Following the Carnation Revolution in April 1974, he served as Portugal's colonial governor in São Tomé and Príncipe and later its High Commissioner, until the archipelago gained independence on 12 July 1975.
He mobilised his troops against the coup and offered to host a provisional government in Porto should Lisbon have fallen; he also locked down the port of Leixões so no northern ship entered the south.
Álvaro Cunhal, the leader of the Portuguese Communist Party, ordered the revolutionaries to cease, due to the strength of opposition in the north.
[1] On 25 April 2006, a public holiday marking the Carnation Revolution, Pires Veloso was awarded by Porto mayor Rui Rio the Municipal Medal of Merit, gold class, for his military service.
"[3] Months after his death, it was proposed that Porto's Praça da República square be renamed in Pires Veloso's honour.