Ernesto Melo Antunes Ernesto Augusto de Melo Antunes , ( Lisbon , 2 October 1933 - 10 August 1999 ) was a Portuguese military officer who had a major role in the Carnation Revolution of 25 April 1974 . Background . He was the son of Ernesto Augusto Antunes ( 1907 – 1986 ) and Maria José Forjaz de Melo ( 1911 – 1987 ) . Born in Lisbon , he moved to Angola at the age of 6 , as a result of his father ' s military posting . He returned to Portugal at age 10 and lived in Aveiro and Tavira . Under family pressure , he entered the Military College in 1953 . An avid reader since youth , he audited classes at the University of Lisbon in Philosophy ( his main interest ) and Law . His intellectual curiosity led him to read Marx and other authors prohibited by the Dictatorship , and led to his " exile ' to the Azores in 1957 . Intensely involved in cultural and political activities , he formed with Manuel Alegre , in 1962 the Patriotic Action of the Azores , which promoted activities to denounce political propaganda . His most daring project was to attempt a military and popular revolt in the Azores , with the promised support of General Humberto Delgado . This attempt was unsuccessful , as General Delgado withdrew support . In 1971 - 1973 , he completed his third and last combat posting in Angola , an experience that was instrumental in forming his anti - colonialist political thinking . It was a traumatic experience , which led him to declare that he had fought on the " wrong side . " His initial participation in the Movement of Captains , a military group plotting to overthrow the dictatorship , occurred in 1974 . His solid knowledge of doctrine and political consistency led to his immediate notice , and he was asked to draft the political program of the Movement of the Armed Forces ( MFA ) . Thus began his role as the " intellectual in uniform " and author of some of the most important political documents of the Revolution . Career highlights . Melo Antunes was the principal author of the political program of the military movement that overthrew the regime , the Movement of the Armed Forces . Known as the 3 D ' s , the Program of the MFA proposed decolonization , democratization , and development . After the revolution , Melo Antunes was in the forefront of political power and highly respected . He was a member of the Coordinating Commission of the Movement ( MFA ) , and after the revolutionary period was member of the Portuguese Council of State . He was Minister without Portfolio of the II and II Provisional Governments . One of his first roles was to manage the complex decolonization process , following the promulgation of Law 7 / 74 on July 27 , 1974 that " acknowledged the independence of overseas territories . " Melo Antunes was the main negotiator of the independence of Guinea - Bissau . He was responsible for a Working Group tasked to establish a Socio - Economic Program , under the III Provisional Government . Although the Working Group comprised key socio - economic figures of the period ( Rui Vilar , Silva Lopes , Maria de Lurdes Pintasilgo and Vitor Constancio ) , the document became known as the " Plan Melo Antunes " . It was a controversial plan , which caused tensions within the Movement of the Armed Forces ( MFA ) , and this was finally overturned on March 11 , 1975 . Appointed member of the Revolutionary Council on March 14 , 1975 , he retained this position until dissolution of the Council as a result of the Constitutional Revision of 1982 . He was Minister of Foreign Affairs in the IV ( March 26 to August 8 , 1975 ) and VI ( September 19 , 1975 to July 22 , 1976 ) Provisional Governments . During the summer ( " Verao Quente " ) of intense political - ideological struggle , Melo Antunes produced on August 7 , 1975 the " Document of Nine " ( " Documento dos Nove " ) , a document released by the " Movement of Nine " ( " Movimento dos Nove " ) . This document proposed a " third way " in the form of an original political platform that rejected the extreme left - wing and the Communist Block - inspired action of the Portuguese Communist Party , as well as the social - democratic model of many countries of Western Europe , while maintaining the importance of a pluralistic democracy . This document was welcomed with relief by both the military and civilian population , disenchanted with the increasing hegemony of Vasco Goncalves and the Portuguese Communist Party , and ended up adopted by all as a common program . Another of his major political intervention occurred on November 25 , 1975 , when in the face of pressure to ban the Communist Party , he appeared on television to defend its right to continued existence as an integral part of Portuguese democracy . This act caused him enemies lasting throughout his life , but also led to great admiration for his courage and to his being perceived by many as the " guiding light " for members of the Revolutionary Military who did not wish to see a new dictatorship imposed . Between 1977 and 1983 , he served as President of the Constitutional Commission , the percursor to the Constitutional Tribunal . During the second Presidency of António Ramalho Eanes , he served as member of the Council of State , and again during the Presidency of Jorge Sampaio . He was Advisor ( 1984 ) and Assistant Director General ( 1986 – 1988 ) of UNESCO . Despite calls for his candidacy for the Presidency of UNESCO in 1992 , the Portuguese Government declined support . In 1991 , he joined the Socialist Party , his first formal adherence to any political party . In 2004 , he was promoted posthumously to Colonel . Decorations . He received the Grand Cross of the Order of Liberty for his services to the country and to democracy . Marriage and issue . He married Gabriela Maria da Câmara de Ataide Mota ( b . 9 July 1941 ) , daughter of Luís de Ataíde Mota ( 1912 – 1969 ) and Maria Eduarda de Medeiros da Câmara de Melo Cabral ( b . Ponta Delgada , São Pedro , 19 December 1919 ) ( great - great - niece in female line of the 1st Viscount de Faria e Maia ) , both from the Nobility of Azores , and had issue : On 21 June 1997 in Sintra , he married a second time Maria Jose de Souza Pereira ( b . 19 March 1952 ) , daughter of Antonio Joaquim de Barros Pereira ( 1906 – 1969 ) and Elvie Irene de Souza Pereira ( 1917 – 2002 ) of Macau . She gave up her international career as banker and investment advisor upon marriage .