Francisco José Pereira Pinto Balsemão (; born 1 September 1937) is a Portuguese businessman, former journalist and retired politician, who served as Prime Minister of Portugal, from 1981 to 1983.

Background

He is the son of Henrique Patrício de Balsemão ( Guarda, Guarda, 9 September 1897 – ?) and wife (married Lisbon, 21 May 1922) Maria Adelaide van Zeller de Castro Pereira (

Sintra Sintra (, ) is a town and municipality in the Greater Lisbon region of Portugal, located on the Portuguese Riviera. The population of the municipality in 2011 was 377,835, in an area of . Sintra is one of the most urbanized and densely populat ...

, 11 August 1897 – 02 March 1984).

Career

Being a licentiate in Law from the

University of Lisbon The University of Lisbon (ULisboa; pt, Universidade de Lisboa, ) is a public research university in Lisbon, and the largest university in Portugal. It was founded in 2013, from the merger of two previous public universities located in Lisbon, th ...

, Pinto Balsemão's pre-political career was in newspaper publishing. After working as a journalist and then as an administrator of '' Diário Popular'' (the ''People's Daily'' in English) from 1963 to 1971, he founded the '' Expresso'' magazine in 1973 and continued to direct it until 1980. He is one of top managers and owners of Impresa media group. Pinto Balsemão was Member of parliament before the revolution (1969–1973), when, together with

Francisco de Sá Carneiro Francisco Manuel Lumbrales de Sá Carneiro, GCTE, GCC, GCL (; 19 July 19344 December 1980) was a Portuguese politician, Prime Minister of Portugal for most of 1980, and founder of the Social Democratic Party. He only held office of Prime Min ...

, Joaquim Magalhães Mota,

Carlos Mota Pinto Carlos Alberto da Mota Pinto, GCC, GCIP, (; Pombal, 25 July 1936 – Coimbra, 7 May 1985) was a Portuguese professor and politician. Career He graduated as a licentiate in law and doctorate in judicial sciences from the Faculty of Law o ...

, João Bosco Mota Amaral,

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. ...

António Barbosa de Melo António Moreira Barbosa de Melo, GColL (2 November 1932 – 7 September 2016) was a Portuguese lawyer, politician, and parliamentarian on several occasions. Career de Melo was born in Penafiel, Lagares in 1932. He graduated as a Licentiate a ...

and António Marques Mendes, he helped to found the Social Democratic Party (PSD), of which he is currently member number 1. In 1975 he was elected to the

Constituent Assembly A constituent assembly (also known as a constitutional convention, constitutional congress, or constitutional assembly) is a body assembled for the purpose of drafting or revising a constitution. Members of a constituent assembly may be elected b ...

, which was charged with drafting a new

constitution A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organisation or other type of entity and commonly determine how that entity is to be governed. When these princ ...

and served as an interim legislature. Pinto Balsemão was chosen as a Vice-President of this body. Following the victory of the Democratic Alliance (a coalition led by the PSD) in two

parliamentary A parliamentary system, or parliamentarian democracy, is a system of democratic governance of a state (or subordinate entity) where the executive derives its democratic legitimacy from its ability to command the support ("confidence") of the ...

elections (in 1979 and 1980), Pinto Balsemão held senior positions in two cabinets led by Prime Minister Sá Carneiro. When Sá Carneiro was killed in an air accident on 4 December 1980, the Social Democratic Party chose Pinto Balsemão to succeed him. Despite his reputation for competence, he was widely perceived as lacking Sá Carneiro's charisma. He had difficulty maintaining the level of support enjoyed by his party, which had been based to a large extent on Sá Carneiro's personal popularity. He also had to cope with friction within the Democratic Alliance, and found the Democratic and Social Centre leader,

Diogo Freitas do Amaral Diogo Pinto de Freitas do Amaral (; 21 July 1941 – 3 October 2019), known as Freitas do Amaral, was a Portuguese politician and law professor. He was Minister of Foreign Affairs from 10 January 1980 to 12 January 1981 and from 12 March 2005 t ...

, a difficult ally. These factors contributed to his defeat in the

parliamentary election A general election is a political voting election where generally all or most members of a given political body are chosen. These are usually held for a nation, state, or territory's primary legislative body, and are different from by-elections ( ...

of 1983. He finally retired from Parliament in 1987 though not from politics. Pinto Balsemão currently serves as Chairman of the European Publishers Council and as chief executive officer of '' Grupo Impresa'' in Portugal. He was the founder on 6 October 1992 of

Sociedade Independente de Comunicação SIC (acronym of full name Sociedade Independente de Comunicação) ("Independent Communication Society") is a Portuguese television network and media company, which runs several television channels. Their flagship channel is the eponymous SIC, th ...

