Events in the year 2001 in
Portugal
Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. Featuring Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point in continental Europe, Portugal borders Spain to its north and east, with which it share ...
.
Incumbents
*
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:
Arts and entertainment Film and television
*'' Præsident ...
:
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. Sampaio was a member of the Socialist Party, a party which he ...
*
Prime Minister
A prime minister 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. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...
:
António Guterres
António Manuel de Oliveira Guterres (born 30 April 1949) is a Portuguese politician and diplomat who is serving as the ninth and current secretary-general of the United Nations since 2017. A member of the Socialist Party (Portugal), ...
(
Socialist
Socialism is an economic ideology, economic and political philosophy encompassing diverse Economic system, economic and social systems characterised by social ownership of the means of production, as opposed to private ownership. It describes ...
)
Events
January to June

*14 January –
Presidential election
A presidential election is the election of any head of state whose official title is President.
Elections by country
Albania
The president of Albania is elected by the Assembly of Albania who are elected by the Albanian public.
Chile
The p ...
:
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. Sampaio was a member of the Socialist Party, a party which he ...
is re-elected for a second term as President after defeating his
Social Democratic
Social democracy is a Social philosophy, social, Economic ideology, economic, and political philosophy within socialism that supports Democracy, political and economic democracy and a gradualist, reformist, and democratic approach toward achi ...
rival
Joaquim Ferreira do Amaral Joaquim Martins Ferreira do Amaral (born 13 April 1945) is a Portuguese former politician of the Social Democratic Party (PSD).
He was a candidate in the 2001 Portuguese presidential election, taking just under 35% of the vote and losing to incumb ...
. Having achieved more than half of all ballots cast in the first round, Sampaio's vote tally eliminates the need for a second run-off round. Turnout falls to approximately 50%, the lowest in a presidential election since Portugal's return to democracy in 1974.
*29 January – Heavy rainfall causes flooding across northern and central Portugal, cutting off villages and forcing the closure of roads and railway lines. The inclement weather leads to the deaths of six people and the sinking of a cargo ship carrying fertiliser off the Portuguese coast, whose crew of five are rescued from the Atlantic Ocean.
*4 March – The Hintze Ribeiro bridge near the town of Entre-os-Rios in the
Porto District
The Districts of Portugal, District of Porto ( ) is located on the north-west coast of Portugal. The district capital is the city of Porto, the second largest city in the country. It is bordered by the Aveiro (district), Aveiro and Viseu (distric ...
collapses into the
Douro River
The Douro (, , , ; ; ) is the largest river of the Iberian Peninsula by discharge. It rises near Duruelo de la Sierra in the Spanish province of Soria, meanders briefly south, then flows generally west through the northern part of the Meseta ...
below, killing 59 people. In response Prime Minister
António Guterres
António Manuel de Oliveira Guterres (born 30 April 1949) is a Portuguese politician and diplomat who is serving as the ninth and current secretary-general of the United Nations since 2017. A member of the Socialist Party (Portugal), ...
orders an official inquiry into the incident and accepts the resignation of Jorge Coelho, the Public Works Minister. The government additionally declares two days of national mourning.
*11 March – In motor racing, Finland's
Tommi Mäkinen
Tommi Antero Mäkinen (; born 26 June 1964) is a Finnish racing executive and former rally driver.
Mäkinen is one of the most successful World Rally drivers of all time, ranking fifth in rally wins (24) and third in championships (4), tied wit ...
wins the
2001 Rally de Portugal.
*24 March – Fourteen people are killed and a further 24 are injured when a tour bus crashes down a ravine after leaving the IP3 highway near
Santa Comba Dao in the central
Viseu District
The Districts of Portugal, District of Viseu ( ) is located in the Central Inland of Portugal, the District Capital is the city of Viseu.
Municipalities
The district is composed by 24 municipalities:
* Armamar Municipality, Armamar
* Carregal d ...
