Lisbon - The former Portuguese military ruler, Francisco Costa Gomes, who played a defining role in the country's Carnation Revolution in 1974, died in Lisbon yesterday at the age of 87, local radio TSF reported.
The government has decreed two days of national mourning to mark the passing of Portugal's last marshal, who died of a respiratory illness at Lisbon's military hospital early yesterday, the Lusa news agency reported.
Having initially served under Portugal's dictator Antonio Salazar, Costa Gomes played a decisive role in the April 1974 revolution that returned democracy to the country after 46 years of Salazar's rule.