Diogo Pinto de Freitas do Amaral (; 21 July 1941 – 3 October 2019) was a Portuguese politician and law professor. He was

Minister of Foreign Affairs In many countries, the ministry of foreign affairs (abbreviated as MFA or MOFA) is the highest government department exclusively or primarily responsible for the state's foreign policy and foreign relations, relations, diplomacy, bilateralism, ...

from 10 January 1980 to 12 January 1981 and from 12 March 2005 to 3 July 2006. He also served briefly as

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 ...

in an interim capacity in the early 1980s, after the death of Francisco de Sá Carneiro.

Background

He was born in Póvoa de Varzim, Portugal, the third but first surviving son of

Duarte de Freitas do Amaral Duarte Pinto de Carvalho de Freitas do Amaral, GCIH, ComC KCSG; (13 May 1909 – 16 July 1979) was a Portuguese politician. Background He was the fourth of six children of Duarte do Amaral Pinto de Freitas and wife Ana Mendes Ribeiro de Oliveir ...

and wife Maria Filomena de Campos Trocado, and the older brother of

João de Freitas do Amaral João Pinto de Freitas do Amaral (30 May 1948 – 21 March 1995) was a Portuguese politician and journalist. Background He was the fourth but second surviving son of Duarte de Freitas do Amaral and wife Maria Filomena de Campos Trocado and the you ...

Career

He was a Licentiate and a

Doctorate A doctorate (from Latin ''doctor'', meaning "teacher") or doctoral degree is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities and some other educational institutions, derived from the ancient formalism '' licentia docendi'' ("licence to teach ...

in Law specialised in

Administrative Law Administrative law is a division of law governing the activities of government agency, executive branch agencies of government. Administrative law includes executive branch rulemaking (executive branch rules are generally referred to as "regul ...

and

Political Science Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and Power (social and political), power, and the analysis of political activities, political philosophy, political thought, polit ...

from the

Faculty of Law A faculty is a division within a university or college comprising one subject area or a group of related subject areas, possibly also delimited by level (e.g. undergraduate). In North America, academic divisions are sometimes titled colleges, sc ...

of the

University of Lisbon The University of Lisbon (ULisboa; ) is a public university, public research university in Lisbon, and Portugal's largest university. It was founded in 1911, but the university's present structure dates to the 2013 merger of the former Universit ...

, and a

Cathedratic Professor Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an academic rank at universities and other post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin as a 'person who professes'. Professors ...

in the

at the

New University of Lisbon NOVA University Lisbon (, ), or just NOVA, is a Portuguese public university whose rectorate is located in Campolide, Lisbon. Founded in 1973, it is the newest of the public universities in the Portuguese capital city, earning its name as the " ...

and also a

publicist A publicist is a person whose job is to generate and manage publicity for a company, a brand, or public figure – especially a celebrity – or for work or a project such as a book, film, or album. Publicists are public relations specialists wh ...

. He served as a professor in the Faculty of Law of the Lusófona University of Lisbon, where he taught and governed as the chair of the Economics of Public Law in Law degree, developing other teaching activities in the same college. In 1974, some months after the

Carnation Revolution The Carnation Revolution (), code-named Operation Historic Turn (), also known as the 25 April (), was a military coup by military officers that overthrew the Estado Novo government on 25 April 1974 in Portugal. The coup produced major socia ...

, he was one of the Founders and

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 ...

of then Democratic and Social Centre (CDS), a Christian democratic party. He led this party till 1985, and again from 1988 to 1991. He served as a

Deputy Deputy or depute may refer to: * Steward (office) * Khalifa, an Arabic title that can signify "deputy" * Deputy (legislator), a legislator in many countries and regions, including: ** A member of a Chamber of Deputies, for example in Italy, Spain, ...

to the Assembly of the Republic (the Portuguese parliament) from 1975 to 1982 or 1983, and again in 1992 and 1993. He was also a Member of the

Portuguese Council of State The Council of State (, ) 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 the existence of a Counci ...

(1974–1982). In the parliamentary elections of 1979 and 1980, the Democratic Alliance (of which the CDS was a part) won a majority and formed the government, in which Freitas served as Deputy Prime Minister or Vice-Prime-Minister and

in 1980 and Deputy Prime Minister or Vice-Prime-Minister and

Minister of Defence A ministry of defence or defense (see spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is the part of a government responsible for matters of defence and military forces, found in states where the government is divid ...

between 1981 and 1983. After the death of

Francisco Sá Carneiro Francisco Manuel Lumbrales de Sá Carneiro (; 19 July 19344 December 1980) was a Portuguese politician, who was one of the founders and the first leader of the Social Democratic Party (then known as the Popular Democratic Party). He served as ...

