António Elísio Capelo Pires Veloso

António Elísio Capelo Pires Veloso (10 August 1926 – 17 August 2014) was a general in the Portuguese Army. He was known as the Vice-Rei do Norte (Viceroy of the North) for his role in quashing the Coup of 25 November 1975. He was also the final Governor and High Commissioner of Portuguese São Tomé and Príncipe from 1974 to 1975, and a candidate in the 1980 Portuguese presidential election.

Biography Early life and colonial service Pires Veloso was born in Folgosinho, Gouveia, Guarda District. His family moved to Vila Nova de Gaia in the Porto metropolitan area in 1936. He graduated in Military Preparation at the University of Porto in 1944, and at 20 he enrolled at the Military Academy.

He was stationed in Macau (1949–1951) and fought in Portugal's colonial wars in Angola (1961–1964) and Mozambique (1965–1974). Following the Carnation Revolution in April 1974, he served as Portugal's colonial governor in São Tomé and Príncipe and later its High Commissioner, until the archipelago gained independence on 12 July 1975. These exploits earned Pires Veloso the nickname "vice-rei do norte" (Viceroy of the North). He was an independent candidate in the 1980 Portuguese presidential election, won by fellow general António Ramalho Eanes.

Months after his death, it was proposed that Porto's Praça da República square be renamed in Pires Veloso's honour. A bust was erected in the square in September 2015, was vandalised days later, and a sword-shaped detail was stolen the following January.

Personal life Pires Veloso's older brother, Aureliano (1924–2019), was the first democratically elected mayor of Porto in 1977. Aureliano's son, Rui (born 1957), is a singer-songwriter.