100 Years of Rotary Club Portugal

A stylised arrangement of human figures surrounding a globe marked with lines of latitude. Upper right: two overlapping hands, with a cogwheel — emblem of the international Rotary network — visible behind the globe. Centre bottom: the commemorative inscription "ROTARY", the issuing state "PORTUGAL" and the year "2026". Lower right: the mint name "CASA DA MOEDA"; lower left: the designer's name "Esc. João Duarte". The coat of arms separates the lower inscriptions.

In the early 20th century, Rotary International began carrying its network from the United States to other countries. Portugal was among the European countries that founded their own club comparatively early: in 1926, the first Rotary Club of Portugal was established in Lisbon. In the following decades, the movement grew despite politically difficult periods – in particular during the Estado Novo dictatorship, which severely restricted civil society organisations, club activity was temporarily suspended. After the Carnation Revolution of 1974 and the return to democracy, Rotary was able to operate openly and expand again in Portugal. Today, the country has several dozen clubs with thousands of members engaged in education, health and humanitarian aid.

Rotary International itself was founded in 1905 in Chicago by Paul Harris and is today one of the world's largest service organisations, with more than 46,000 clubs in more than 200 countries. The organisation's self-image is based on professional-ethical principles and the ideal of communal service – summed up in the motto "Service Above Self". Rotary became internationally known above all for its contribution to the worldwide eradication of polio, on which the network has worked together with the WHO and other partners since the 1980s. The cogwheel as the organisation's symbol refers to the craft and entrepreneurial roots of the early clubs. In 2026, Portugal marks the hundredth anniversary of Rotary's presence in the country and commemorates this milestone of Portuguese civil society with a €2 commemorative coin.