France, April 27 -- On 25 April 1974 - after almost half a century of dictatorship - the military coup opened a new era.

Led by low-ranking officers within the Portuguese army and backed by widespread public support, the so-called Carnation Revolution not only toppled Portugal's authoritarian regime but signalled the end of its colonial wars in Africa.

The dictatorship established by Antonio de Oliveira Salazar had been at war with national movements demanding freedom from the Portuguese empire for more than 10 years.

In the aftermath of the revolution, all five of Portugal's African colonies - Mozambique, Guinea-Bissau, Cape Verde, Angola and Sao Tome and Principe - swiftly gained independence.

Those countries' heads of state were i...