São José Almeida PUBLICO António Costa is the first European and Western ruler whose family origins are from India. His political progression was followed closely by the Indian authorities and his ascent to prime ministership paved the way for the Republic of India to formalize the invitation for a state visit with an intense official program that extends six days.
The works of the Indian ancestors of [Portuguese Prime Minister] António Costa will be published in India, in English translations. The two books of the writer Orlando da Costa (1929-2006), father of the prime minister are *The Sign of the Wrath* (O Signo da Ira) and *No Flowers, No Wreaths* (Sem Flores nem Coroas). The latter is a play that takes place on the night of the annexation of Portuguese India. The first is considered the main work of this writer and is set in Goa. It should be noted that the father of the prime minister, writer Orlando da Costa, is the son of the Goan Luís Rohin Jussilainen da Costa, married to Amélia Maria Fréchaut Fernandes, who was born in Mozambique. It was on a visit that the grandparents of António Costa undertook to the family of Amelia Maria that Orlando da Costa was born in the then Mozambican capital, Lourenço Marques. However, as a child and young person the to-be writer was raised in Portuguese India, till he left to study in Portugal. It was in Portugal that Orlando da Costa, in turn, met and married the mother of the current prime minister, journalist Maria Antonia Palla. [Portuguese Prime Minister] António Costa encountered Goa and India as a young man on a trip he made with his father. Orlando da Costa. The current prime minister of Portugal, belongs to a Goan Catholic family, of Margão, a region that was once part of Portuguese India. Branches of the family still remain in Goa, whom the Prime Minister will meet again on his official visit. Rough translation based on: https://www.publico.pt/2016/12/24/politica/noticia/orlando-da-costa-editado-na-india-1755817