Francisco Pinto Balsemão Facts for Kids

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Balsemão in 1982.

Prime Minister of Portugal
In office 9 January 1981 – 9 June 1983
President	António Ramalho Eanes
Deputy	Diogo Freitas do Amaral
Preceded by	Francisco Sá Carneiro
Succeeded by	Mário Soares
President of the Social Democratic Party
In office 13 December 1980 – 27 February 1983
Secretary-General	António Capucho
Preceded by	Francisco Sá Carneiro
Succeeded by	Nuno Rodrigues dos Santos
Minister of Social Affairs
In office 3 August 1981 – 4 September 1981
Prime Minister	Himself
Preceded by	João Morais Leitão
Succeeded by	Carlos Macedo
Minister in the Cabinet of the Prime Minister
In office 3 January 1980 – 9 January 1981
Prime Minister	Francisco Sá Carneiro
Preceded by	Manuel da Costa Brás
Succeeded by	Basílio Horta
Member of the Assembly of the Republic
In office 4 November 1985 – 12 August 1987
Constituency	Lisbon
In office 3 June 1976 – 12 November 1980
Constituency	Porto
In office 2 June 1975 – 2 April 1976
Constituency	Lisbon

Personal details
Born	(1937-09-01) 1 September 1937 (age 87) Lisbon, Portugal
Political party	Social Democratic Party
Alma mater	University of Lisbon
Occupation	Journalist, newspaper editor, newspaper administrator, chief executive officer of Impresa media group, chair of the european publishers council
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Francisco José Pereira Pinto Balsemão (born 1 September 1937) is a Portuguese businessman, former journalist, and politician. He served as the Prime Minister of Portugal from 1981 to 1983.

Early Life and Education
Career in Journalism and Media
- Newspaper Editor and Founder
- Leading a Media Group
Political Journey
Later Roles and Activities
Family Life
Honours and Awards
- From Portugal
- From Other Countries
See also

Early Life and Education

Francisco Pinto Balsemão was born in Lisbon, Portugal. His parents were Henrique Patrício Pinto Balsemão and Maria Adelaide van Zeller de Castro Pereira. He studied Law at the University of Lisbon.

Career in Journalism and Media

Before becoming a politician, Pinto Balsemão had a successful career in journalism and media.

Newspaper Editor and Founder

He worked as a journalist and manager for Diário Popular, a newspaper, from 1963 to 1971. In 1973, he started his own magazine called Expresso. He was the director of Expresso until 1980.

Leading a Media Group

Today, he is one of the main leaders and owners of the Impresa media group. This group owns many different media businesses. He also founded Sociedade Independente de Comunicação (SIC) on 6 October 1992. SIC was the first private television network in Portugal.

Political Journey

Pinto Balsemão has had a long and important political career in Portugal.

Founding the Social Democratic Party

He was a Member of Parliament before the revolution in Portugal (from 1969 to 1973). During this time, he helped create the Social Democratic Party (PSD). He founded the party with other important figures like Francisco Sá Carneiro. He is currently the first member of the PSD.

Role in the Constituent Assembly

In 1975, he was chosen to be part of the Constituent Assembly. This group was responsible for writing Portugal's new constitution. Pinto Balsemão was also chosen as a Vice-President of this important assembly.

Becoming Prime Minister

The Democratic Alliance, a group of parties led by the PSD, won elections in 1979 and 1980. Pinto Balsemão held important roles in the government led by Prime Minister Sá Carneiro.

After Prime Minister Sá Carneiro sadly passed away in an air accident in December 1980, the Social Democratic Party chose Pinto Balsemão to take his place. He became the Prime Minister of Portugal in 1981 and served until 1983.

Challenges as Prime Minister

Even though he was known for being very capable, some people felt he wasn't as charismatic as Sá Carneiro. He faced challenges keeping the same level of public support for his party. He also had to deal with disagreements among the parties in the Democratic Alliance. These issues led to his party losing the election in 1983. He left Parliament in 1987 but continued to be involved in politics in other ways.

Later Roles and Activities

Pinto Balsemão continues to be active in important roles.

European Publishers Council

He is currently the Chairman of the European Publishers Council. This council brings together leaders from publishing companies across Europe.

Council of State

He was also a member of the Portuguese Council of State. This is an important advisory body to the President of Portugal. He was chosen for this role by the Assembly of the Republic and the President at the time, Aníbal Cavaco Silva.

Bilderberg Group

He is also a member of the Steering Committee of the Bilderberg Group. This is a private conference that brings together important leaders from around the world. He has attended many of these conferences since 1981.

Family Life

Francisco Pinto Balsemão has been married and has children and grandchildren. He has children from his first marriage and his second marriage. He also has a son from another relationship. His children and grandchildren have their own families.

Honours and Awards

Francisco Pinto Balsemão has received many important awards and honours from Portugal and other countries. These awards recognize his contributions and service.