Miguel Filipe Machado de Albuquerque (born 4 May 1961) is a Portuguese

politician A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking, ...

of the

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 ...

(PSD) and the current

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university * President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ...

of the

Regional Government of Madeira The Government of the Autonomous Region of Madeira is the local government of this Portuguese autonomous region. The Regional Government is one of the two organs of self-government of the Autonomous Region along with the Regional Legislative A ...

. He took office as leader of the PSD of

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 ...

on 10 January 2015. He was a former mayor (''presidente da Câmara'' in Portuguese) of

Funchal Funchal () is the largest city, the municipal seat and the capital of Portugal's Autonomous Region of Madeira, bordered by the Atlantic Ocean. The city has a population of 105,795, making it the sixth largest city in Portugal. Because of its hig ...

. Albuquerque likes gardening, growing many types of roses in his

Duchess of Braganza The title of Duchess of Braganza has existed in Portugal since the 15th century. This title designates the female head of the House of Braganza. Duchess of Braganza House of Braganza Nominal Duchess of Braganza House of Braganza See ...

Rose Garden and the Quinta do Arco.

As Mayor of Funchal

As a mayor he signed an agreement to the twinning of the city of

and

Gibraltar ) , anthem = " God Save the King" , song = "Gibraltar Anthem" , image_map = Gibraltar location in Europe.svg , map_alt = Location of Gibraltar in Europe , map_caption = United Kingdom shown in pale green , mapsize = , image_map2 = Gibr ...

on 13 May 2009 by the then mayor of Gibraltar Solomon Levy, who had been an Evacuee during the

Evacuation of the Gibraltarian civilian population during World War II The British Government's decision to enforce a mass evacuation of the civilian population during the Second World War from the Crown colony of Gibraltar, in order to increase the strength of The Rock with more British Armed Forces personnel, mea ...

from Gibraltar to Madeira. Levy then had a meeting with the then President of Madeira

Alberto João Jardim Alberto João Cardoso Gonçalves Jardim, GCC, GCIH (, born 4 February 1943) is a Portuguese politician who was the President of the Regional Government of Madeira, Portugal, from 1978 to 2015. He is a controversial political figure in Portugal. ...

. In April 2012 Miguel opened a road in St Helier,

Jersey Jersey ( , ; nrf, Jèrri, label= Jèrriais ), officially the Bailiwick of Jersey (french: Bailliage de Jersey, links=no; Jèrriais: ), is an island country and self-governing Crown Dependency near the coast of north-west France. It is the ...

, which was named ''Rue de Funchal'', after his native city.

Regional Election

In the 29 March 2015 regional elections Albuquerque's centre right party PSD have held on to power after an overall majority with 44.4% of the votes and winning 24 seats in the regional parliament. It was the 11th time in a row the PSD has won an absolute majority in Madeira.

Background into the Election

This election was the first in which PSD's former leader and president of the region, Alberto João Jardim's name did not appear on the ballot, as he stated in 2011, meaning he would step down as the president and leader of PSD-Madeira in 2015. Albuquerque was then elected on 29 December 2014 as president and leader of PSD-Madeira, but he stated that he would not automatically assume the position as president of the

Autonomous Region of 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 ...

without any elections, though parliament was dissolved. In accordance with the law, once parliament is dissolved, the President is obliged go to

Lisbon Lisbon (; pt, Lisboa ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 544,851 within its administrative limits in an area of 100.05 km2. Lisbon's urban area extends beyond the city's administrative limits w ...

to join a meeting of the

Portuguese Council of State The Council of State ( pt, Conselho de Estado, ) is a body established by the Portuguese Constitution to advise the President of the Republic in the exercise of many of his or her discretionary powers. History Although there are notices about th ...

and to explain why parliament was dissolved. The president at the time Alberto Joao Jardim was called to attend, which he did and he asked Cavaco Silva, President of Portugal, to call an election in Madeira, which he did so for the 29th of March 2015.

Writings

Books

* ''Funchal, sobre a Cidade - Colectânea de artigos publicados'', Quetzal Editores, 1996; * ''Espelho Múltiplo - Política e Modernidade'', Edicarte Editora, 1999; * ''Roseiras Antigas de Jardim'', Alêtheia Editora, 2006; * ''Crónicas dum Lugar-Comum'', Alêtheia Editora, 2010.

Gallery

Image:Saint Helier - Funchal 2012 01.jpg Image:Saint Helier - Funchal 2012 06.jpg Image:Saint Helier - Funchal 2012 07.jpg Image:Saint Helier - Funchal 2012 09.jpg Image:Saint Helier - Funchal 2012 11.jpg Image:Saint Helier - Funchal 2012 12.jpg Image:Saint Helier - Funchal 2012 13.jpg Image:Saint Helier - Funchal 2012 24.jpg

References

, - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Albuquerque, Miguel Living people Madeiran politicians People from Funchal Social Democratic Party (Portugal) politicians 1961 births 21st-century Portuguese politicians