Os Grandes Portugueses (English: The Greatest Portuguese) was a public poll contest organized by the Portuguese public broadcasting station RTP and hosted by Maria Elisa. Based on BBC's 100 Greatest Britons, it featured individual documentaries advocating the top ten candidates. The final vote took place on 25 March 2007, the winner being António de Oliveira Salazar, Portugal's Prime Minister from 1932 to 1968.

This article relies excessively on references to primary sources. (September 2011)

The series started in October 2006, with each episode featuring small groups of candidates considered amongst the Greatest Portuguese. Based on voting results, the list of 10 most voted-for personalities were revealed on 14 January 2007, in alphabetical order. All of the 10 finalists were deceased. The ten finalists were then featured in individual documentary episodes, followed by a second round of voting within these top ten. On 25 March the voting results for the final 10, and the full list of 100, was announced.

There are 19 women in the final list of the top 100 Greatest Portuguese, with singer and actress Amália Rodrigues rating the highest, at number 14. The list included 33 then-living persons, with former president and prime minister Mário Soares rating the highest, at number 12. A total of 66 on the list (including the 33 then-living) are predominantly 20th century figures. Of the 100 candidates presented in the opening programs, the only (likely) fictional person was Brites de Almeida, a baker who legend says killed six Castilian soldiers during the 1335 Battle of Aljubarrota, a battle in which Portuguese independence was confirmed; she appeared at number 51 when the final list was released.

Prime Minister António de Oliveira Salazar, whose episode was presented by Jaime Nogueira Pinto, polled the most (41%); his lifelong communist political opponent Álvaro Cunhal was second (19%), and the diplomat Aristides de Sousa Mendes third (13%).

A simultaneous opinion poll conducted by Marktest showed that, given the choice of the finalists, Salazar was the favourite of only 11%.^[1] RTP itself commissioned a simultaneous poll, conducted by Eurosondagem, which ranked Salazar 7th, with 6.6% of the vote, and Afonso I 1st with 21%.^[2] The difference of these statistically conducted polls to the final result of the Os Grandes Portugueses program suggest that the voting for the program, consisting of voluntary telephone calls, may have been skewed by repeat voters in general or organized groups of repeat voters with vested interests.^{[citation needed]}

More information Name, Share of Top 10 votes ...

	Name	Share of Top 10 votes	Birth	Death	Occupation
	António de Oliveira Salazar	41.0%	1889	1970	President of the Council of Ministers for 36 years during the authoritarian period of the Estado Novo
	Álvaro Cunhal	19.1%	1913	2005	Communist leader during the Estado Novo regime and during the post-Carnation Revolution political scene
	Aristides de Sousa Mendes	13.0%	1885	1954	Diplomat who fought against his own government for the safety of Jews living in Europe, during World War II, saving thousands of people.
	Afonso I	12.4%	1109	1185	Founder and first king of Portugal
	Luís de Camões	4.0%	1524	1580	Epic and lyrical poet, author of the national epic Os Lusíadas
	John II	3.0%	1455	1495	Thirteenth king of Portugal and restorer of the Atlantic Ocean and African-coast explorations
	Henry the Navigator	2.7%	1394	1460	Infante and fomenter of the Portuguese discoveries
	Fernando Pessoa	2.4%	1888	1935	Modernist poet and writer widely known for the employment of multiple heteronyms
	Marquês de Pombal	1.7%	1699	1782	Minister of Kingdom of José I and responsible for the reconstruction of Lisbon after the 1755 earthquake
	Vasco da Gama	0.7%	1469	1524	First explorer to discover the sea route from Europe to India

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The SIC Notícias programme Eixo do Mal (Axis of Evil) held a parallel vote for Os Piores Portugueses (The Worst Portuguese), also won by António de Oliveira Salazar.

Other countries have produced similar shows; see Greatest Britons spin-offs