PANJIM: Goa’s only Chief Secretary of Goan origin, Dr Jose Conceicao Almeida (87), passed away late Tuesday evening following a brief illness at a private hospital in Miramar. The funeral will be held on Thursday.

Almeida held the equal to impossible privilege of being appointed the only native Chief Secretary of Goa, despite the fact that he had left Goa for Portugal in the 1950s.

Almeida had served in several key positions during his long service as an administrator, serving under various chief ministers. He also worked with Goa’s first chief minister Dayanand Bandodkar. 

Almeida had set up the Directorate of Statistics and later went on to manage the rural bank ‘Caixa Economica de Goa’.  After having cleared the UPSC exams, Almeida was assigned to different government posts in different parts of the country. 

He also chaired the Economic Development Corporation (EDC) for almost seven years and established the Goa Public Service Commission.

Almeida is survived by his wife Dulcina and children, Genevieve, Jose, Otilia, Orfelinda, Anibal and Ondine.

Extending condolences to the family, Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar recalled Almeida’s administrative qualities and said, “Almeida was the lone native Chief Secretary of Goa with good administrative skills.”