Portugal

This article is part of the series: Politics and government of Portugal

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José Sócrates, the current Prime Minister

In Portugal, the post of Prime Minister (primeiro-ministro, Portuguese pronunciation: [pɾiˈmɐiɾu mɨˈniʃtɾu] or [miˈniʃtɾu]) is the head of the country's Government. He/she coordinates the actions of all ministers, represents the Government as a whole, reports his actions and is controlled by the Assembly of the Republic, and keeps the President of the Republic informed.

There is no limit to the number of mandates as Prime Minister. He/she is appointed by the President of the Republic, after the legislative elections and after an audience with every leader of a party represented at the Assembly. It is usual for the leader of the party which receives a plurality of votes in the elections to be named Prime Minister.

The official residence of the Prime Minister, a mansion next to São Bento Palace, which, in confusion, is also often called "São Bento Palace", although many Prime Ministers didn't lived in the palace during their full mandate.

History

Before the Carnation Revolution of 1974 the competences of the Prime Minister were different. Since the 1820 Liberal Revolution of Porto, liberalism and parliamentarism were installed in the country. In the first liberal period, there were three to six secretaries of state with equal position in the hierarchy, but with the Secretary of State of Internal Affairs of the Kingdom (usually known by Minister of the Kingdom) occupying a prominent position. Occasionally there was a Minister Assistant to the Dispatch, a coordinator of all secretaries of state, and with a post similar to that of a prime minister. After a brief absolutistic restoration, the second liberalism started. With the beginning of the Constitutional Monarchy, post of President of the Council of Ministers was created. The Presidents of the Council were clearly the heads of government of the kingdom holding the executive power that absolutistic monarchs had, but were restricted by the controlling power of a National Congress.

With the advent of the Republic in the 5 October 1910 revolution, the Prime Minister was renamed President of the Ministry. During this period the heads of government were under the strong power of the parliament and often fell due to parliamentary turmoils and social instability. With the 28 May 1926 coup d'état, and eventually, after the formation of the Estado Novo quasi-fascist dictatorial regime of António de Oliveira Salazar, the Prime Minister was again named President of the Council of Ministers, and was nominally the most important figure in the country. First Salazar and then Marcello Caetano occupied this post for almost 42 years. With the Carnation Revolution came the Prime Minister, which replaced the President of the Council.

Numbering

The numbering of the Prime Ministers starts with the first President of the Council of Ministers of the constitutional monarchy. A second column is added after the establishment of the Republic, numbering the Prime Ministers from there to the present day. Another column is added for the numbering inside the three regimes: First Republic, the Second Republic and Third Republic, with a fourth column in the Second Republic to mark the numbering of Prime Ministers since the 1926 revolution that established the National Dictatorship and since the replacement of the National Dictatorship with the Salazarist Estado Novo. In the Third Republic, a fourth column is also used to distinguish the prime ministers of the provisional governments that existed during the period immediately following the Carnation Revolution of 1974 from the prime ministers that assumed office after the entry into force of Portugal's current democratic Constitution adopted 1976. The numbering of the Constitutional Governments since the first elections held under the 1976 Constitution is used in Portugal as the official numbering of succeeding Cabinets.

Constitutional Monarchy

      No party       Chartist/Chamorro       Chamorro       Septemberist       Chartist       Regenerator       Historic       Reformist       Regenerator/Historic       Progressist       Liberal Regenerator

