Rui Nabeiro: a ″true minister of cohesion″ and a ″greater Portuguese″

Political and cultural figures classified, this Monday, businessman Rui Nabeiro, who died on Sunday aged 91, as a “greater Portuguese” and a “true minister of cohesion” in the country.

Leaving Rui Nabeiro’s wake, which is taking place at the Igreja Matriz de Campo Maior, in the district of Portalegre, PS deputy Ricardo Pinheiro classified Rui Nabeiro as an “incredible person”.

Former Secretary of State for Planning and former employee of Delta Cafés, Ricardo Pinheiro also revealed to the Lusa agency that he was the businessman who “challenged” him to run for the Chamber of Campo Maior, which he then led between 2009 and 2019, elected by the PS.

“He was a tireless man, with value creation in low-density territories, he was a true minister of cohesion in this country, as he managed to implement several departments in all the district capitals”, he said.

Ricardo Pinheiro started his professional life at the age of 18, working as an electrical engineer at Delta Cafés, a position he held for 25 years, alongside Nabeiro.

Excited at the end of the wake, the socialist deputy added that “the greatest legacy” that the businessman leaves him is to “continue to fight” and “not forget” the lessons, “almost in a biblical way”, that he gave and that must “perpetuate”. if” in the coming years.

Also speaking to Lusa, upon arrival at the wake, the regional director of Culture of Alentejo, Ana Paula Amendoeira, described the businessman as a “greater Portuguese”, not hiding the emotion of seeing “a friend” of culture depart.

“We lost a greater Portuguese, to use even the designation of Campo Maior and what he really liked to put in his companies, in his projects, at Adega Maior. And he was a greater Portuguese. I am very sad personally and institutionally”, he said.

Ana Paula Amendoeira also added that Rui Nabeiro was a person who “understood well” the work of culture and “the importance” of it for the region.

“He was a highly educated person, he was a humanist, he did what he said and what he thought, he didn’t just think and say, he did, he was a superior person”, he added.

Also leaving the wake, the former deputy and current president of the District Federation of Portalegre of the PS, Luís Moreira Testa, told Lusa that Rui Nabeiro “leaves a void that cannot be filled by anyone else”.

Classifying the businessman as “a unique figure”, Luís Moreira Testa highlighted the “closeness of affection” that marked his profile on a day-to-day basis.

The socialist thus highlighted “the simple way [proximidade da afetividade] how he treated everyone from the prime ministers he met to the humblest of employees who worked with him in companies”.

“This is also a sign of the very effective closeness with which he has always lived his life and has always made his life available to society”, he said.

Businessman Rui Nabeiro, founder of Grupo Nabeiro – Delta Cafés, died on Sunday, aged 91, from illness, at Hospital da Luz, in Lisbon.