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Dear family members, friends and colleagues of Dr. João Morais Leitão,

It is with great pleasure that I take part in this ceremony honouring the memory of Dr. João Morais Leitão and the opening of this Auditorium to which the Society of Lawyers of which he was a founder decided to give his name.

The speakers who preceded me have already referred, better than I ever could, to the great Man, Politician and Lawyer that was João Morais Leitão. Permit me, however, to share with you a few thoughts that his person and his political and professional trajectory I well remember.

Dr. João Morais Leitão and I were colleagues in 1980 as members of the Government of the Democratic Alliance presided by Sá Carneiro: him as Minister for Social Affairs, I as Finance Minister. Those days bring back good memories.

I remember Morais Leitão as a highly intelligent politician, cultured and friendly, competent at his work. I remember the good sense he showed in his attitudes and decisions, his spirit opened to dialogue and change, his good manners, the quality of his addresses in the Council of Ministers and in Parliament.

I recall our working meetings, governed by the search for solutions for the complex issues the Country then faced.

I recall how his being chosen to succeed me, as Finance Minister of the VII Constitutional Government, left me tranquil and assured, due to the unquestionable competence and to the rigour and earnestness which I knew he possessed.

I always saw in João Morais Leitão a convinced Christian democrat, who reconciled his belief in free initiative and market logic with strong social feelings, rightly pertaining to Christian humanism. As Minister for Social Affairs he carried out a modern and just policy, and deserves being remembered as a reforming precursor of social policies.

Capable, at the same time, of simplicity and distinction, he attached to knowledge and culture a great sensitivity to practical issues and a sharp sense of reality.

Morais Leitão was someone who demanded very highly from others, but his demands upon himself were just as high. He was known for his firmness and for the way he looked issues in the face, but was also cherished for his good humour, friendliness and fair play.

My image of Morais Leitão is that of a good, honest and just man, a man of character and great value, an open spirit, a holder of a solid human conscience. In his courageous fight against sickness, he kept until the very end his joy of life and his Christian faith.

I shall never forget the message he sent me, saying he wanted to be present at the closure of my campaign for the Presidency of the Republic, when I well knew of the seriousness of his state of health.

Professionally he had a brilliant career: in law, in banking, in insurance, in business.

As a well prepared, knowledgeable and rigorous jurist, he held several high offices in the Law Society, was a specialist in international business arbitrations and is frequently pointed out as one of the more noted Portuguese Lawyers of his generation, both at the bar and as a negotiator.

I am told he pioneered the modern organization of advocacy in Portugal. He founded, over twenty years ago, this Society of Lawyers, which he saw grow and take its place as one of the foremost in our country.

João Morais Leitão was clearly conscious of the social dimension of his profession and, as is often recognized by his peers, always abided by an uncompromising respect for the ethical principles which govern it.

To honour João Morais Leitão is to honour a great man, in the true sense of the word, as well as a primus inter pares, thus honouring the best of Portuguese Advocacy.

That the Society of Lawyers, the dream and creation of João Morais Leitão keeps on, observing his memory, with the mark of demand and excellence which its founder placed on it, are my wishes.

For those who are here today and were intimate with Morais Leitão, this act is more than honouring a man we much respect, who served his Country and brought prestige to his profession. This is also a moment of deep nostalgia.