#			Took office	Left office	Party
Constitutional Monarchy – Second Liberalism (1834-1910)
1		Pedro de Sousa Holstein, Marquess of Palmela	24 September 1834	4 May 1835	Chartist/"Chamorro"
2		Vitório Maria Francisco de Sousa Coutinho Teixeira de Andrade Barbosa, Count of Linhares	4 May 1835	27 May 1835	"Chamorro"
3		João Carlos Saldanha de Oliveira e Daun, Marquess of Saldanha	27 May 1835	18 November 1835	Independent
4		José Jorge Loureiro	18 November 1835	20 April 1836	Independent
5		António José de Sousa Manoel de Menezes Severim de Noronha, Duke of Terceira and Marquess of Vila Flor	20 April 1836	10 September 1836	"Chamorro"
6		José Manuel da Cunha Faro Menezes Portugal Gama Carneiro e Sousa, Count of Lumiares	10 September 1836	4 November 1836	Septemberist
7		José Bernardino de Portugal e Castro, Marquess of Valença and Count of Vimioso	4 November 1836	5 November 1836	Independent
8		Bernardo de Sá Nogueira de Figueiredo, Viscount of Sá da Bandeira	5 November 1836	1 June 1837	Septemberist
9		António Dias de Oliveira	1 June 1837	2 August 1837	Septemberist
10		Bernardo de Sá Nogueira de Figueiredo, Viscount of Sá da Bandeira	2 August 1837	18 April 1839	Septemberist
11		Rodrigo Pinto Pizarro de Almeida Carvalhais, Baron of Ribeira de Sabrosa	18 April 1839	26 November 1839	Septemberist
12		José Lúcio Travassos Valdez, Count of Bonfim	26 November 1839	9 June 1841	Septemberist
13		Joaquim António de Aguiar	9 June 1841	7 February 1842	Septemberist
14		Pedro de Sousa Holstein, Marquess of Palmela	7 February 1842	9 February 1842	Independent
15		António José de Sousa Manoel de Menezes Severim de Noronha, Duke of Terceira	9 February 1842	20 May 1846	Chartist
16		Pedro de Sousa Holstein, Marquess of Palmela	20 May 1846	6 October 1846	Chartist
17		João Carlos Saldanha de Oliveira e Daun, Duke of Saldanha	6 October 1846	18 June 1849	Chartist
18		António Bernardo da Costa Cabral, Count of Tomar	18 June 1849	26 April 1851	Chartist
19		António José de Sousa Manoel de Menezes Severim de Noronha, Duke of Terceira and Marquess of Vila Flor	26 April 1851	1 May 1851	Regenerator
20		João Carlos Saldanha de Oliveira e Daun, Duke of Saldanha	1 May 1851	6 June 1856	Regenerator
21		Nuno José Severo de Mendonça Rolim de Moura Barreto, Marquess of Loulé	6 June 1856	16 March 1859	Historic
22		António José de Sousa Manoel de Menezes Severim de Noronha, Duke of Terceira and Marquess of Vila Flor	16 March 1859	1 May 1860	Regenerator
23		Joaquim António de Aguiar	1 May 1860	4 July 1860	Regenerator
24		Nuno José Severo de Mendonça Rolim de Moura Barreto, Duke of Loulé	4 July 1860	17 April 1865	Historic
25		Bernardo de Sá Nogueira de Figueiredo, Marquess of Sá da Bandeira	17 April 1865	4 September 1865	Reformist
26		Joaquim António de Aguiar	4 September 1865	4 January 1868	Regenerator (together with the Historic Party)
27		António José de Ávila, Count of Ávila	4 January 1868	22 July 1868	Independent
28		Bernardo de Sá Nogueira de Figueiredo, Marquess of Sá da Bandeira	22 July 1868	11 August 1869	Reformist
29		Nuno José Severo de Mendonça Rolim de Moura Barreto, Duke of Loulé	11 August 1869	19 May 1870	Historic
30		João Carlos Saldanha de Oliveira Daun, 1st Duke of Saldanha	19 May 1870	29 August 1870	Regenerator
31		Bernardo de Sá Nogueira de Figueiredo, Marquess of Sá da Bandeira	29 August 1870	29 October 1870	Reformist
32		António José de Ávila, Marquess of Ávila	29 October 1870	13 September 1871	Reformist
33		António Maria de Fontes Pereira de Melo	13 September 1871	6 March 1877	Regenerator
34		António José de Ávila, Marquess of Ávila	6 March 1877	26 January 1878	Reformist
35		António Maria de Fontes Pereira de Melo	26 January 1878	29 May 1879	Regenerator
36		Anselmo José Braamcamp de Almeida Castelo Branco	29 May 1879	23 March 1881	Progressist
37		António Rodrigues Sampaio	23 March 1881	14 November 1881	Regenerator
38		António Maria de Fontes Pereira de Melo	14 November 1881	16 February 1886	Regenerator
39		José Luciano de Castro Pereira Côrte-Real	16 February 1886	14 January 1890	Progressist
40		António de Serpa Pimentel	14 January 1890	11 October 1890	Regenerator
41		João Crisóstomo de Abreu e Sousa	11 October 1890	18 January 1892	Independent
42		José Dias Ferreira	18 January 1892	22 February 1893	Independent
43		Ernesto Rudolfo Hintze Ribeiro	22 February 1893	5 February 1897	Regenerator
44		José Luciano de Castro Pereira Côrte-Real	5 February 1897	26 July 1900	Progressist
45		Ernesto Rudolfo Hintze Ribeiro	26 July 1900	20 October 1904	Regenerator
46		José Luciano de Castro Pereira Côrte-Real	20 October 1904	19 March 1906	Progressist
47		Ernesto Rudolfo Hintze Ribeiro	19 March 1906	19 May 1906	Regenerator
48		João Ferreira Franco Pinto Castelo-Branco	19 May 1906	4 February 1908	Liberal Regenerator
49		Francisco Joaquim Ferreira do Amaral	4 February 1908	26 December 1908	Independent
50		Artur Alberto de Campos Henriques	26 December 1908	11 April 1909	Independent (Regenerator and Progressist)
51		Sebastião Custódio de Sousa Teles	11 April 1909	14 May 1909	Independent
52		Wenceslau de Sousa Pereira de Lima	14 May 1909	22 December 1909	Independent
53		Francisco António da Veiga Beirão	22 December 1909	26 June 1910	Regenerator
54		António Teixeira de Sousa	26 June 1910	5 October 1910	Regenerator