, Freitas do Amaral was interim

for a short period between 1980 and 1981. Between 1981 and 1982 he was also the President of the

European People's Party The European People's Party (EPP) is a European political party with Christian democracy, Christian democratic, liberal conservatism, liberal-conservative, and conservative member parties. A transnational organisation, it is composed of other p ...

. He was a candidate in 1985 for the

presidency A presidency is an administration or the executive, the collective administrative and governmental entity that exists around an office of president of a state or nation. Although often the executive branch of government, and often personified b ...

in the 1986 presidential election. Supported by his own People's Party and by 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 Form ...

, he established a commanding lead in the first round, but lost the second round by some 150,000 votes to

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

, who was endorsed by the two eliminated candidates. He was

President of the United Nations General Assembly The president of the United Nations General Assembly is a position voted by representatives in the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) on a yearly basis. The president is the chair and presiding officer of the General Assembly. Election ...

(1995–1996). A European federalist, he left the party he founded, disagreeing mainly with the

Eurosceptic Euroscepticism, also spelled as Euroskepticism or EU-scepticism, is a political position involving criticism of the European Union (EU) and European integration. It ranges from those who oppose some EU institutions and policies and seek refor ...

line followed by

Manuel Monteiro Manuel Fernando da Silva Monteiro (Anissó, Vieira do Minho, 1 April 1962) is a Portuguese jurist, professor and former politician. Early years Manuel Monteiro started his political life during his youth. He was elected president of the Peop ...

and

Paulo Portas Paulo de Sacadura Cabral Portas (born 12 September 1962, ) is a Portuguese media and political figure, who has, since the 1990s, been one of Portugal's leading conservative politicians. He was the leader of one of Portugal's right-wing parties, ...

. Always seen as a right-winger, Freitas do Amaral supported the

in the

parliamentary election A general election is an electoral process to choose most or all members of a governing body at the same time. They are distinct from by-elections, which fill individual seats that have become vacant between general elections. General elections ...

of 2002. However, disappointed with the government performance, and critical of its support for the U.S. invasion of Iraq, Freitas do Amaral surprised many observers by announcing his support for the

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 ...

in the

2005 election The following elections occurred in the year 2005. * 2005 United Nations Security Council election Africa * 2005 Burkinabé presidential election * 2005 Burundian Senate election * 2005 Burundian communal elections * 2005 Burundian constitutio ...

. He was subsequently nominated for Minister of State and

of the XVII Constitutional Government, led by the Socialist leader

José Sócrates José Sócrates Carvalho Pinto de Sousa (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 acted ...

. He resigned after a little over one year in office, citing health reasons and, as revealed to a newspaper, tiredness resulting from the many diplomatic trips taken. He was also a Juridical Consultant of many companies. He authored a biography of King

Afonso I Dom Afonso IOr also ''Affonso'' (Archaic Portuguese-Galician) or ''Alphonso'' ( Portuguese-Galician) or ''Alphonsus'' (Latin version), sometimes rendered in English as ''Alphonzo'' or ''Alphonse'', depending on the Spanish or French influence ...

and a play about

Viriatus Viriathus (also spelled Viriatus; known as Viriato in Portuguese and Spanish; died 139 BC) was the most important leader of the Lusitanian people that resisted Roman expansion into the regions of western Hispania (as the Romans called it) or ...

. He also published a study of the actuality and reform of the prison system in Portugal.

Honours

Grand Cross of the Order of Christ (3 August 1983) * PRT Order of Saint James of the Sword - Grand Cross BAR

Grand Cross of the

Military Order of Saint James of the Sword The Military Order of Saint James of the Sword (), formerly known as the Ancient, Most Noble and Enlightened Military Order of Saint James of the Sword, of the Scientific, Literary and Artistic Merit (), is one of the four former ancient Portu ...

(9 June 2003) * PRT_Order_of_Prince_Henry_-_Grand_Cross_BAR

Grand Cross of the

Order of Prince Henry The Order of Prince Henry () is a Portuguese order of knighthood created on 2 June 1960, to commemorate the quincentenary of the death of the Portuguese ''infante'' Prince Henry the Navigator, one of the main initiators of the Age of Discovery. M ...

