Portugal's ex-president Mario Soares in 'deep' coma

Former president Mario Soares, seen as the father of Portugal's modern day democracy, was in a deep coma and in "critical" condition, the Red Cross hospital in Lisbon said Monday.

"Mr. Soares is in a very critical situation, in a deep coma, and the prognosis remains uncertain," spokesman Jose Barata told journalists.

Soares, 92, has been in the Red Cross hospital's intensive care unit since December 13 after taking ill for an undisclosed reason.

After briefly improving, Soares's health took a turn for the worse on Saturday.

"There has been steady worsening of the state of his health," said Barata.

The founder of Portugal's Socialist party, Soares was a towering figure in Portuguese politics for decades, having served as foreign minister, prime minister and as president from 1986 to 1996.