First Republic

      No party       Republican       Democratic       Sacred Union       National Republican/Sidonist       Liberal Republican       National Reconstitution Republican       Nationalist Republican       Democratic Leftwing Republican

#		President of the Ministry		Took office	Left office	Party
First Republic (1910-1926)
55	1		Joaquim Teófilo Fernandes Braga	5 October 1910	24 August 1911	Republican
56	2		João Pinheiro Chagas	4 September 1911	13 November 1911	Republican
57	3		Augusto César de Almeida de Vasconcelos Correia	13 November 1911	16 June 1912	Republican
58	4		Duarte Leite Pereira da Silva	16 June 1912	9 January 1913	Republican
59	5		Afonso Augusto da Costa	9 January 1913	9 February 1914	Democratic
60	6		Bernardino Luís Machado Guimarães	9 February 1914	12 December 1914	Democratic
61	7		"Vítor Hugo" de Azevedo Coutinho	12 December 1914	28 January 1915	Democratic
62	8		Joaquim Pereira Pimenta de Castro	28 January 1915	14 May 1915	Independent
-			Constitutional Junta composed of: José Norton de Matos António Maria da Silva José de Freitas Ribeiro Alfredo de Sá Cardoso Álvaro de Castro	14 May 1915	15 May 1915	Independent
-			João Pinheiro Chagas (did not take office)	15 May 1915	17 May 1915	Independent
63	9		José Augusto Soares Ribeiro de Castro	17 May 1915	29 November 1915	Democratic
64	10		Afonso Augusto da Costa	29 November 1915	16 March 1916	Democratic
65	11		António José de Almeida	16 March 1916	25 April 1917	Sacred Union (Evolutionist Republican together with the Democrats)
66	12		Afonso Augusto da Costa	25 April 1917	7 October 1917	Democratic
-	-		José Maria Mendes Ribeiro Norton de Matos (interim)	7 October 1917	25 October 1917	Democratic
-	-		Afonso Augusto da Costa	25 October 1917	17 November 1917	Democratic
-	-		José Maria Mendes Ribeiro Norton de Matos (interim)	17 November 1917	8 December 1917	Democratic
67	13		Sidónio Bernardino Cardoso da Silva Pais	8 December 1917	14 December 1918	National Republican
68	14		João do Canto e Castro da Silva Antunes Júnior	14 December 1918	23 December 1918	National Republican
69	15		João Tamagnini de Sousa Barbosa	23 December 1918	27 January 1919	National Republican
70	16		José Maria Mascarenhas Relvas	27 January 1919	30 March 1919	Independent
71	17		Domingos Leite Pereira	30 March 1919	30 June 1919	Independent
72	18		Alfredo Ernesto de Sá Cardoso	30 June 1919	15 January 1920	Democratic
-			Francisco José Fernandes Costa (did not take office)	15 January 1920		Liberal Republican
-			Alfredo Ernesto de Sá Cardoso (reconducted)	15 January 1920	21 January 1920	Democratic
73	19		Domingos Leite Pereira	21 January 1920	8 March 1920	Independent
74	20		António Maria Baptista	8 March 1920	6 June 1920	Democratic
75	21		José Ramos Preto	6 June 1920	26 June 1920	Democratic
76	22		António Maria da Silva	26 June 1920	19 July 1920	Democratic (together with the Socialists and Populars)
77	23		António Joaquim Granjo	19 July 1920	20 November 1920	Liberal Republican (together with the National Reconstitution Republicans)
78	24		Álvaro Xavier de Castro	20 November 1920	30 November 1920	National Reconstitution Republican (together with the Democratics and Populars)
79	25		Liberato Damião Ribeiro Pinto	30 November 1920	2 March 1921	Democratic (together with National Reconstitution Republicans and Populars)
80	26		Bernardino Luís Machado Guimarães	2 March 1921	23 May 1921	Democratic (together with National Reconstitution Republicans and Populars)
81	27		Tomé José de Barros Queirós	23 May 1921	30 August 1921	Liberal Republican
82	28		António Joaquim Granjo	30 August 1921	19 October 1921	Liberal Republican
83	29		António Manuel Maria Coelho	19 October 1921	5 November 1921	Independent
84	30		Carlos Henrique da Silva Maia Pinto	5 November 1921	16 December 1921	Independent
85	31		Francisco Pinto da Cunha Leal	16 December 1921	7 February 1922	Independent
86	32		António Maria da Silva	7 February 1922	15 November 1923	Democratic
87	33		António Ginestal Machado	15 November 1923	18 December 1923	Nationalist Republican
88	34		Álvaro Xavier de Castro	18 December 1923	7 July 1924	Nationalist Republican (together with the Democratics)
89	35		Alfredo Rodrigues Gaspar	7 July 1924	22 November 1924	Democratic
90	36		José Domingues dos Santos	22 November 1924	15 February 1925	Democratic Leftwing Republican
91	37		Vitorino Máximo de Carvalho Guimarães	15 February 1925	1 July 1925	Democratic
92	38		António Maria da Silva	1 July 1925	1 August 1925	Democratic
93	39		Domingos Leite Pereira	1 August 1925	18 December 1925	Democratic
94	40		António Maria da Silva	18 December 1925	30 May 1926	Democratic

