Mário Soares: the exile of a pro-European democrat

As part of the series "Journeys of intellectuals in exile: a humanism without borders", and to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Carnation Revolution, the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation and the Fondation Maison des sciences de l'homme (FMSH) invite you to a third conference on the political figure Mário Soares.

25 April 2024 will mark the 50th anniversary of the Carnation Revolution, which put an end to 48 years of dictatorship and colonial empire and triggered a wave of democracy in Europe and around the world. Mário Soares (1924-2017), twice Prime Minister and President of the Republic, was the central figure in Portugal's democratic transition and new European destiny. Like thousands of opponents of the dictatorship, he lived in exile in Paris (1969-1974).

Through this major figure in the opposition to Portugal's dictatorial regime, we want to reaffirm the ideals of freedom and equality of the Portuguese April democratic revolution, pay tribute to all Portuguese exiles in France and to the hospitality received in this host country.

Speakers:

• Isabel Soares, Mário Soares Foundation
• Edgar Morin, sociologist and philosopher.
• Guilherme d'Oliveira Martins, Gulbenkian Foundation administrator
• Cristophe Araújo, University of Paris Nanterre

A series of 5 lectures

Exile has never spared intellectuals. In the twentieth century and right up to the present day, it has even been one of the usual conditions for the life of the mind. But while it forces thought and creation to take a break, it also sometimes leads them to flourish elsewhere, or even to be nourished by this situation of loss and constraint.

The series of lectures entitled "Intellectuals in exile: a humanism without borders" seeks to highlight the complexity of these intellectual trajectories and their importance for the renewal of thought and democracy.

Each conference is organised around one or more exiled intellectuals, most often hosted at the FMSH or the EHESS. Together with the specialists invited to present them, these intellectuals represent a wide range of backgrounds, in terms of their country of origin, their preferred discipline, and the period and conditions of their exile.