Wilfred de Souza

Wilfred de Souza GCIH FRCS FRCSE (23 April 1927 – 4 September 2015) was a surgeon and politician from Goa, India. He served as Goa's chief minister on three occasions[1] when he was a member of the Indian National Congress and the Goa Rajiv Congress Party, during his third tenure.

Wilfred de Souza
7th Chief Minister of Goa
In office
18 May 1993 – 2 April 1994
Preceded byRavi S. Naik
Succeeded byRavi S. Naik
In office
8 April 1994 – 16 December 1994
Preceded byRavi S. Naik
Succeeded byPratapsingh Rane
In office
30 July 1998 – 26 November 1998
Preceded byPratapsing Rane
Succeeded byLuizinho Faleiro
Member of the Goa Legislative Assembly
In office
1989–2007
Preceded byconstituency established
Succeeded byDilip Parulekar
ConstituencySaligao
In office
1980–1984
Preceded byIlario Rual Fernandes
Succeeded byMalik Shrikant Keshav
ConstituencyCalangute
In office
1974–1977
Preceded byVassudev N Sarmalkar
Succeeded byCota Lourence
ConstituencyBenaulim
Personal details
Born(1927-04-23)23 April 1927
Kampala, Uganda
Died4 September 2015(2015-09-04) (aged 88)
Panaji, Goa, India
NationalityIndian
Political partyIndian National Congress
Goa Rajiv Congress Party
Nationalist Congress Party
Trinamool Congress
ProfessionPolitician
surgeon

Political career

Dr de Souza is credited, together with allies such as Govind Panvelcar, with the first Congress Party victory in Goa in 1980. From 1963 until 1979 Goan politics had been dominated by the regional parties, particularly the Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party.[2]

In July 1998 Dr de Souza formed the Goa Rajiv Congress Party as a splinter group of the INC. He was sworn in as Chief Minister for the third time on 30 July 1998 and remained in the post until 26 November 1998.

In 1999, Dr de Souza joined the Nationalist Congress Party and was its Goa president from 1999 to June 2009. During this period he was Deputy Chief Minister in a coalition government with the INC from February 2005 to June 2007. He failed to retain his seat in the 2007 assembly election.

After he left the party, Gurunath Kulkarni, national general secretary of the Nationalist Congress Party accused him of impeding the party's growth in Goa.[3]

In 2007, he was appointed the Deputy Chairperson of the State Planning Board.

For the 2012 assembly election he was a member of the All India Trinamool Congress as head of the Goa branch of the party. During the election, he criticised the INC for corruption. [4]

Background

He was born in Kampala, Uganda on 23 April 1927, to Dr. Tito Fermino de Souza and Alina Ana Maria de Souza, Ugandan Indian parents of Goan Catholic origin and descent who both immigrated from Anjuna, Goa.

He died on 4 September 2015 after a brief illness and prior to that, he was admitted in Manipal Hospital.

Educational Qualifications

M.B.B.S. (Bombay University); Fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons, England; Fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons, Edinburgh; Honorary Fellow of the International College of Surgeons; Fellow of the Association of Surgeons of India. [5]

Awards and achievements
  1. Commander, Grand Cross of the Order of Dom Infante Henriques – from the Government of Portugal at the hands of the President of Portugal, H.E.Mario Soares;
  2. Dr. B. C. Roy Award – as "Eminent Medical Man & Statesman" from the Medical Council of India at the hands of the President of India, H.E. Shri K.R. Narayanan;
  3. The Silver Elephant Award – for services to Scouts & Guides by the President of India;
  4. Sons of India – award from the society for Advanced Studies in Medical Sciences at the hands of Swami Brijendramandji, Head Ramkrishna Mission;
  5. Jawaharlal Nehru Excellence Award – given by Institute of Economic Studies, New Delhi;
  6. Indira Gandhi Solidarity Award – given by Indian Solidarity Council, New Delhi; Rajiv Gandhi Excellence Award, 1992;
  7. International Gold Star Award – by Industrial Economic Forum, New Delhi; Super Achievers of India Award by Front for National Progress;
  8. Glory of India International Award – by International Friendship Association of India;
  9. Gold Award – by Shiromani Institute;

In addition, he has worked in several hospitals in the UK 1957–1963; Consultant surgeon to Goa Medical College Panjim; Asilo Hospital Mapuca; Hospicio Hospital Margao; Holy Cross Hospital, Mapuca; C.M.M. Memorial Hospital, Panjim. .[5]

References
  1. Vaz, J. Clement (1997). Profiles of eminent Goans, past and present. Concept Publishing Company. pp. 165–166. ISBN 978-81-7022-619-2.
  2. Mehra, Ajay. K; Schmdit, Laris Peter. "Regional/State Parties in India" (PDF). Konrad Adenauer Stiftung. Retrieved 3 June 2018.
  3. "De Souza blamed for impeding NCP's growth". The Times of India. Retrieved 29 October 2013.
  4. "Trinamool Cong offers Willy state chief's post". Time of India. 3 January 2013.
  5. "Know your MLA... – Recent Discussion". Osdir.com. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 29 October 2013.
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