André Gonçalves Pereira, vice chair and honorary partner of Cuatrecasas, dies

André Gonçalves Pereira, vice chair, honorary partner and a key figure in the history of Cuatrecasas, died early last night in Lisbon, aged 83.

For Rafael Fontana, Senior Partner of Cuatrecasas, André Gonçalves Pereira “was an extraordinary lawyer—brilliant and intelligent—whose immense prestige transcended the national borders of Portugal. André was not only a pivotal figure for the practice of law in Portugal, but also in Portuguese academic, political and cultural life.” Fontana emphasized that “he also played a key role in the process of integrating Cuatrecasas with Gonçalves Pereira, which culminated in what was the first and most important merger of Iberian law firms, creating what we are today: a leading law firm in the Iberian Peninsula and Latin America and one of the most innovative in Europe.”

Managing partner of Cuatrecasas in Portugal, Maria João Ricou—whom André Gonçalves Pereira mentored at the beginning of her career—stressed that “we have been left by an outstanding academic, a lawyer who touched generations and an extraordinary person who will always inspire us in our professional life and as persons, and who we will always remember with deep admiration, gratitude and affection.”

Born in Lisbon on July 26, 1936, André Roberto Delaunay Gonçalves Pereira became a lawyer in 1959 and obtained a doctor of laws from the University of Lisbon aged only 25.

He was a senior university lecturer in public international law, minister of foreign affairs of the Portuguese Republic (1981-1982), member of the board of directors of the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation and representative of the Portuguese Republic in the United Nations, the International Monetary Fund, the OECD and UNESCO, among other organizations. He was also a guest lecturer at Columbia University (USA) and at universities in Madrid, Paris and Rio de Janeiro.

During his career, he was awarded the Grand Cross of the Military Order of Our Knights of Lord Jesus Christ (1983) and the Grand Cross of the Order of Prince Henry of Portugal (2006), as well as being appointed a Grand Officer of the Legion of Honour of France (1982); a Knight Grand Cross of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic (1981); the Grand Cross of the National Order of the Southern Cross of Brazil (1982); and a Grand Officer of the Order of Leopold of Belgium (1981).

We honor his life and feel proud of his legacy.