(9 June 1984)

Foreign

*: First Class of the

Order of the White Star The Order of the White Star (; ) was instituted in 1936. The Order of the White Star is bestowed on Estonian citizens and foreigners to give recognition for services rendered to the Estonian state. Design Classes The Order of the White Star ...

(29 March 2006) *: Commander of National Order of Merit (27 January 2006) *: Grand Cross of the

Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany The Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany (, or , BVO) is the highest state decoration, federal decoration of the Federal Republic of Germany. It may be awarded for any field of endeavor. It was created by the first List of president ...

(22 December 1980) *: Knight Grand Cross of the

Order of Merit of the Italian Republic The Order of Merit of the Italian Republic () is the most senior Italian order of merit. It was established in 1951 by the second President of Italy, President of the Italian Republic, Luigi Einaudi. The highest-ranking honour of the Republi ...

(3 November 1980) *: Grand Cross of the

Order of St. Olav The Royal Norwegian Order of Saint Olav (; or ''Sanct Olafs Orden'', the old Norwegian name) is a Norwegian order of chivalry instituted by King Oscar I on 21 August 1847. It is named after King Olav II, known to posterity as St. Olav. Just be ...

(3 November 1980)

Personal life

He married in

Sintra Sintra (, ), officially the Town of Sintra (), is a town and municipality in the Greater Lisbon region of Portugal, located on the Portuguese Riviera. The population of the municipality in 2021 was 385,654, in an area of . Sintra is one of the ...

, Santa Maria, on 31 July 1965 Maria José Salgado Sarmento de Matos, born in

Lisbon Lisbon ( ; ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 567,131, as of 2023, within its administrative limits and 3,028,000 within the Lisbon Metropolitan Area, metropolis, as of 2025. Lisbon is mainlan ...

on 13 October 1943, writer under the

pseudonym A pseudonym (; ) or alias () is a fictitious name that a person assumes for a particular purpose, which differs from their original or true meaning ( orthonym). This also differs from a new name that entirely or legally replaces an individual's o ...

Maria Roma, daughter of José Sarmento Osório de Vasconcelos de Matos (

Moimenta da Beira Moimenta da Beira () is a municipality in the northern part of Portugal, located in the district of Viseu. The population in 2011 was 10,212, in an area of 219.97 km2. History Moimenta's history is fairly recent: Alfonso III of Asturias co ...

, 28 July 1909 – Sintra, 17 July 1992). They had four children. In September 2019, Freitas do Amaral was hospitalized in critical condition at a

Cascais Cascais () is a town and municipality in the Lisbon District of Portugal, located on the Portuguese Riviera, Estoril Coast. The municipality has a total of 214,158 inhabitants in an area of 97.40 km2. Cascais is an important tourism in Port ...

hospital. On 3 October 2019, it was announced that Freitas do Amaral had died.

Electoral history

Constituent Assembly, 1975

, - ! colspan="2" , Party ! Candidate ! Votes ! align="center" style="width: 50px", % ! align="center" style="width: 50px", Seats , - , style="background:;", , align="left", PS , align=left ,

, , 2,162,972 , , 37.9 , , 116 , - , style="background:;", , align="left", PPD , align=left ,

, , 1,507,282 , , 26.4 , , 81 , - , style="background:;", , align="left", PCP , align=left ,

Álvaro Cunhal Álvaro Barreirinhas Cunhal (; 10 November 1913 – 13 June 2005) was a Portuguese communist revolutionary and politician. He was one of the major opponents of the dictatorial regime of the '' Estado Novo''. He served as secretary-general of the P ...

, , 711,935 , , 12.5 , , 30 , - , style="background:;", , align="left",

CDS CDS, CDs, Cds, etc. may refer to: Finance * Canadian Depository for Securities, Canadian post-trade financial services company * Certificate of deposit (CDs) * Counterfeit Deterrence System, developed by the Central Bank Counterfeit Deterrence ...

, align=left , Diogo Freitas do Amaral , , 434,879 , , 7.6 , , 16 , - , style="background:darkred;", , align="left", MDP/CDE , align=left , Francisco Pereira de Moura , , 236,318 , , 4.1 , , 5 , - , style="background:red;", , align="left", FSP , align=left , Manuel Serra , , 66,307 , , 1.2 , , 0 , - , style="background:red;", , align="left", MES , align=left ,

Afonso de Barros Afonso is the Portuguese and Galician form of Alphons. Middle Ages Iberian royal families ;Portugal *Afonso I of Portugal (1109–1185) *Afonso II of Portugal (1185–1223) *Afonso III of Portugal (1210–1279) *Afonso IV of Portugal (1291� ...