(SIC), the first Portuguese private television network. He is also a member of Steering Committee of the

Bilderberg Group The Bilderberg meeting (also known as the Bilderberg Group) is an annual off-the-record conference established in 1954 to foster dialogue between Europe and North America. The group's agenda, originally to prevent another world war, is now defi ...

, and as such has attracted some controversy. He participated in more than 30 Bilderberg-Conferences since 1981. He is also a Member 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 ...

, elected by the Assembly of the Republic and chosen by the current President of the Republic his fellow party colleague and former president of the Social Democratic Party (PSD) Aníbal Cavaco Silva.

Family

He married firstly and divorced Maria Isabel de Lacerda Pinto da Costa Lobo, daughter of Manuel da Costa Lobo Cardoso (

Vila Real Vila Real () is the capital and largest city of the Vila Real District, in the North region. It is also the seat of the Douro intermunicipal community and of the Trás-os-Montes e Alto Douro historical province. The Vila Real municipality cover ...

, 15 November 1907 – ?),

Director-General A director general or director-general (plural: ''directors general'', ''directors-general'', ''director generals'' or ''director-generals'' ) or general director is a senior executive officer, often the chief executive officer, within a governmen ...

of the Banco de Angola, and wife (married

Luanda Luanda () is the Capital (political), capital and largest city in Angola. It is Angola's primary port, and its major Angola#Economy, industrial, Angola#Culture, cultural and Angola#Demographics, urban centre. Located on Angola's northern Atl ...

, 20 October 1934) Maria Amélia de Lacerda Rebelo Pinto ( Quissol, Malanje – ?), married secondly to José da Franca de Horta Machado Guedes Leitão Cruz (born Lisbon, 18 October 1947), without issue, and had two children: * Mónica da Costa Lobo Pinto Balsemão, married to Filipe Pereira Caldas Penaguião (born Luanda, 8 September 1963), son of António Manuel de Paula Morando Penaguião (born Lisbon, 20 June 1935), of Italian descent, and wife Maria João da Costa Pereira Caldas (born Lisbon, 17 June 1945), and had two children (Tomás Pinto Balsemão Penaguião and Marta Pinto Balsemão Penaguião). * Henrique da Costa Lobo Pinto Balsemão, Director of Programs of SIC, married on 29 April 2006 to Vera Cravinho, and had three children: ** Maria Cravinho Pinto Balsemão. ** Concha Cravinho Pinto Balsemão. ** Vicente Cravinho Pinto Balsemão (born 2010). He married secondly Maria Mercedes Aliu Presas, of Spanish descent, and had two children: * Joana Presas Pinto Balsemão (born Lisbon, São Sebastião da Pedreira, 25 June 1976), married to Francisco de Atouguia Belford Correia da Silva (born Lisbon, 31 October 1974), son of Pedro de Barros Belford Correia da Silva (born Luanda, 24 April 1946), of the

Count Count (feminine: countess) is a historical title of nobility in certain European countries, varying in relative status, generally of middling rank in the hierarchy of nobility. Pine, L. G. ''Titles: How the King Became His Majesty''. New York: ...

s (formerly

Viscount A viscount ( , for male) or viscountess (, for female) is a title used in certain European countries for a noble of varying status. In many countries a viscount, and its historical equivalents, was a non-hereditary, administrative or judicia ...

s) of Paço de Arcos, of remote English ancestry, and first wife (as her first husband) (married Lisbon, 6 October 1972 and divorced) Margarida Maria de Castro de Atouguia (born Lisbon, Santos-o-Velho, 30 October 1948 –), of the Viscounts of ''de'' Atouguia, and had three children (Francisco Pinto Balsemão Correia da Silva (born Oeiras, Paço de Arcos, 29 June 2001), Teresa Pinto Balsemão Correia da Silva (born Lisbon, 9 November 2004) and Pedro Pinto Balsemão Correia da Silva (born Lisbon, 24 August 2007)). She went to St Julian's School in Carcavelos. * Francisco Pedro Presas Pinto Balsemão, unmarried and without issue. Out of wedlock he had a son by Isabel Maria Supico Pinto (born Lisbon, 26 October 1942), second wife (married

São Paulo São Paulo (, ; Portuguese for ' Saint Paul') is the most populous city in Brazil, and is the capital of the state of São Paulo, the most populous and wealthiest Brazilian state, located in the country's Southeast Region. Listed by the Ga ...

