José Carlos Rolo, former mayor of Albufeira, died this morning at Faro Hospital at the age of 70.
The news has been confirmed by the current mayor Rui Cristina and other regional institutions which have already lamented the politician’s death.
According to reports in the regional press, Rolo had been hospitalised since last week and underwent emergency surgery to address a long-standing intestinal issue. Despite the operation, he did not recover and spent several days in a coma before passing away.
Hailing from the Alentejo village of Gavião, José Carlos Rolo started his career as a teacher and eventually became the headteacher at Albufeira’s secondary school. His political journey started in 2001, when he was elected as a municipal councillor following Desidério Silva’s (PSD) victory over PS in the mayoral election.
His first stint as mayor of Albufeira was in 2012, serving for about a year after Silva resigned to run for the presidency of the Algarve Tourism Board (RTA). Rolo was later re-elected as councillor in 2013 and 2017 and served as deputy mayor under Carlos Silva e Sousa.
In 2018, he again became mayor following the death of Silva e Sousa and won the local election in 2021, serving as mayor last year. He had been the PSD candidate in the October 2025 local elections but lost to Chega’s Rui Cristina. Despite the loss, he continued to serve the borough as a councillor.
Current mayor Rui Cristina released a statement mourning Rolo’s death, offering condolences to his family, friends and former colleagues and expressing his “consternation and sorrow”.
“I send my most heartfelt condolences to his family, friends and to all those who worked with him in the service of Albufeira. It is with great sadness that, so soon and so suddenly, I see the departure of a man who gave his best to this municipality, and I will always remember the cordial way in which we dealt with each other in recent months as political adversaries. I pay tribute to his memory,” he wrote on social media.
AHETA, the Algarve Hotels and Tourist Enterprises Association, also expressed sadness at Rolo’s passing, praising his “dedication to public service and contribution to the development of the municipality”.