, , 58,248 , , 1.0 , , 0 , - , style="background:white;", , colspan="2" align="left", Other parties , 137,213 , , 2.4 , , 2 , - , colspan="3" align="left", Blank/Invalid ballots , 396,675 , , 7.0 , , – , - style="background-color:#E9E9E9" , colspan="3" align="left", Turnout , 5,711,829 , , 91.66 , , 250 , - , colspan="6" align=left, Source: Comissão Nacional de Eleições

Legislative election, 1976

, - ! colspan="2" , Party ! Candidate ! Votes ! align="center" style="width: 50px", % ! align="center" style="width: 50px", Seats ! align="center" style="width: 50px", +/− , - , style="background:;", , align="left", PS , align=left ,

, , 1,912,921 , , 34.9 , , 107 , , style="color:red;", –9 , - , style="background:;", , align="left", PPD , align=left ,

, , 1,335,381 , , 24.4 , , 73 , , style="color:red;", –8 , - , style="background:;", , align="left",

, align=left , Diogo Freitas do Amaral , , 876,007 , , 16.0 , , 42 , , style="color:green;", +26 , - , style="background:;", , align="left", PCP , align=left ,

, , 788,830 , , 14.4 , , 40 , , style="color:green;", +10 , - , style="background:#E2062C;", , align="left", UDP , align=left ,

Mário Tomé Mario is the Italian, French, Croatian, Czech, Norwegian, Slovak, Serbian, Hungarian, Slovene, Polish, Spanish, Danish, Portuguese, Romanian, Swedish, Bulgarian, Greek, German, Dutch, and English form of the Latin Roman name Marius. The video ...

, , 91,690 , , 1.7 , , 1 , , ±0 , - , style="background:white;", , colspan="2" align="left", Other parties , 220,936 , , 4.0 , , 0 , , ±0 , - , colspan="3" align="left", Blank/Invalid ballots , 257,696 , , 2.7 , , – , , – , - style="background-color:#E9E9E9" , colspan="3" align="left", Turnout , 5,483,461 , , 83.53 , , 263 , , style="color:green;", +13 , - , colspan="7" align=left, Source: Comissão Nacional de Eleições

Presidential election, 1986

, - ! rowspan="2" colspan="2" , Candidate ! colspan="2" , First round ! colspan="2" , Second round , - ! Votes ! align="center" style="width: 50px", % ! Votes ! align="center" style="width: 50px", % , - , style="background:;", , align=left ,

, , 1,443,683 , , 25.4 , , 3,010,756 , , 51.2 , - , style="background:;", , align=left , Diogo Freitas do Amaral , , 2,629,597 , , 46.3 , , 2,872,064 , , 48.8 , - , style="background:green;", , align=left ,

Francisco Salgado Zenha Francisco Salgado Zenha GCL (2 May 1923, Braga – 1 November 1993, Lisbon) was a Portuguese left-wing politician and lawyer. Career As a student at the University of Coimbra, he was elected president of the Academic Association of Coimbr ...

, , 1,185,867 , , 20.9 , - , style="background:;", , align=left ,

Maria de Lourdes Pintasilgo Maria de Lourdes Ruivo da Silva de Matos Pintasilgo (; 18 January 1930 – 10 July 2004) was a Portuguese chemical engineer and politician. She was the first and to date only woman to serve as Prime Minister of Portugal, and the second woman to ...

, , 418,961 , , 7.4 , - , colspan="2" align="left", Blank/Invalid ballots , 64,626 , , – , , 54,280 , , – , - style="background-color:#E9E9E9" , colspan="2" align="left", Turnout , 5,742,734 , , 75.39 , , 5,937,100 , , 77.99 , - , colspan="6" align=left, Source: Comissão Nacional de Eleições

CDS leadership election, 1988

, - style="background-color:#E9E9E9" ! align="center" colspan=2 style="width: 60px", Candidate ! align="center" style="width: 50px", Votes ! align="center" style="width: 50px", % , - , bgcolor=, , align=left , Diogo Freitas do Amaral , colspan="2" align=right , ''

Voice vote In parliamentary procedure, a voice vote (from the Latin ''viva voce'', meaning "by live voice") or acclamation is a voting method in deliberative assemblies (such as legislatures) in which a group vote is taken on a topic or motion by respondin ...

