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The two Autonomous Regions of Portugal from 1999 ( pt, Regiões Autónomas de Portugal) are the
Azores ) , motto =( en, "Rather die free than subjected in peace") , anthem= ( en, "Anthem of the Azores") , image_map=Locator_map_of_Azores_in_EU.svg , map_alt=Location of the Azores within the European Union , map_caption=Location of the Azores wi ...
(''Região Autónoma dos Açores'') and
Madeira ) , anthem = ( en, "Anthem of the Autonomous Region of Madeira") , song_type = Regional anthem , image_map=EU-Portugal_with_Madeira_circled.svg , map_alt=Location of Madeira , map_caption=Location of Madeira , subdivision_type=Sovereign st ...
(''Região Autónoma da Madeira''). Together with
Continental Portugal Continental Portugal ( pt, Portugal continental, ) or mainland Portugal comprises the bulk of the Portuguese Republic, namely that part on the Iberian Peninsula and so in Continental Europe, having approximately 95% of the total population and ...
(''Portugal Continental''), they form the
Portuguese Republic Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of the ...
.


History

The autonomous regions were established in 1976 in the aftermath of the
Carnation Revolution The Carnation Revolution ( pt, Revolução dos Cravos), also known as the 25 April ( pt, 25 de Abril, links=no), was a military coup by left-leaning military officers that overthrew the authoritarian Estado Novo regime on 25 April 1974 in Lisbo ...
, which saw Portugal end its
colonial empire A colonial empire is a collective of territories (often called colonies), either contiguous with the imperial center or located overseas, settled by the population of a certain state and governed by that state. Before the expansion of early mode ...
. Some areas, such as the Azores, Madeira and Macau, were deemed either impractical to decolonise or too close in ties to Continental Portugal to make independent. However, due to their distinct geography, economy, social and cultural situation, as well as historical aspirations of autonomy in Madeira and the Azores, the autonomous regions were formed. When formed in 1976, there were three autonomous regions - the Azores, Madeira, and
Macau Macau or Macao (; ; ; ), officially the Macao Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (MSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China in the western Pearl River Delta by the South China Sea. With a pop ...
(''Região Autónoma de Macau'') in
Asia Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an are ...
. Macau, by far the most populous and the wealthiest of the three regions, was handed over to China in 1999, leaving Portugal with two Autonomous Regions.


Constitution

Although the regions are politically and administratively autonomous, the Portuguese constitution specifies both a regional and national connection, obliging their administrations to maintain democratic principles and promote regional interests, while still reinforcing national unity. The third clause of article 255 of the Portuguese Constitution specifically points to maintenance of national integrity and sovereignty of the Portuguese State.


Administration

As defined by the Portuguese constitution and other laws, an
autonomous region An autonomous administrative division (also referred to as an autonomous area, entity, unit, region, subdivision, or territory) is a subnational administrative division or internal territory of a sovereign state that has a degree of autonomy� ...
possesses its own political and administrative
statute A statute is a formal written enactment of a legislative authority that governs the legal entities of a city, state, or country by way of consent. Typically, statutes command or prohibit something, or declare policy. Statutes are rules made by ...
and has its own
government A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive, and judiciary. Government i ...
. The branches of Government are the regional
executive Executive ( exe., exec., execu.) may refer to: Role or title * Executive, a senior management role in an organization ** Chief executive officer (CEO), one of the highest-ranking corporate officers (executives) or administrators ** Executive di ...
(''Governo Regional'') and the
legislative A legislature is an assembly with the authority to make laws for a political entity such as a country or city. They are often contrasted with the executive and judicial powers of government. Laws enacted by legislatures are usually known ...
assembly (known as the ''Assembleia Regional''). The assembly is elected by
universal suffrage Universal suffrage (also called universal franchise, general suffrage, and common suffrage of the common man) gives the right to vote to all adult citizens, regardless of wealth, income, gender, social status, race, ethnicity, or political sta ...
, using the
D'Hondt method The D'Hondt method, also called the Jefferson method or the greatest divisors method, is a method for allocating seats in parliaments among federal states, or in party-list proportional representation systems. It belongs to the class of highes ...
of
proportional representation Proportional representation (PR) refers to a type of electoral system under which subgroups of an electorate are reflected proportionately in the elected body. The concept applies mainly to geographical (e.g. states, regions) and political divis ...
. Originally, the
sovereignty Sovereignty is the defining authority within individual consciousness, social construct, or territory. Sovereignty entails hierarchy within the state, as well as external autonomy for states. In any state, sovereignty is assigned to the perso ...
of the Portuguese Republic was represented in each autonomous region by the Minister of the Republic (''Ministro da República''), proposed by the Government of the Republic and appointed by the President of the Republic. After the sixth amendment to the Portuguese Constitution was passed in 2006, the Minister of the Republic was replaced by a less-powerful Representative of the Republic (''Representante da República'') who is appointed by the President, after listening to the Government, but otherwise it is a presidential prerogative. In Macau (an autonomous region from 1976 to 1999), the office of
Governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...
(''Governador de Macau'') was uniquely preserved, and held powers equivalent to both the President of the Regional Executive and the President of the Regional Government in the Azores and Madeira, though the rest of the city’s political structure aligned with the other two autonomous regions. The president of the regional executive (the ''Presidente do Governo Regional'') is appointed by the Representative of the Republic according to the results of the election to the legislative assemblies. Current Presidents of the Regional Executive: *
Azores ) , motto =( en, "Rather die free than subjected in peace") , anthem= ( en, "Anthem of the Azores") , image_map=Locator_map_of_Azores_in_EU.svg , map_alt=Location of the Azores within the European Union , map_caption=Location of the Azores wi ...
José Manuel Bolieiro José Manuel Cabral Dias Bolieiro (born 23 June 1965) is a Portuguese Social Democratic Party (PSD) politician, serving as the President of the Regional Government of the Azores since the 2020 election. As holder of that office, he is also a me ...
(
Social Democratic Party The name Social Democratic Party or Social Democrats has been used by many political parties in various countries around the world. Such parties are most commonly aligned to social democracy as their political ideology. Active parties For ...
) *
Madeira ) , anthem = ( en, "Anthem of the Autonomous Region of Madeira") , song_type = Regional anthem , image_map=EU-Portugal_with_Madeira_circled.svg , map_alt=Location of Madeira , map_caption=Location of Madeira , subdivision_type=Sovereign st ...
Miguel Albuquerque (
Social Democratic Party The name Social Democratic Party or Social Democrats has been used by many political parties in various countries around the world. Such parties are most commonly aligned to social democracy as their political ideology. Active parties For ...
)


See also

*
Legislative Assembly of the Azores The Legislative Assembly of the Azores ( pt, Assembleia Legislativa dos Açores) is the regional assembly/legislature of the Azores, an autonomous region of Portugal. History The regional legislative assembly, since it was first instituted, ha ...
*
Legislative Assembly of Madeira The Legislative Assembly of Madeira ( pt, Assembleia Legislativa da Madeira) is the legislature of the Portuguese autonomous region of Madeira. The last regional election was held on 22 September 2019 and the party with the most votes was the ...
*
Legislative Assembly of Macau The Legislative Assembly of the Macau Special Administrative Region (; ) is the organ of the legislative branch of Macau. It is a 33-member body comprising 14 directly elected members, 12 indirectly elected members representing functional co ...


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Autonomous Regions Of Portugal Government of Portugal Subdivisions of Portugal