. In response local residents stage a protest over the safety of the road, an action which follows similar demonstrations held in the months preceding the crash.
*7 April – The
2001 Globos de Ouro media awards ceremony is held at the
Coliseu dos Recreios
The Coliseu dos Recreios (also known as Coliseu de Lisboa) is a multi-purpose auditorium located in Lisbon, Portugal.
History
The main building was constructed within a metal lattice by Francisco Goulard between 1888 and 1890. While the facade ...
in Lisbon. ''
Capitães de Abril
''April Captains'' () is a 2000 film telling the story of the Carnation Revolution, the military coup that overthrew the corporatist dictatorship (known as the ''Estado Novo'') in Portugal on 25 April 1974. Although dramatised, the plot is cl ...
'' wins the prize for Best Film and
Vítor Norte
Vítor Norte (born 29 January 1951) is a Portuguese actor. He won the Portuguese Golden Globe award for best actor three times.
In 2002, he appeared in, and won, season 2 of the Portuguese reality television show ''Celebrity Big Brother''.
B ...
(''
Tarde Demais'') and
Maria de Medeiros
Maria Esteves de Medeiros Victorino de Almeida, DamSE (born 19 August 1965), known professionally as Maria de Medeiros (), is a Portuguese actress, director, and singer who has been involved in both European and American film-productions.
Ear ...
(''Capitães de Abril'') are awarded Best Actor and Best Actress respectively.
*18 May – In association football,
Boavista F.C.
Boavista Futebol Clube (), commonly known as Boavista, is a Portuguese professional sports club from the of Porto that competes in the Primeira Liga, the top flight of Portuguese football league system, Portuguese football, at the Estádio do B ...
win the
2000–01 Primeira Liga
The 2000–01 Primeira Liga was the 67th edition of the top flight of Portuguese football. It started on 19 August 2000 with a match between Braga and Vitória de Guimarães, and ended on 27 May 2001. The league was contested by 18 clubs, with ...
after a 3–0 victory over
C.D. Aves. It is the club's maiden top-flight league championship title and marks the first time in more than five decades that the championship has been won by a team from outside the country's big three clubs of
F.C. Porto
Futebol Clube do Porto, MHIH, OM (), commonly known as FC Porto or simply Porto, is a Portuguese professional sports club based in Porto. It is best known for the professional football team playing in the Primeira Liga, the top flight of Portu ...
,
S.L. Benfica
(), commonly known as Benfica, is a professional football club based in Lisbon, Portugal, that competes in the Primeira Liga, the top flight of Portuguese football.
Founded on 28 February 1904, as ''Sport Lisboa'', Benfica is one of the " ...
, and
Sporting CP
Sporting Clube de Portugal (), otherwise referred to as Sporting CP or simply Sporting (particularly within Portugal), or as Sporting Lisbon in other countries, .
July to December
*1 July – A new law decriminalising the use of all previously prohibited drugs, including
cannabis
''Cannabis'' () is a genus of flowering plants in the family Cannabaceae that is widely accepted as being indigenous to and originating from the continent of Asia. However, the number of species is disputed, with as many as three species be ...
and
cocaine
Cocaine is a tropane alkaloid and central nervous system stimulant, derived primarily from the leaves of two South American coca plants, ''Erythroxylum coca'' and ''Erythroxylum novogranatense, E. novogranatense'', which are cultivated a ...
, comes into effect.
*25 August – Eleven people are injured when
Transat Flight 236 carrying 304 passengers from Toronto to Lisbon is forced to make an emergency landing at
Lajes Airport in the Azores after a reported loss of power to all engines.
*1 October – The legal
blood alcohol
Blood alcohol content (BAC), also called blood alcohol concentration or blood alcohol level, is a measurement of alcohol intoxication used for legal or medical purposes.
BAC is expressed as mass of alcohol per volume of blood. In US and many i ...
limit for drivers is lowered from 0.5 to 0.2 milligrams per litre in a bid to reduce the number of road traffic accidents on Portugal's roads, which ranks as the highest in Europe. Fines imposed for speeding offences and driving under the influence of alcohol and drugs are also increased.
