José Guilherme Reis Leite


José Guilherme Reis Leite GC IH, is a professor, historian and Azorean politician, whose functions included his role as Regional Secretary for Education and Culutre, deputy and President of the Legislative Assembly of the Azores, in addition to representative for the Azores in the Portuguese National Assembly.

Career

José Guilherme Reis Leite was educated in History at the Faculty of Letters at the University of Lisbon, before obtaining his doctorate in Modern and Contemporary History from the same institution. He completed his dissertation, Política e Administração dos Açores de 1890 a 1910 - O Primeiro Movimento Autonomista, under the orientation of professor António Henrique de Oliveira Marques.
He became a professor of history at the National Lyceum of Angra do Heroísmo, a position which he held until his retirement.

Politician

Reis Leite became the Secretário Regional da Educação e Cultura in the first Regional Legislature of president Mota Amaral between 1976 and 1980, as well as the second Legislature. Since 1984, he was a regional deputy in the Legislative Assembly of the Azores, until 1992.
He was a deputy in the Assembly of the Republic for the Azores between 1992 and 1999, at a time member of the Portuguese parliamentary delegation for the Council of Europe and the Western European Union.

Historian

José Guilherme Reis Leite is a correspondence member of the Portuguese Academy of History, member of the Geographic Society of Lisbon, the Marine Academy, and correspondence member of the Santa Catarina Historic and Geographic Institute. In addition, in the Azores, he is a member of the Cultural Institute of Ponta Delgada, the Cultural Center of Horta, the Azorean Cultural Institute, the Afonso Chaves Society and the Historical Institute of Terceira.
In addition to collaborator in social communication for the Azores, and political commentator, he is a reputed historian and investigator of Azorean history, including works published on the autonomy and evolution of political liberties in the archipelago. He has published several articles in local magazines, colloquies and national/international conferences on the subject, being invited to present at events at the University of the Azores and University of Minho.

Later life

For his involvement in the political, historical and cultural identity of the Azores and Portugal, he was awarded the Grande Cross of the Order of Prince Henry.

Published works