The Businessman

António de Medeiros e Almeida was born in Lisbon on 17 September 1895, the firstborn son of Maria Amélia de Medeiros (1872-1952) and João Silvestre d’Almeida (1864-1936), both from the Azores. 
The couple had two other children, Maria da Conceição and Gustavo. 

The wealthy family environment provided young António with an upbringing with a strong cultural and artistic aspect.

When he finished school in 1915, he studied medicine, following in his father’s footsteps.

However, intent on developing his enterprising spirit and appetite for business, he dropped out and travelled to Berlin in 1922, where he came into contact with the international business world.

In the meantime, he became engaged to Margarida Pinto Basto (1898-1971), daughter of the Vista Alegre Porcelain Factory’s chairman. 

Back in Lisbon, António and Margarida were married on 23 June 1924. 


Given his passion for cars, they set off on their honeymoon in a convertible Farman Sport Torpedo, dressed accordingly.

His first professional project was a car dealership at Rua da Escola Politécnica in Lisbon:
“A. M. ALMEIDA”, one of the first international distributors for Morris Motors Ltd and the exclusive importer for Portugal.

Medeiros e Almeida then took an interest in other pioneering business areas in Portugal, such as commercial aviation.
 
In 1948, he acquired one of the first Portuguese airlines, Aero Portuguesa, operating regular flights to  Morocco on modern aircrafts.

His business links with the Azores began with managing his father’s businesses, including the União das Fábricas Açorianas de Álcool, a distillery that produced sugar and alcohol from sugar beet molasses. 

In 1967, he founded SINAGA, an agricultural industries company in the Azores, and served as Chair of the Board of Directors until his death.
 
Medeiros e Almeida was quite influential in the development and modernization of this sector.

Given his connections to the Azores, Medeiros e Almeida assisted, through his companies, the Allied Forces during World War II.
  
 In 1947, his role was recognized and King George VI of England made him an Honorary Officer of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire - OBE.

António de Medeiros e Almeida also made a name for himself in textiles, with the Torres Novas National Weaving Company, a sector where his national and international involvement garnered him the French Order of Commercial Merit – OMC, in 1951.

Throughout his life he held administrative positions in a variety of sectors: 

“I may say that I was responsible for the simultaneous running of 21 companies, all of them making a profit.”