Portugal’s ambassador to Cape Verde, Paulo Lourenco, 52, died on Friday in the city of Praia from a massive heart attack, a diplomatic source told Lusa.
The ambassador felt unwell when he returned home shortly before 20:00 (22:00 Lisbon time) after a walk.
Despite all resuscitation efforts, he arrived lifeless at the Agostinho Neto hospital in the Cape Verdean capital, where he was taken by ambulance, a source in the medical unit said.
During the day, while carrying out his duties, the diplomat participated in public events in the historical center of Praia and at the Portuguese School of Cape Verde.
Several members of the Cape Verdean government, including Foreign Minister Rui Figueiredo Soares, accompanied the team from the Portuguese Embassy in Cape Verde to the hospital overnight.
Meanwhile, procedures to repatriate the ambassador’s body to Portugal continue.
Paulo Jorge Lopez Lourenço was born on March 10, 1972 in Angola.
He has been a career diplomat since 1995 and has served in the Portuguese embassies in Luanda, London, Sarajevo and Belgrade.
From 2012 to 2018 he was Consul General in Sao Paulo.
From February 2020 until his appointment as Ambassador to Cape Verde in December 2022, he headed the General Directorate of National Defense Policy, in which he negotiated a new defense framework between Portugal and Cape Verde for the period 2022 to 2026.