Second Republic (National Dictatorship and Estado Novo)

      No party       National Union/People's National Action

#				President of the Council of Ministers		Took office	Left office	Party
Ditadura Nacional – Military Dictatorship (1926-1933)
95	41	1	1		José Mendes Cabeçadas Júnior	30 May 1926	19 June 1926	None
96	42	2	2		Manuel de Oliveira Gomes da Costa	19 June 1926	9 July 1926	None
97	43	3	3		António Óscar Fragoso Carmona	9 July 1926	18 April 1928	None
98	44	4	4		José Vicente de Freitas	18 April 1928	8 July 1929	None
99	45	5	5		Artur Ivens Ferraz	8 July 1929	21 January 1930	None
100	46	6	6		Domingos Augusto Alves da Costa e Oliveira	21 January 1930	5 July 1932	National Union
Estado Novo – New State (1933-1974)
101	47	7	1		António de Oliveira Salazar	5 July 1932	25 September 1968	National Union
102	48	8	2		Marcello José das Neves Alves Caetano	25 September 1968	25 April 1974	National Union (since 1970, renamed People's National Action

Third Republic

      No party       Socialist       Social Democratic/Democratic Alliance

#				Prime Minister		Took office	Left office	Party
Provisional Governments of the Revolutionary Period (1974-1976)
-					National Salvation Junta composed of: António de Spínola Francisco da Costa Gomes Jaime Silvério Marques Diogo Neto Carlos Galvão de Melo José Baptista Pinheiro de Azevedo António Rosa Coutinho	25 April 1974	16 May 1974	None
103	49	1	1		Adelino da Palma Carlos	16 May 1974	18 July 1974	Independent
104	50	2	2		Vasco dos Santos Gonçalves	18 July 1974	19 September 1975	Independent
105	51	3	3		José Baptista Pinheiro de Azevedo	19 September 1975	23 June 1976	Independent
106	52	4	4		Vasco Fernando Leotte de Almeida e Costa (interim[1])	23 June 1976	23 July 1976	Independent
Constitutional Governments (1976-Present[update])
107	53	5	1		Mário Alberto Nobre Lopes Soares	23 July 1976	28 August 1978	Socialist (since 23 January 1977 together with the Democratic and Social Centre)
108	54	6	2		Alfredo Jorge Nobre da Costa	28 August 1978	22 November 1978	Independent (presidential nomination)
109	55	7	3		Carlos Alberto da Mota Pinto	22 November 1978	1 August 1979	Independent (presidential nomination) (Social Democratic)
110	56	8	4		Maria de Lourdes Ruivo da Silva de Matos Pintasilgo	1 August 1979	3 January 1980	Independent (presidential nomination) (later, Socialist)
111	57	9	5		Francisco Manuel Lumbrales de Sá Carneiro	3 January 1980	4 December 1980	Democratic Alliance (Social Democratic)
112	58	10	6		Diogo Pinto de Freitas do Amaral (interim)	4 December 1980	9 January 1981	Democratic Alliance (Democratic and Social Centre)
113	59	11	7		Francisco José Pereira Pinto Balsemão	9 January 1981	9 June 1983	Democratic Alliance (Social Democratic)
114	60	12	8		Mário Alberto Nobre Lopes Soares	9 June 1983	6 November 1985	Socialist (together with the Social Democratic Party)
115	61	13	9		Aníbal António Cavaco Silva	6 November 1985	28 October 1995	Social Democratic
116	62	14	10		António Manuel de Oliveira Guterres	28 October 1995	6 April 2002	Socialist
117	63	15	11		José Manuel Durão Barroso	6 April 2002	17 July 2004	Social Democratic (together with the People's Party)
118	64	16	12		Pedro Miguel de Santana Lopes	17 July 2004	12 March 2005	Social Democratic (together with the People's Party)
119	65	17	13		José Sócrates de Carvalho Pinto de Sousa	12 March 2005	Present	Socialist

See also

Portugal portal

• List of Prime Ministers of Portugal by time in office
• List of Presidents of Portugal
• List of Presidents of Portugal by longevity
• Politics of Portugal
• Lists of incumbents

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