Vasco Goncalves, 83; 4-Time Prime Minister Led Portugal Revolution

Vasco Goncalves, 83, a former prime minister of Portugal who played a key role in the 1974 toppling of his country’s right-wing dictatorship, died of unspecified causes Saturday in Lisbon.

Goncalves was prime minister of four socialist provisional governments in 1974 and 1975, but was ousted by a moderate wing in August 1975.

Known as one of the “captains of April,” Goncalves was involved in organizing and carrying out the revolution that ushered in the country’s first free elections. It was called the Revolution of the Carnations for the bloodless way in which it was carried out on April 25, 1974. Soldiers handed out red carnations to residents and put the flowers in the barrels of guns and tanks.

The first elections had a higher turnout than any election since, with 91.7% of 6.2 million registered voters casting ballots. After the revolution, the Portuguese colonies of Angola, Cape Verde, East Timor, Guinea, Mozambique, Principe and Sao Tome were granted independence.