*13 December – The
historic centre of the town of
Guimarães
Guimarães () is a city and municipality located in northern Portugal, in the district of Braga.
Its historic town centre has been listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2001, in recognition for being an "exceptionally well-preserved ...
is declared a
UNESCO World Heritage Site
World Heritage Sites are landmarks and areas with legal protection under an treaty, international treaty administered by UNESCO for having cultural, historical, or scientific significance. The sites are judged to contain "cultural and natural ...
.
*16 December –
Local elections
Local may refer to:
Geography and transportation
* Local (train), a train serving local traffic demand
* Local, Missouri, a community in the United States
Arts, entertainment, and media
* ''Local'' (comics), a limited series comic book by Bria ...
: The Social Democratic Party wins control of 144 councils in what is seen as a comprehensive defeat for Prime Minister António Guterres'
Socialist Party
Socialist Party is the name of many different political parties around the world. All of these parties claim to uphold some form of socialism, though they may have very different interpretations of what "socialism" means. Statistically, most of th ...
,
which in defiance of pre-election polls loses in its traditional strongholds of Lisbon and Porto.
*17 December – President Jorge Sampaio accepts the resignation of Prime Minister António Guterres following the Socialist Party's defeat in the local elections, opening the possibility of a general election in early 2002. Sampaio nevertheless does not rule out naming an interim Prime Minister until the election's planned date in October 2003.
Arts and entertainment
Films
*''Ganhar a Vida'' (''
Get a Life'') by
João Canijo
João Canijo (born 1957) is a Portuguese film director. His film '' Get a Life'' was screened in the Un Certain Regard section at the 2001 Cannes Film Festival. His 2011 film '' Blood of My Blood'' was selected as the Portuguese entry for the B ...
.
*''Vou Para Casa'' (''
I'm Going Home'') by
Manoel de Oliveira
Manoel Cândido Pinto de Oliveira (; 11 December 1908 – 2 April 2015) was a Portuguese film director and screenwriter born in Cedofeita, Porto. He first began making films in 1927, when he and some friends attempted to make a film about Wor ...
.
Sports
Football (soccer)
Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 Football player, players who almost exclusively use their feet to propel a Ball (association football), ball around a rectangular f ...
competitions:
Primeira Liga
The Primeira Liga (), also known as Liga Portugal Betclic for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Portugal and the highest level of the Portuguese football league system. Organised and supervised by the Liga ...
,
Liga de Honra
The Liga Portugal 2 (), also known as Liga Portugal Meu Super for sponsorship reasons, is the second-highest division of the Portuguese football league system. At the end of each season, the two top-finishing teams are promoted to the top-tier ...
Births
*27 March –
Gustavo Ribeiro
Gustavo Pereira Ribeiro (born 27 March 2001) is a Portuguese professional skateboarder. He won the bronze medal at the 2019 World Skateboarding Championship on street skateboarding and won the Street League Skateboarding super crown in 2022. He ...
, skateboarder.
Deaths
*31 July –
Francisco da Costa Gomes
Francisco da Costa Gomes, Order of the Tower and Sword, ComTE Order of Aviz, GOA (; 30 June 1914 – 31 July 2001) was a former Portuguese people, Portuguese military officer and politician who was the 15th President of Portugal from 1974 to 19 ...
, military officer and politician, President of Portugal (1974–1976) (born
1914
This year saw the beginning of what became known as the First World War, after Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria, heir to the Austrian throne was Assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, assassinated by Serbian nationalist Gavrilo Princip ...
).
References
{{Years in Portugal
2000s in Portugal
Portugal
Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. Featuring Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point in continental Europe, Portugal borders Spain to its north and east, with which it share ...
Years of the 21st century in Portugal
Portugal
Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. Featuring Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point in continental Europe, Portugal borders Spain to its north and east, with which it share ...