The president of Portugal, officially the president of the Portuguese Republic ( pt, Presidente da República Portuguesa, ), is the

head of state A head of state (or chief of state) is the public persona who officially embodies a state Foakes, pp. 110–11 " he head of statebeing an embodiment of the State itself or representatitve of its international persona." in its unity and l ...

and highest office of

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 ...

. The powers, functions and duties of prior presidential offices, and their relation with the

prime minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister i ...

and cabinets have over time differed with the various Portuguese constitutions. Currently, in the Third Republic, a semi-presidential system, the President holds no direct executive power, but is more than a merely ceremonial figure as is typically the case with

parliamentary systems 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 ...

: one of his most significant responsibilities is the promulgation of all laws enacted by the Assembly of the Republic (parliament) or the

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 is ...

(an act without which such laws have no legal validity), with an alternative option to

veto A veto is a legal power to unilaterally stop an official action. In the most typical case, a president or monarch vetoes a bill to stop it from becoming law. In many countries, veto powers are established in the country's constitution. Veto ...

them (although this veto can be overcome in the case of laws approved by Parliament) or send them to the

Constitutional Court A constitutional court is a high court that deals primarily with constitutional law. Its main authority is to rule on whether laws that are challenged are in fact unconstitutional, i.e. whether they conflict with constitutionally established ...

for appreciation of whether they violate the Constitution. This and other abilities imply that the president of Portugal does not fit clearly into either of the three traditional powers – legislative, executive and judicial –, acting instead as a sort of "moderating power" among the traditional three.Duties of the President – Head of State
''Official Page of the Presidency of the Portuguese Republic''. Retrieved 31 August 2021. The current President of Portugal is

Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa Marcelo Nuno Duarte Rebelo de Sousa (; born 12 December 1948) is a Portuguese politician and academic. He is the 20th and current president of Portugal, since 9 March 2016. He is a member of the Social Democratic Party, though he suspended hi ...

, who took office on 9 March 2016.

Role

The Portuguese Third Republic is a semi-presidential system. Unlike most European presidents, who are largely ceremonial figures, the Portuguese president is invested with more extensive powers. Although it is the prime minister of Portugal and

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 ...

that oversee and direct much of the nation's actual governmental affairs, the Portuguese president wields significant influence and authority, especially in the fields of national security and foreign policy (but still less than "strong" semi-presidential systems, such as France or Romania). The president is the supreme commander of the Armed Forces, holds the nation's most senior office, and outranks all other politicians. The president's greatest power is his ability to appoint the prime minister. However, since the Assembly of the Republic has the sole power to dismiss the prime minister's government, the prime minister named by the president must have the confidence of a majority of representatives in the assembly, otherwise the prime minister may face a

motion of no confidence A motion of no confidence, also variously called a vote of no confidence, no-confidence motion, motion of confidence, or vote of confidence, is a statement or vote about whether a person in a position of responsibility like in government or m ...

. The president has the discretionary power to dissolve parliament when he sees fit (colloquially known as the "atomic bomb" in Portugal), and President

Jorge Sampaio Jorge Fernando Branco de Sampaio (; 18 September 1939 – 10 September 2021) was a Portuguese lawyer and politician who was the 18th president of Portugal from 1996 to 2006. A member of the Socialist Party, a party which he led between 1989 a ...

made use of this prerogative in late 2004 to remove the controversial government of

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. ...

, despite the absolute majority of deputies supporting the government. In 2003, President Sampaio also intervened to limit the Portuguese participation in the

Iraq War {{Infobox military conflict , conflict = Iraq War {{Nobold, {{lang, ar, حرب العراق (Arabic) {{Nobold, {{lang, ku, شەڕی عێراق ( Kurdish) , partof = the Iraq conflict and the War on terror , image ...

– as Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces he forbade the deployment of the Portuguese Army in a war that he personally disagreed with, clashing with the then–prime minister José Manuel Barroso. Becaused of this, the Government eventually deployed 128 members of the National Republican Guard (GNR) to Iraq from 2003 to 2005, this being possible because the GNR, despite being a military force, was not part of the Armed Forces. Prior to the Carnation Revolution, the powers of the presidency varied widely; some presidents were virtual dictators (such as

Pais : Pais is a red wine grape that has played a prominent role in the Chilean wine industry. Up until the turn of the 21st century, it was Chile's most planted variety until it was overtaken by Cabernet Sauvignon. Today it is most commonly used in t ...

