Businessman Rui Nabeiro, founder of Grupo Nabeiro – Delta Cafés, died today at the age of 91, a victim of illness, at Hospital da Luz, in Lisbon, a source for the group told Lusa.
"It is with deep regret that the Nabeiro family informs that, today, March 19, Commander Manuel Rui Azinhais Nabeiro, president and founder of Grupo Nabeiro - Delta Cafés", can be read in a statement sent by the group.
Commander Rui Nabeiro "was hospitalized at Hospital da Luz, due to respiratory problems", can be read in the same statement, sent by the Nabeiro Group.
A very full life
Manuel Rui Azinhais Nabeiro was born in Campo Maior, in the upper Alentejo region. He was born on March 28, 1931, into a humble family. From an early age he learned to deal with adversity. At the age of 12 he started working, helping his mother in a small grocery store, his father and uncles in the coffee roasting, at a time when the harmful effects of the civil war in Spain were being felt.
He started working at a very young age in the family's coffee roasting business. Rui Nabeiro was only 19 years old when he took over Torrefacção Camelo, Lda.
The entrepreneurial spirit and strong work ethic were always present in the decisive moments of his life.
In 1961 he created Delta Cafés, giving rise to a business group that today leads the coffee market in Portugal and is expanding strongly in international markets.
A few months after its foundation, the Delta brand was distributed throughout the country, opening a commercial warehouse in Lisbon, in 1963, and another in Porto, in 1964.
With a futuristic vision, filled with ambition, he founded Novadelta in 1982 and two years later created the largest roasting factory in the Iberian Peninsula, existing at the time.
Commander Rui Nabeiro has always made an effort to accompany those close to him. With the resources available to him at different stages of his life, he supported and continues to contribute to the well-being of many.
Grupo Nabeiro – Delta Cafés was born in 1988. It currently has more than two dozen companies and direct intervention in areas as diverse as Food and Beverage, Real Estate, Industry and Services, Distribution and Tourism and Restaurants.
Distinctions throughout life
Before April 25, 1974, Rui Nabeiro was twice appointed mayor of Campo Maior City Council in 1962 and 1972. He would return to the post in 1977, then by universal suffrage, being re-elected twice and remaining in office until 1986.
In recognition of the business merit of Rui Nabeiro, he was awarded the rank of Commander of the Civil Order of Agricultural, Industrial and Commercial Merit – Industrial Class, by the President of the Republic Mário Soares, on 9 June 1995.
On the 5th of January 2006 he was distinguished again, this time as Commander of the Order of Infante D. Henrique.
He is a Doctor Honoris Causa by the University of Évora, which in 2009 established the Rui Nabeiro Chair, aimed at promoting research in teaching and scientific dissemination in the area of biodiversity.
Also in 2009, Commander Rui Nabeiro received one of the highest distinctions awarded by the neighboring country. By indication of the King of Spain, he was honored with the remarkable insignia – The Commendation of the Order of Isabel the Catholic. A year later he was named Honorary Consul of Spain, with jurisdiction over the districts of Castelo Branco, Portalegre, Évora and Beja.
This was followed in 2012 by a new Honoris Causa Doctorate in Political Sciences, awarded by the Lusófona University.
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