Santa Comba Dão
António de Oliveira Salazar, who was the Prime Minister of Portugal from 1932 to 1968 and leader of the "Estado Novo", was born in Vimieiro, Santa Comba Dão on 28 April 1889.
António de Oliveira Salazar
Salazar relied on secret police to enforce the policies he wished to implement. The "Polícia de Vigilância e de Defesa do Estado (PVDE)" ("State Defence and Surveillance Police") was established in 1933. It was replaced in 1945 by the remodeled "Polícia Internacional e de Defesa do Estado (PIDE)" ("International and State Defence Police"), which lasted until 1969 (and from that year to 1974 under Marcelo Caetano, it was the "Direcção Geral de Segurança (DGS)" ("General Security Directorate"). The secret police existed not only to protect national security in a modern sense, but also to suppress the regime's political opponents, especially those associated with the international communist movement or the Soviet Union, which was seen by the regime as a menace to Portugal.