publication 8074--Background Notes Series  -- This
material is in the public domain and may  be reprinted without
permission; citation of this source is appreciated.For sale by the
Superintendent of Documents, US Government Printing Office, Washington,
DC  20402.(###)


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