11 Facts About Manuel Alegre

Manuel Alegre de Melo Duarte was born on 12 May 1936 and is a Portuguese poet and politician.

Manuel Alegre was a candidate to the presidency of the Portuguese Republic in 2006 and 2011, finishing in second place in both elections.

Manuel Alegre is the son of Francisco Jose de Faria e Melo Ferreira Duarte, brother of sportsman Mario Duarte, son of the 1st Baroness of a Recosta, maternal grandson of the 1st Baron of Cadoro and matrilineal great-grandson of the 1st Viscount of o Barreiro, and wife Maria Manuela Alegre.

Manuel Alegre's sister Maria Teresa Alegre de Melo Duarte is a Deputy and is the widow of another Deputy, Antonio Jorge Moreira Portugal.

Manuel Alegre was a member of the Portuguese Communist Party from his youth until the Soviet invasion of Czechoslovakia, which he staunchly opposed, in 1968.

Manuel Alegre voted against all the revisions of the Portuguese Constitution of 1976, and abstained at a commemorative vote for the 10th anniversary of the fall of Berlin Wall, in 1999.

Manuel Alegre was conscripted, and sent to the Azores and later to Portuguese Angola, where his involvement in an attempt to military rebellion led to his imprisonment.

Manuel Alegre returned to Portugal in 1974, one week after the Carnation Revolution.

Manuel Alegre joined the Socialisty Party almost immediately, and was elected to Parliament in every election from 1975 to 2005.

Manuel Alegre's words were set to music by Tony Haynes on world jazz ensemble Grand Union Orchestra's 1997 album, The Rhythm of Tides.

Manuel Alegre is a Member of the Portuguese Council of State, elected by the Assembly of the Republic.