The prime minister of Portugal ( pt, primeiro-ministro; ) is the

head of government The head of government is the highest or the second-highest official in the executive branch of a sovereign state, a federated state, or a self-governing colony, autonomous region, or other government who often presides over a cabinet, ...

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 ...

. 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 In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: representing the electorate, making laws, and overseeing the government via hearings and inquiries. Th ...

and keeps the

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 ...

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 Portugal The president of Portugal, officially the president of the Portuguese Republic ( pt, Presidente da República Portuguesa, ), is the head of state and highest office of Portugal. The powers, functions and duties of prior presidential offices, an ...

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 In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire ...

, 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'' ( chancellor), the ''mordomo-mor'' ( mayor of the palace) and the ''escrivão da puridade'' (king's private secretary). 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'' (President of the

Council of Ministers A council is a group of people who come together to consult, deliberate, or make decisions. A council may function as a legislature, especially at a town, city or county/ shire level, but most legislative bodies at the state/provincial or nati ...

). In 1911, the official title of the prime minister became ''Presidente do Ministério'' (President of the Ministry). In 1933, it became again ''Presidente do Conselho de Ministros''. The present title ''Primeiro-Ministro'' (Prime Minister), attributed to the head of the Government of Portugal, was officially established by the Constitution of 1976 after the revolution of 25 April 1974

Officeholders

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 Third Portuguese Republic () is a period in the history of Portugal corresponding to the current democratic regime installed after the Carnation Revolution of 25 April 1974, that put an end to the paternal autocratic regime of ''Estado Nov ...

. The official residence of the prime minister is a mansion next to

São Bento Palace São Bento Palace ( pt, Palácio de São Bento, italic=no "Saint Benedict's Palace") in Lisbon is the seat of the Assembly of the Portuguese Republic, the parliament of Portugal. Originally constructed in 1598, São Bento has served as the seat ...

, which, in confusion, is also often called "São Bento Palace". Portuguese prime ministers of the Third Portuguese Republic: * 1st

Mário Soares Mário Alberto Nobre Lopes Soares, GColTE, GCC, GColL (; 7 December 1924 – 7 January 2017) was a Portuguese politician, who served as prime minister of Portugal from 1976 to 1978 and from 1983 to 1985, and subsequently as the 17th pres ...

(two terms); * 2nd

Alfredo Nobre da Costa Alfredo Jorge Nobre da Costa, (10 September 1923 – 1 April 1996), commonly known as Nobre da Costa (), was a Portuguese engineer and politician who briefly served as prime minister of Portugal from August to November 1978. A moderate indepen ...

; * 3rd

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 ...

; * 4th Maria de Lourdes Pintasilgo; * 5th

Francisco Sá Carneiro Francisco is the Spanish and Portuguese form of the masculine given name ''Franciscus''. Nicknames In Spanish, people with the name Francisco are sometimes nicknamed "Paco". San Francisco de Asís was known as ''Pater Comunitatis'' (father of ...

; * (interim)

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 ...

–

Deputy Prime Minister A deputy prime minister or vice prime minister is, in some countries, a government minister who can take the position of acting prime minister when the prime minister is temporarily absent. The position is often likened to that of a vice president ...

; * 6th

Francisco Pinto Balsemão 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 Patríci ...

(two terms); * 1st

(third term); * 7th Aníbal Cavaco Silva (three terms); * 8th António Guterres (two terms); * 9th José Manuel Barroso; * 10th

Pedro Santana Lopes Pedro Miguel de Santana Lopes GCC (; born 29 June 1956) is a Portuguese lawyer and politician, who is the current president of the Municipal Chamber of Figueira da Foz. He most notably served as prime minister of Portugal from 2004 to 2005. ...

; * 11th

José Sócrates José Sócrates Carvalho Pinto de Sousa, GCIH (born 6 September 1957), commonly known as José Sócrates (), is a Portuguese politician who was the prime minister of Portugal from 12 March 2005 to 21 June 2011. For the second half of 2007, he ...

(two terms); * 12th

Passos Coelho Pedro Manuel Mamede Passos Coelho (; born 24 July 1964) is a Portuguese politician and university guest lecturer who was the 118th prime minister of Portugal, in office from 2011 to 2015. He was the leader of the Social Democratic Party (PSD) ...

(two terms); * 13th António Costa (three terms);

Graphical timeline (since 1974)

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, but is said to in 2023.

List of prime ministers of Portugal

Term of office in years

References

External links

Official Website of the Prime Minister of Portugal
{{Prime Minister * Government of Portugal 1834 establishments in Portugal Articles which contain graphical timelines