The Governor of Banco de Portugal, Carlos da Silva Costa, conveys his deepest sympathy to the family of Miguel Beleza, who passed away yesterday, in a time of great sadness felt by the institution and by all those who had the good fortune to know him, one of the most highly-regarded Portuguese economists of the 20th Century.

Miguel Beleza was Minister of Finance in the XI Constitutional Government and Governor of Banco de Portugal from 1992 to 1994. As Minister and as Governor, he played a fundamental role in Portugal's joining of the Economic and Monetary Union, and as a result, in the adoption of the euro, a project in which he took great pride, in which Banco de Portugal takes great pride, and which he saw as his legacy.

The Governor of Banco de Portugal offers a heartfelt and well-deserved tribute to Miguel Beleza for his contribution, as Minister of Finance and thereafter as Governor, for that project to structure the Portuguese economy which profoundly changed the mission and organisation of the central bank.

A friend of Banco de Portugal, Miguel Beleza was Governor at a critical time for the Portuguese economy and for the euro area's economy, managing the devaluation of the escudo in a context of profound macroeconomic instability. He guided the destiny of Banco de Portugal convinced of the importance of the mission entrusted to him, with contagious enthusiasm for the functions that he carried out, and with the ambition of being a good Governor, as he liked to say.

Miguel Beleza began his career in Banco de Portugal, in 1979, as senior economist in the Economic Research Office. After three years at the International Monetary Fund, where he was responsible for relations between the IMF and Portugal and Spain, Miguel Beleza returned to Banco de Portugal as member of the Board of Directors, a role he carried out until 1990. More recently he was on the Advisory Board of Banco de Portugal.

Aside from being a brilliant economist, Miguel Beleza was known for his foresight, for being humble, clear-eyed and frank, and for having a sharp sense of humour – qualities that also merit the recognition of Banco de Portugal.