Abel Fontoura da Costa

Portuguese soldier, politician, and scientist (1869–1940)

Abel Fontoura da Costa
Fontoura da Costa, c. 1923

Colonial governor of Cape Verde
In office 11 September 1915 – 9 March 1918
Preceded by	Joaquim Pedro Vieira Judice Bicker
Succeeded by	Teófilo Duarte

Personal details
Born	9 December 1869 Alpiarça
Died	7 December 1940 São Pedro do Estoril, Cascais
Nationality	Portuguese

Abel Fontoura da Costa (9 December 1869 – 7 December 1940) was a Portuguese colonial administrator, a military officer, a politician and a scientist.^[1]

He attended the Royal Military College and enlisted into the Navy in 1887. His highest rank was Captain. In 1901, he took part in a commission that marked the boundary between Portuguese Angola and Congo Free State.^[2]^[1] He was governor of Cape Verde from 11 September 1915 until 9 March 1918.^[3] He was Minister of Agriculture in 1923, in the government of António Maria da Silva.^[4] He was the director of the Escola Náutica from 1936 to 1939.^[2]

He received the following decorations:^[5]

Commander of the Military Order of Avis of Portugal (11 March 1919)
Grand Officer of the Military Order of Avis of Portugal (19 October 1920)

References

^ ^a ^b Abel Fontoura da Costa, Leonor Lopes, Arquivo Distrital de Santarém
^ ^a ^b "Fontoura da Costa - Hydrographic Institute". hidrografico.pt (in Portuguese). Archived from the original on 2016-06-06. Retrieved 2016-11-21.
^ "Cape Verde". worldstatesmen.org.
^ Governo de António Maria da Silva (1922-1923), politipedia.pt
^ "Cidadãos Nacionais Agraciados com Ordens Portuguesas". Presidência da República Portuguesa. Retrieved 7 November 2018., search result for "Abel Fontoura da Costa"