'' , - , - style="background-color:#E9E9E9" , colspan=2 style="text-align:left;" , Turnout , align=right , , align=right , 100.0 , - , colspan="4" align=left, Source: Congress 1988

Legislative election, 1991

PSD PSD may refer to: Educational bodies * Poudre School District, a school district in Larimer County, Colorado Government and military * Payment Services Directive, EU regulation for payment services * Pesticides Safety Directorate, UK * President ...

, align=left ,

Aníbal Cavaco Silva Aníbal António Cavaco Silva (; born 15 July 1939) is a Portuguese economist and politician who served as the 19th president of Portugal, from 9 March 2006 to 9 March 2016, and as prime minister of Portugal, from 6 November 1985 to 25 October ...

, , 2,902,351 , , 50.6 , , 135 , , style="color:red;", –13 , - , style="background:;", , align="left", PS , align=left ,

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 ...

, , 1,670,758 , , 29.1 , , 72 , , style="color:green;", +12 , - , style="background:;", , align="left", CDU , align=left ,

, , 504,583 , , 8.8 , , 17 , , style="color:red;", –14 , - , style="background:;", , align="left",

, align=left , Diogo Freitas do Amaral , , 254,317 , , 4.4 , , 5 , , style="color:green;", +1 , - , style="background:#000080;", , align="left",

PSN PlayStation Network (PSN) is a digital media entertainment service provided by Sony Interactive Entertainment. Launched in November 2006, PSN was originally conceived for the PlayStation video game consoles, but soon extended to encompass smartp ...

, align=left ,

Manuel Sérgio Manuel Sérgio Vieira e Cunha (20 April 1933 – 19 February 2025) was a Portuguese philosopher of sport, academic, activist and politician, specialized in the field of human kinetics. In the 1990s, Manuel Sérgio was involved in Portuguese ...

, , 96,096 , , 1.6 , , 1 , , ''new'' , - , style="background:red;", , align="left", PSR , align=left ,

Francisco Louçã Francisco Anacleto Louçã (; born 12 November 1956) is a Portuguese economist and politician. Biography He is the second son of António Seixas Louçã, a Portuguese Navy Officer, and his wife Noémia da Rocha Neves Anacleto, lawyer, grandda ...

, , 64,159 , , 1.1 , , 0 , , ±0 , - , style="background:white;", , colspan="2" align="left", Other parties , 132,495 , , 2.3 , , 0 , , style="color:red;", –7 , - , colspan="3" align="left", Blank/Invalid ballots , 110,672 , , 1.9 , , – , , – , - style="background-color:#E9E9E9" , colspan="3" align="left", Turnout , 5,735,431 , , 67.78 , , 230 , , style="color:red;", –20 , - , colspan="7" align=left, Source: Comissão Nacional de Eleições

Ancestors

Books

* '' D. Afonso Henriques biografia''. Lisboa: Bertrand, 2009. * '' Camarate: um caso ainda em aberto : apelo de um cidadão''. Lisboa: Bertrand, 2010. * '' História do Pensamento Político Ocidental''. Coimbra: Almedina, 2011.

References

* ''Anuário da Nobreza de Portugal'', III, 2006, Tomo IV, pp. 862–873 * ''Costados'', Gonçalo de Mesquita da Silveira de Vasconcelos e Sousa, Livraria Esquina, 1.ª Edição, Porto, 1997, N.º 55 {{DEFAULTSORT:Freitas Do Amaral, Diogo De 1941 births 2019 deaths Candidates for President of Portugal CDS – People's Party politicians Ministers of foreign affairs of Portugal Freitas do Amaral family Grand Crosses 1st class of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany Members of the 1st Assembly of the Republic (Portugal) Members of the 2nd Assembly of the Republic (Portugal) Members of the 6th Assembly of the Republic (Portugal) Members of the Constituent Assembly (Portugal) Ministers of national defence of Portugal People from Póvoa de Varzim Permanent representatives of Portugal to the United Nations Presidents of the United Nations General Assembly Prime ministers of Portugal Recipients of the Order of the White Star, 1st Class University of Lisbon alumni Portuguese political party founders