Loulé City Council expressed this Friday, February 9th, its “deepest regret” for the death of André Jordan, remembering that the municipality owes a lot to “the extraordinary vision” of the businessman.
André Jordan was born in Poland in 1933. The family left for Brazil, passing through Portugal, due to the Nazi invasion in September 1939.
He began his professional life as a journalist for the Brazilian press, later taking on executive roles in his father's real estate companies, one of the pioneers of the sector in Rio de Janeiro.
André Jordan lived and worked in Buenos Aires, New York, Paris, London and Southern Spain.
In 1970, he came to Portugal and created emblematic tourism and housing developments in the Algarve and the Lisbon Region.
In the municipality of Loulé, the municipality recalls that «it made the old Quinta dos Descabedos the now famous and exclusive Quinta do Lago».
«An exceptional man, a businessman with unusual qualities, through his genius, singularity and vision, he knew, like no one else, how to combine the development of territories with art, good taste and sobriety in his relationship with nature», he adds.
After the challenge of Quinta do Lago throughout the 70s, in 1995, André Jordan set out on a new adventure, acquiring the company that owned Vilamoura, with the aim of elevating Vilamoura to a higher level of distinction and turning it into a tourist destination. of excellence both nationally and internationally.
«This task required not only resources, but above all experience and vision in the real estate business. Thus was born the recovery of the old part of the resort founded in the 60s, the development of the Vilamoura XXI project, the construction of new golf courses (and the rehabilitation of old ones), the creation of a calendar of highly successful events that brought glamor and differentiation, and made today's Vilamoura an example to follow», says the Chamber of Loulé.
He is the father of a school and a unique philosophy in the conception and design of tourist resorts of unique quality that have earned him several national and international recognitions at the highest level.
He was awarded an Honorary Doctorate by ISCTE and the University of Algarve.
He was Honorary Consul of Brazil in the Algarve for 17 years, Grand Officer of the Order of Infante D. Henrique and, in 2023, he was decorated by the President of the Republic with the Grand Cross of the Order of Commercial Merit.
The Brazilian Government awarded him the title of Grand Officer of the Order of Rio Branco.
He was also an honorary citizen of the cities of Rio de Janeiro and New York and in 1998 he received the Gold Municipal Medal of Merit from Loulé and Sintra.
He was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) by Queen Elizabeth II. He received the National Tourism Award – Career category. He has written several works, the most recent being “A Journey through Life”.
André Jordan thus leaves a vast legacy in the business and cultural areas in different parts of the world.
According to his wishes, André Jordan will be buried in the Almancil cemetery, a land that gave him so much joy and that will keep good memories of him. The funeral is this Monday, at 16 pm.
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