13 Facts About Helena Pato

Helena Pato was born on 19 April 1939 and was a mathematics teacher, a communist opponent of Portugal's Estado Novo regime and a union leader.

Helena Pato was one of the founders of the Women's Democratic Movement in opposition to the Estado Novo and was held as a political prisoner for 6 months.

Helena Pato has authored three books on her experiences at that time and has written books on education.

Maria Helena Martins dos Santos Pato Noales Rodrigues was born in 1939 in Mamarrosa, in the municipality of Oliveira do Bairro in the Aveiro District of Portugal, the daughter of a primary school teacher and an agronomist.

Helena Pato grew up in the Portuguese capital of Lisbon with her parents and twin brothers.

Helena Pato was the president of the Students' Association of the Faculty of Sciences in 1960.

Helena Pato had already been under investigation for her involvement in the creation of the Movimento Democratico de Mulheres.

Helena Pato was held in isolation at Caxias prison near Lisbon and was subjected to sleep torture.

Helena Pato was a historian and teacher, but was not permitted to work for the government as a teacher and had a history of arrests.

Helena Pato was part of the election campaign in 1969 and was the MDM's director from 1969 to 1971.

Helena Pato immediately became involved in the creation of a teacher organization.

Helena Pato remained a mathematics teacher for 36 years and was the founder and director of the Teachers' Union of Greater Lisbon.

Helena Pato led a campaign in 2006 to oppose the transformation of the former PIDE headquarters in Lisbon into a condominium.