MLGTS mourns loss of founding partner
Portuguese law firm Morais Leitão, Galvão Teles, Soares da Silva & Associados has announced the death of one of its founding partners, Miguel Galvão Teles.
Born in 1939, Galvão Teles was recognised as an expert in the fields of constitutional law and public international law, but a statement from the firm said “practically there does not exist an area that has not benefitted from the depth of his thought”.
Galvão Teles had a law degree and a master´s degree from the Law Faculty of the University of Lisbon. In 1959, he received the “Gulbenkian Award for Political-Economic Sciences, then, in 1961, the “Gulbenkian Award for Historical-Juridical Sciences”. He was a former professor at the Law Faculty of the University of Lisbon, in charge of the Chair of Constitutional Law (until 1978) and a member of the same faculty´s restructuring committee from 1976 to 1977. He was also a member of the Council of State of the Portuguese Republic from 1982 to 1986.
Galvão Teles made a number of appearances before the International Court of Justice (notably representing the Portuguese Republic in the East Timor case) and International Arbitral Tribunals. He was also a member of the Permanent Court of Arbitration, The Hague.
In 2012, the book “Studies in Homage to Miguel Galvão Teles” – to which around 90 authors contributed – was published.
Galvão Teles was recognised by the Portuguese State when he received the Grand Cross of the Order of Henry the Navigator (1986) and the Grand Cross of the Military Order of Christ (2004).
A keen football supporter, Galvão Teles was also known for his passionate support of Sporting Clube de Portugal.
In 1995, he became president of the General Assembly, a position he occupied for 11 years.
João Soares da Silva, chairman of the firm´s board, said: “No words can express the dimension of the loss we have suffered. Today a part of us died.” He added that it was a privilege to know Galvão Teles who was an “extraordinary human being” and an “incomparable figure”.
