Mário Ruivo
Mário João de Oliveira Ruivo was a Portuguese scientist and politician, a pioneer in the defense of the ocean and the environment in Portugal. He briefly held ministerial offices in the Portuguese government after the Carnation Revolution, but spent most of his career in senior positions in numerous governmental and non-governmental environmental agencies and scientific organisations.
Early life and education
In the 1940s, he was a prominent leader of the Direção Universitária de Lisboa and of MUD Juvenil, being arrested for his political activities against the dictatorship in 1947.After a degree in Biology, from the Faculty of Sciences of the University of Lisbon, he got a degree in biological oceanography and living resources management from the University Paris-Sorbonne, and conducted extensive research in Portugal and other European countries.
Political career
Having returned to Portugal, he was part of the editorial board of Seara Nova, an anti-dictatorship magazine.After the Carnation Revolution, he was Minister of Foreign Affairs, in the V Provisional Government and Secretary of State for Fisheries in the II, III and IV Provisional Governments.
Scientific career
From 1961 to 1974, he was the director of the Division of Environment and Aquatic Resources, of the Department of Fisheries, of the Food and Agriculture Organization, in Rome. Between 1975 and 1979, he was Director-General of Environment and Aquatic Resources, at the Ministry for Agriculture and Fisheries and Head of the Portuguese Delegation to the United Nations Conference on the Law of the Sea. He was Executive Secretary of the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission of UNESCO, member of the Consultative Council of the Junta Nacional de Investigação Científica e Tecnológica and president of the Independent Evaluation and Control Commission – COMBO Project, MEPAT. He was also the Coordinator of the Independent World Commission on the Oceans, member of the Strategic Commission for the Oceans, and scientific adviser of EXPO98, dedicated to the subject “The Oceans – a Heritage for the Future”.He was a member of the Board of Trustees of the International Ocean Institute and vice-president of the European Association of Marine Science and Technology.
Mário Ruivo was one of the founders and president of Eurocean – European Centre for information on Marine Science and Technology, in 2002, an independent organisation with the aim to facilitate information exchange in the field of marine sciences and technologies, located in Lisbon.
He was in the Board of Directors of the National Centre for Culture, a member of the Lisbon Geographic Society, and a permanent member of the General Council of the Mário Soares Foundation, among other relevant positions.
Until his passing, in 2017, he was the president of the Intersectorial Oceanographic Commission, of the Ministry of Science, Technology and Higher Education, president of the National Council of the Environment and Sustainable Development, and president of the Permanent Forum for Ocean Affairs.
Legacy
He died in Lisbon, on 25 January 2017, aged 89 years.In 2012, Eurocean created the Mário Ruivo Prize, with the goal of raising public awareness to the importance of the ocean and its services to humankind.
In 2018, the Ministry of the Sea launched the Prize Mário Ruivo – Ocean Generations, to promote the knowledge about the ocean among the youth, especially on its relevance for everyday life and for the future of humankind.
Awards and honors
Source:- Portugal Grand Officer of the Order of Prince Henry
- Malta Companion of the National Order of Merit
- Portugal Grand Officer of the Military Order of Saint James of the Sword, awarded for exceptional and outstanding merits in literature, science and arts
- Brazil Grand Cross of the National Order of Scientific Merit
- Portugal Grand Cross of the Order of Merit
- France Chevalier of the Légion d’Honneur
Distinctions
- Gold Medal of the Foundation for International Studies
- Açor de Cristal awarded by Mostra Atlântica de Televisão
- "Prestígio" Prize
- Bordalo de Honra Prize, Casa da Imprensa
- Career Award – Environment National Prize ;
- Doutor Honoris Causa, University of Azores.
- Mérito Municipal Grau Ouro Medal, Campo Maior Municipality
- Terras sem Sombra International Award - Biodiversity
- European Citizen's Prize, awarded by the European Parliament, for his contribution to “European cooperation and the promotion of common European values”.
- Doutor Honoris Causa, University of Algarve.