, and Carmona in his early years), while others were little more than

figurehead In politics, a figurehead is a person who ''de jure'' (in name or by law) appears to hold an important and often supremely powerful title or office, yet ''de facto'' (in reality) exercises little to no actual power. This usually means that they ...

s (such as Carmona in his later years,

Craveiro Lopes Francisco Higino Craveiro Lopes (; 12 April 1894 – 2 September 1964) was a Portuguese Air Force officer and politician who served as the 12th president of Portugal from 1951 to 1958. Early life and career Born in Lisbon, he was a son o ...

, and

Américo Tomás Américo de Deus Rodrigues Tomás (; 19 November 1894 – 18 September 1987) was a Portuguese Navy officer and politician who served as the 13th president of Portugal from 1958 to 1974. Biography Early life Américo de Deus Rodrigues Tom� ...

; during their administrations, supreme power was held by

António de Oliveira Salazar António de Oliveira Salazar (, , ; 28 April 1889 – 27 July 1970) was a Portuguese dictator who served as President of the Council of Ministers from 1932 to 1968. Having come to power under the ("National Dictatorship"), he reframed the r ...

, the

President of the Council of Ministers The President of the Council of Ministers (sometimes titled Chairman of the Council of Ministers) is the most senior member of the cabinet in the executive branch of government in some countries. Some Presidents of the Council of Ministers are th ...

Powers

The constitution grants the following powers to the president: *The President of the Republic exercises the functions of Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces and Grand Master of the Three Orders, and appoints and dismisses, on a proposal from the Government, the Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces and the heads of General Staff of the three branches of the Armed Forces. *The President of the Republic can dissolve the Assembly of the Republic, which implies the need to call new legislative elections and, after these have been held, the resignation of the Government. *The President of the Republic appoints the Prime Minister taking into account the electoral results and appoints the remaining members of the Government on the proposal of the Prime Minister. The President can, on the other hand, dismiss the Government when this becomes necessary to ensure the regular functioning of democratic institutions. *The governing bodies of the autonomous regions may be dissolved by the President of the Republic, for carrying out serious acts contrary to the Constitution. *The President of the Republic declares the state of siege and emergency, after hearing the Government and under authorization from the Assembly of the Republic. *Upon a proposal from the Government and with authorization from the Assembly of the Republic, the President of the Republic may declare war in the event of effective or imminent aggression and make peace. *The President of the Republic promulgates or signs and, consequently, can veto the promulgation or signature of laws, decree-laws, regulatory decrees and other Government decrees. *In the domain of his competences in international relations, the President of the Republic ratifies international treaties. *The President of the Republic decides on the convening of the referendum whose holding is proposed by the Assembly of the Republic. *The President of the Republic may request the Constitutional Court to pre-empt the constitutionality of norms contained in international conventions or decrees that have been sent to him for promulgation as an organic law, law or decree-law. *The President of the Republic appoints and exonerates, in some cases on a proposal from the Government, holders of important State bodies such as the Representatives of the Republic for the autonomous regions, the President of the Court of Auditors and the Attorney General of the Republic, five members of the Council of State and two members of the Superior Council of the Judiciary. *The President of the Republic appoints the ambassadors and extraordinary envoys, on a proposal from the Government, and accredits the foreign diplomatic representatives. *The President of the Republic, after hearing the Government, pardons and commutes sentences.

Election

Under the

Portuguese Constitution The present Constitution of Portugal was adopted in 1976 after the Carnation Revolution. It was preceded by a number of constitutions including the first one created in 1822 (following the Liberal Revolution of 1820), 1826 (drawn up by King ...

adopted in 1976, in the wake of the 1974 Carnation Revolution, the president is elected to a five-year term; there is no limit to the number of terms a president may serve, but a president who serves two consecutive terms may not serve again in the next five years after the second term finishes or in the following five years after his resignation. The official residence of the Portuguese president is the

Belém Palace The Belém Palace ( pt, Palácio de Belém), formally the National Palace of Belém, ( pt, Palácio Nacional de Belém), is the current official residence of the President of the Portuguese Republic, the head of state of Portugal. Located in the ...

. The president is elected in a

two-round system The two-round system (TRS), also known as runoff voting, second ballot, or ballotage, is a voting method used to elect a single candidate, where voters cast a single vote for their preferred candidate. It generally ensures a majoritarian resu ...

