Prime Minister of Portugal


Prime Minister is the current title of the head of government of Portugal. As head of government, the Prime Minister coordinates the actions of ministers, represents the Government of Portugal to the other bodies of state, is accountable to Parliament and keeps the President informed. The Prime Minister can hold the role of head of government with the portfolio of one or more ministries.
There is no limit to the number of terms a person can serve as Prime Minister. The Prime Minister is appointed by the President of the Republic following legislative elections, after having heard the parties represented in the Parliament. Usually, the person named is the leader of the largest party in the previous election, but there have been exceptions over the years.

History

Since the Middle Ages, some officers of the Portuguese Crown gained precedence over the others, serving as a kind of prime ministers. Over time, the role of principal officer of the Crown fell upon the chanceler-mor, the mordomo-mor and the escrivão da puridade.
The first modern prime minister of Portugal was Pedro de Sousa Holstein, Marquess of Palmela, who was sworn in on 24 September 1834, as Presidente do Conselho de Ministros. In 1911, the official title of the prime minister became Presidente do Ministério. In 1933, it became again Presidente do Conselho de Ministros.
The present title Primeiro-Ministro, attributed to the head of the Government of Portugal, was officially established by the Constitution of 1976 after the revolution of 25 April 1974

Office Holders

The incumbent Prime Minister of Portugal is António Costa, who took office on 26 November 2015 as the 13th Prime Minister of the Third Portuguese Republic. The official residence of the Prime Minister is a mansion next to São Bento Palace, which, in confusion, is also often called "São Bento Palace".
Portuguese Prime Ministers of the Third Portuguese Republic:

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from:25/04/1974 till:16/05/1974 color:IND $right text:"1974 National Salvation Junta"
from:16/05/1974 till:18/07/1974 color:IND $left text:"Adelino Palma Carlos 1974"
from:18/07/1974 till:19/09/1975 color:IND $right text:"1974–1975 Vasco Gonçalves"
from:19/09/1975 till:23/06/1976 color:IND $left text:"Pinheiro de Azevedo 1975–1976"
from:23/06/1976 till:23/07/1976 color:IND $right text:"1976 Almeida e Costa "
from:23/07/1976 till:28/08/1978 color:PS $left text:"Mário Soares 1976–1978"
from:28/08/1978 till:22/11/1978 color:IND $right text:"1978 Nobre da Costa"
from:22/11/1978 till:01/08/1979 color:IND $left text:"Mota Pinto 1978–1979"
from:01/08/1979 till:03/01/1980 color:IND $right text:"1979 Maria Lourdes Pintasilgo"
from:03/01/1980 till:04/12/1980 color:PSD $left text:"Sá Carneiro 1980"
from:04/12/1980 till:09/01/1981 color:PP $right text:"1980–1981 Freitas do Amaral "
from:09/01/1981 till:09/06/1983 color:PSD $left text:"Pinto Balsemão 1981–1983"
from:09/06/1983 till:06/11/1985 color:PS $right text:"1983–1985 Mário Soares "
from:06/11/1985 till:28/10/1995 color:PSD $left text:"Cavaco Silva 1985–1995"
from:28/10/1995 till:06/04/2002 color:PS $right text:"1995–2002 António Guterres"
from:06/04/2002 till:17/07/2004 color:PSD $left text:"Durão Barroso 2002–2004"
from:17/07/2004 till:12/03/2005 color:PSD $right text:"2004–2005 Santana Lopes"
from:12/03/2005 till:21/06/2011 color:PS $left text:"José Sócrates 2005–2011"
from:21/06/2011 till:26/11/2015 color:PSD $right text:"2011–2015 Passos Coelho"
from:26/11/2015 till:end color:PS $left text:António Costa 2015–present"

Prime Minister's Residence

Just behind the main building of the Assembly of the Republic, there is a mansion that serves as residence and office for the Prime Minister of Portugal. The mansion, dated from 1877, was built within the garden of the old monastery that held the Portuguese Parliament. It has been the Prime Minister's official residence since 1938, when Salazar moved in. Although it is the official residence of the Prime Minister, not all incumbents have lived in the mansion during their term in office.
António Costa, current Prime Minister, doesn't live in the residence.

List of Prime Ministers of Portugal

Term of office in years

Living former Prime Ministers

As of, there are seven living former Prime Ministers of Portugal, as seen below.
The most recent Prime Minister to die was Diogo Freitas do Amaral, on 3 October 2019 aged 78.