José A. Palma Caetano

Graduating in Germanic Philology from the Faculty of Letters of the University of Lisbon in 1959, José António Palma Caetano emigrated to Austria, where from 1962 he was a lecturer in Portuguese at the University of Vienna, becoming a contract professor at the Institute for Translator and Interpreter Training at the same university from 1983 until 1996. Between 1969 and 1984, he also held the position of lecturer in Portuguese at the Institute of Romance Studies at the University of Graz. He obtained his doctorate from the University of Vienna in 1981. In 1990, he was a visiting professor at the Federal University of Ceará (Brazil), where he guided the creation of a translator's course and taught a master's course in contemporary Portuguese literature. He developed intense and valuable activity in promoting cultural exchange between Austria and Portugal, being the founder and president of the Austrian institution Clube dos Amigos de Portugal (1965-1979) and, since 1979, president of the Austro-Portuguese Society. As part of this activity, he delivered numerous lectures in both Austria and the former Czechoslovakia. As an essayist, he has collaborated in various Portuguese and Austrian publications, addressing several aspects of both cultures. Recognizing his work in promoting Portuguese culture and language, the Portuguese government awarded him the Commander's Cross of the Order of Infante D. Henrique. He also received the Medal of Honor of the Municipality of Vidigueira and the Goldenes Ehrenzeichen für Verdienste um die Republik Österreich (gold insignia of honor for services rendered to the Republic of Austria).