: if no candidate reaches 50% of the votes during the first round, the two candidates with the most votes face each other in a second round held two weeks later. However, the second round has only been needed once, during the 1986 presidential election. To date, all of the elected presidents since the Carnation Revolution have served for two consecutive terms, and presidents consistently rank as the most popular political figure in the country. During his time in office, however, the popularity of former president Aníbal Cavaco Silva plummeted, making him the second-least popular political figure in the country, just above the then-prime minister, and the first Portuguese president after 1974 to have a negative popularity. If the president dies or becomes incapacitated while in office, the president of the Assembly assumes the office with restricted powers until a new president can be inaugurated following fresh elections.

2021 presidential election

, - !style="background-color:#E9E9E9;text-align:left;" colspan="2" rowspan="2", Candidates !style="background-color:#E9E9E9;text-align:left;" rowspan="2", Supporting parties !style="background-color:#E9E9E9;text-align:right;" colspan="2", First round , - !style="background-color:#E9E9E9;text-align:right;", Votes !style="background-color:#E9E9E9;text-align:right;", % , - , style="width: 10px" bgcolor=#FF9900 align="center" , , align=left,

, align=left,

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 Fo ...

, People's Party , align="right" , 2,531,692 , align="right" , 60.66 , - , style="width: 5px" bgcolor=#FF66FF align="center" , , align=left, Ana Gomes , align=left,

People–Animals–Nature People–Animals–Nature ( pt, Pessoas-Animais-Natureza, PAN) is an environmentalist, animal rights and animal welfare focused political party in Portugal, founded in 2009. In 2015, they won one seat in the Assembly of the Republic.

LIVRE LIVRE (, L), previously known as LIVRE/Tempo de Avançar (, L/TDA), is a green political party in Portugal founded in 2014. Its founding principles are ecology, universalism, freedom, equity, solidarity, socialism and Europeanism. Its symbol i ...

, align="right" , 540,823 , align="right" , 12.96 , - , style="width: 5px" bgcolor=#202056 align="center" , , align=left,

André Ventura André Claro Amaral Ventura (; born 15 January 1983) is a right-wing Portuguese politician and former sports pundit. He briefly worked as a senior civil servant at the Portuguese tax office. He founded the Chega party in April 2019, and was ...

, align=left, CHEGA , align="right" , 497,746 , align="right" , 11.93 , - , style="width: 5px" bgcolor=red align="center" , , align=left, João Ferreira , align=left,

Portuguese Communist Party The Portuguese Communist Party ( pt, Partido Comunista Português, , PCP) is a communist, Marxist–Leninist political party in Portugal based upon democratic centralism. The party also considers itself patriotic and internationalist,Portu ...

Ecologist Party "The Greens" The Ecologist Party "The Greens" ( pt, Partido Ecologista "Os Verdes", , PEV) is a Portuguese eco-socialist political party. It is a member of the European Greens and a founding member of the European Federation of Green Parties. It was the ...

, align="right" , 179,764 , align="right" , 4.31 , - , style="width: 5px" bgcolor= align="center" , , align=left, Marisa Matias , align=left, Left Bloc, Socialist Alternative Movement , align="right" , 165,127 , align="right" , 3.96 , - , style="width: 5px" bgcolor=#00ADEF align="center" , , align=left, Tiago Mayan Gonçalves , align=left, Liberal Initiative , align="right" , 134,991 , align="right" , 3.23 , - , style="width: 5px" bgcolor=LightSeaGreen align="center" , , align=left, Vitorino Silva , align=left, React, Include, Recycle , align="right" , 123,031 , align="right" , 2.95 , - , colspan="3" align=left style="background-color:#E9E9E9", Total valid , width="65" align="right" style="background-color:#E9E9E9", 4,173,174 , width="40" align="right" style="background-color:#E9E9E9", 100.00 , - , align=right colspan="3", Blank ballots , width="65" align="right" , 47,164 , width="40" align="right" , 1.11 , - , align=right colspan="3" , Invalid ballots , width="65" align="right", 38,018 , width="40" align="right", 0.89 , - , colspan="3" align=left style="background-color:#E9E9E9", Total , width="65" align="right" style="background-color:#E9E9E9", 4,258,356 , width="40" align="right" style="background-color:#E9E9E9", , - , colspan=3, Registered voters/turnout , , 10,847,434, , 39.26 , - , colspan=5 align=left, Source
Comissão Nacional de Eleições

Role

Powers

Election

2021 presidential election

Graphical timeline (since 1910)

State visits

See also

Notes

References

External links