Born on 20 April 1915 in Burma, now known as Myanmar, the youngest son of Mr. Erasmo de Sequeira and Mrs. Ana Julia de Sa e Sequeira, João Hugo Eduardo de Sequeira, popularly known as Jack de Sequeira completed his entire education in Portuguese at the Lyceum. He was a brilliant student who later became a Medico Cirugião at the Escola Medico de Goa and at the tender age of 21 as he was preparing to specialize, taking up blood research, his father passed, thus forcing him to shelve his medical profession in order to run the family business, Agencia E. Sequeira, which was a leading business house, at that time in Goa. Little did he realize at the time, that he would play a key role in the history of Goan politics.
People of the older generation perhaps remember him for his honesty and generosity. During the World War II, when there was shortage of the most essential commodities, Dr. Jack de Sequeira ensured that the family firm Agencia Sequeira sold kerosene and scarce matchboxes at a subsidized price. The thought of profiting never crossed his mind. During the elections of 1979, at the fag end of his political career, he lost the election in Santa Cruz, a seat he had won three times.
Dr. Jack de Sequeira a gifted orator used his charisma to tilt the balance. He influenced the people with his fluent rhetoric, and managed to win people into the UGP fold, which subsequently led to the convincing victory of the UGP, which was ably led by him. Dr Sequeira left no stone unturned to ensure the victory of the majority people of Goa, Daman and Diu for a separate entity.
In fact just to exemplify Dr. Jack de Sequeira’scommitted and selfless dedication to the cause, many senor citizens, who witnessed Dr Sequeira’s sacrifices for the cause, recall that when the State was under the merger threat, he (Dr. Sequeira) traveled extensively from Colaba to Kalyan in Bombay and with his winning personality took Bombay by storm, convincing Goans to support the cause of a separate State.
