Henrique Gouveia e Melo was born in 1960 in
Quelimane, Mozambique, which at the time was the
Overseas Province of Mozambique, a territory under
Portuguese rule. He was the son of Manuel Henriques Gomes de Frias de Melo e Gouveia, of a family of aristocratic roots in the
Beira Interior region, and his wife Maria Helena Pereira Passaláqua, of
Italian descent. Through his mother, he is a great-grandson of (1850–1926), a
brigade general,
colonial administrator, and pioneer of the
Spiritist movement in Portugal. He spent his youth between Quelimane and
São Paulo in Brazil. As a young man, he earned the monicker "Marlon" — as in
Marlon Brando — due to being sought after by the opposite sex. He finally went to
Lisbon at age 18 to enroll at the
Naval School as a
cadet, in 1979. Each Naval School class is referred to by the name of an historical figure assigned to it as a patron; that year's was
First World War hero
Carvalho Araújo. In September 1984, at age 23, he finished his studies and was promoted to the rank of
midshipman. At age 24, in September 1985, he volunteered in the Submarine Escadrille () and sailed in the s NRP
Albacora, NRP
Barracuda, and NRP
Delfim in several operational roles as a garrison officer and, later, in command positions as a chief officer aboard
Albacora and
Barracuda. During his long service in the Submarine Escadrille, which only ended in 2002, he also commanded the submarines
Delfim and
Barracuda, led the escadrille's Training and Assessment Service () and the Staff of the National Submarine Operating Authority (; SUBOPAUTH). After three years as a Navy Spokesman and having played a decisive role in the project for the acquisition of the new s, he commanded, from 2006 to 2008, the frigate . He then returned to his activities as a submariner as the commander of the Submarine Escadrille, overseeing the necessary changes to adapt the military unit to the new submarines, namely, the
sea trials and the
commissioning of . Before his promotion to
general officer ranks, he served as the Second Commander of the Naval Fleet,
Director of Lighthouses, and Director of the Sea Rescue Institute (). He was promoted to
rear admiral in April 2014, after which he was appointed chief of staff to the
Chief of the Naval Staff, until 2016, and then briefly served as the Second Commander of the Naval Fleet, leading it in an interim capacity. He was promoted to
vice admiral in January 2017, after which he served as Commander of the Portuguese Fleet. At this time, he additionally served as Commander of the
European Maritime Force (EUROMARFOR) until September 2019. From January 2020, he was named
Adjutant for Planning and Coordination of the
Armed Forces General Staff. == COVID-19 pandemic ==