Francisco Mendes, popularly known by his nom de guerre as Chico Té (February 7, 1939 – July 7, 1978), was a Bissau-Guinean politician and revolutionary.

He was the country's first Prime Minister and held that position from September 24, 1973, until his fatal car accident under suspicious circumstances on July 7, 1978.

In the early 1960s, the African Party for the Independence of Guinea and Cape Verde (PAIGC) launched an armed struggle against Portuguese imperialism which would last more than a decade.

Francisco Mendes was elected the country's first Prime Minister as Comissário Principal and in this role in the newly UN-member, Francisco Mendes was responsible for a series of socialism-inspired development programs, and a four-year drive toward national reconciliation.

[citation needed] As an African nationalist and a national figure in the struggle for independence, Francisco Mendes has been honoured both in Guinea-Bissau and Cape Verde.