José Mariano Rebelo Pires Gago ComSE (16 May 1948 – 17 April 2015) was a Portuguese physicist, professor and politician, mostly known for his tenures as Minister for Science and Higher Education.

Professor of Physics at Instituto Superior Técnico in Lisbon, he worked at CERN (European Organization for Nuclear Research) in Geneva for several years.

He was also responsible for the coordination of the Portuguese policy on Information Society, and for the promotion of science education and scientific culture.

He also fostered research that is increasingly carried out in a framework of international cooperation, as a chance for Portugal to develop new products and provide new types of knowledge-intensive services.

During his tenure as Minister for Science, Technology and Higher Education of the XVII Constitutional Government, Mariano Gago's Ministry was responsible for the compulsory closing of problematic and unreliable private higher education institutions (Independente University and Moderna University).