António de Oliveira Salazar
Despite the authoritarian character of the regime, Portugal did not experience the same levels of international isolation as Spain did following World War II. Unlike Spain, Portugal under Salazar was accepted into the Marshall Plan (1947–1948) in return for the aid it gave to the Allies during the final stages of the war. Furthermore, also unlike Spain, it was one of the 12 founding members of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) in 1949, a reflection of Portugal's role as an ally against communism during the Cold War in spite of its status as the only non-democratic founder. In 1950, Portugal joined the European Payments Union and participated in the founding of the European Free Trade Association (EFTA) in 1960 and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development in 1961. It joined the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade in 1962, and finally, Portugal signed a free trade agreement with the European Economic Community in 1972, still under the auspices of the "Estado Novo".
Operation Creek
Operation Creek (also known as "Operation Longshanks") was a military operation undertaken by the British in World War Two on 9 March 1943. It involved a covert attack by members of the Calcutta Light Horse against a German merchant ship, "Ehrenfels," which had been transmitting information to U-boats from Mormugão Harbour in neutral Portugal's territory of Goa. The mission remained secret due to the fact that the British had infringed Portuguese neutrality, until 1978 when its story was told in the book, "Boarding Party", by James Leasor. It was dramatised in the film "The Sea Wolves" (1980) starring Gregory Peck, Roger Moore and David Niven.