Representative of the Republic received US Ambassador to Portugal — DNOTICIAS.PT
The Representative of the Republic for the Autonomous Region of Madeira, Counselor Judge Ireneu Cabral Barreto, received, at the Palácio de São Lourenço, the Ambassador of the United States of America to Portugal, Randi Charno Levine. The presidents of the Legislative Assembly of Madeira, of the Regional Government of the Municipality of Funchal and also present at the meeting.
On the occasion, Ireneu Barreto highlighted the role of the USA as a “beacon of the free world” and “example of the Modern Rule of Law”.
Born during the Second World War, when, yesterday as today, as shadows of totalitarianism, xenophobia and inhumanity threatened Europe, he grew up looking to the United States as the beacon of the Free World and the homeland of Humanity’s progress. Later, as a magistrate, and especially in the years I spent at the Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg, I was always the example of the Modern Rule of Law in the United States.
The Representative of the Republic also praised the “relationship that the United States always favors with Portugal, directly and within the scope of NATO, as two countries increasingly united by the Atlantic Ocean”.
On the other hand, he highlighted the points of contact between the Madeiran and North American communities.
“You will find that it has many points of connection with your country, some unexpected examples”, he said, pointing out such as: Madeira Wine, “always present to celebrate as great historical dates of the United States – such as the celebration of independence, on July 4th of 1776, or the inaugurations of Presidents George Washington or Barack Obama”; the ukelele, taken to America by Madeiran emigrants at the end of the 19th century; the fact that the whaling scenes of the epic ‘Moby Dick’ were filmed in Madeira in 1956, or that Ponta do Sol was the county of origin of the ancestors of John do Passos, “one of the greatest American modernist writers” .
For all this, I wish you and your family, Madam Ambassador, an excellent stay among us. And we hope you come back often.
Counselor to Judge Ireneu Cabral Barreto
Randi Charno Levine was appointed ambassador to Portugal in November last year by President Joe Biden to be rectified this year, Senate, definitely April, then functions in April.