, São Paulo, 9 June 1976) without issue of Vasco Maria Vasques da Cunha d' Eça da Costa e Almeida, 3rd Viscount of Maiorca (born Lisbon, Encarnação, 12 May 1923), natural daughter of Minister Clotário Luís Supico Ribeiro Pinto (1909–1986, 937th Associate of the Second Tauromachic Club, son of Liberato Damião Ribeiro Pinto and Maria Augusta Supico), by actress Maria Adelaide da Silva Lalande ( Castelo Branco, Salgueiro do Campo, 7 November 1913 – Lisbon, 21 March 1968), wife of actor Ribeirinho: * Francisco Maria Supico Pinto Balsemão, married Ana Duarte and had two daughters: ** Isabel Duarte Pinto Balsemão. ** Luísa Duarte Pinto Balsemão.

Honours

Grand Officer of the Order Merit,

Portugal 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 ...

(17 October 1983) * BEL_Kroonorde_Grootkruis_BAR

Grand-Cross of the Order of the Crown,

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...

(23 November 1981) * BRA - Order of the Southern Cross - Grand Cross BAR

Grand-Cross of the National Order of the Southern Cross,

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

(25 November 1981) * GRE_Order_of_Honour_Grand_Cross_BAR

Grand-Cross of the Order of Merit,

Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders ...

(8 September 1982) * Hu3ofl0

Grand-Cross Order of the Flag of the Republic of Hungary,

Hungary Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the ...

(26 November 1982) * Cordone_di_gran_Croce_OMRI_BAR

Grand-Cross of the

Order of Merit of the Italian Republic The Order of Merit of the Italian Republic ( it, Ordine al Merito della Repubblica Italiana) is the senior Italian order of merit. It was established in 1951 by the second President of the Italian Republic, Luigi Einaudi. The highest-ranking ...

, Italy (2 December 1982) * Order_Pius_Ribbon_1kl

Grand-Cross of the

Order of Pope Pius IX The Order of Pope Pius IX ( it, Ordine di Pio IX), also referred as the Pian Order ( it, Ordine Piano), is a papal order of knighthood originally founded by Pope Pius IV in 1560. Currently, it is the highest honor conferred by the Holy See (being ...

Holy See The Holy See ( lat, Sancta Sedes, ; it, Santa Sede ), also called the See of Rome, Petrine See or Apostolic See, is the jurisdiction of the Pope in his role as the bishop of Rome. It includes the apostolic episcopal see of the Diocese of R ...

(15 March 1983) * PRT_Order_of_Christ_-_Grand_Cross_BAR

Grand-Cross of the Order of Christ,

(8 June 1983) * Orden_jugoslovenske_zastave1(traka)

Grand-Cross of the Order of the Yugoslav Flag,

Yugoslavia Yugoslavia (; sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Jugoslavija, Југославија ; sl, Jugoslavija ; mk, Југославија ;; rup, Iugoslavia; hu, Jugoszlávia; rue, label=Pannonian Rusyn, Югославия, translit=Juhoslavija ...

(8 June 1983) * ESP_Isabella_Catholic_Order_GC

Grand-Cross of the

Order of Isabella the Catholic The Order of Isabella the Catholic ( es, Orden de Isabel la Católica) is a Spanish civil order and honor granted to persons and institutions in recognition of extraordinary services to the homeland or the promotion of international relations a ...

, Spain (20 March 1989) * PRT_Order_of_Prince_Henry_-_Grand_Cross_BAR

Grand Cross of the Order of Prince Henry, Portugal (5 January 2006) * PRT_Order_of_Liberty_-_Grand_Cross_BAR

Grand Cross of the

Order of Liberty The Order of Liberty, or the Order of Freedom ( pt, Ordem da Liberdade), is a Portuguese honorific civil order that distinguishes relevant services to the cause of democracy and freedom, in the defense of the values of civilization and human dig ...

, Portugal (25 April 2011)

References

External links

Francisco Pinto Balsemao in GeneAll.net
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pinto Balsemao, Francisco 1937 births Living people Members of the Steering Committee of the Bilderberg Group People from Lisbon Prime Ministers of Portugal Portuguese businesspeople Portuguese nobility Social Democratic Party (Portugal) politicians University of Lisbon alumni Knights Grand Cross of the Order of Pope Pius IX Knights Grand Cross of the Order of Isabella the Catholic Grand Crosses of the Order of the Crown (Belgium) Knights Grand Cross of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic Grand Crosses of the Order of Liberty Grand Crosses of the Order of Prince Henry Grand Crosses of the Order of Christ (Portugal) Portuguese editors Newspaper editors