List of presidents of Portugal facts for kids

• Top left: Teofilo Braga President of the Provisional Government of the Republic.
• Top right: Óscar Carmona was the longest serving head of state.
• Bottom left: António Ramalho Eanes was the first president elected in democracy.
• Bottom right: Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa is the incumbent president.

The complete list of presidents of the Portuguese Republic consists of the 20 heads of state in the history of Portugal since the 5 October 1910 revolution that installed a republican regime.

This list includes not only those persons who were sworn into office as President of Portugal but also those who de facto served as head of state since 1910. This is the case of Teófilo Braga who served as President of the Provisional Government after the republican coup d'état. Also Sidónio Pais, Mendes Cabeçadas, Gomes da Costa, as well as Canto e Castro and Óscar Carmona in their early months, were not sworn into office as presidents of the Republic, usually being prime ministers, but de facto accumulated this function, thus combining in practice head of state and head of government in one person.

See the notes for more information.

Election terms

The numbering reflects the uninterrupted terms in office served by a single man. For example, Jorge Sampaio served two consecutive terms and is counted as the 19th president (not the 19th and 20th). Teófilo Braga served as the first and sole president of the Provisional Government, and therefore is not considered to be the first president, although he would serve again as head of state and be the second president after the resignation of Manuel de Arriaga.

However, Bernardino Machado served two non-consecutive terms, and he is counted as both the third and the eighth presidents. Because of this, the list below contains 20 presidencies, but only 19 presidents.

Under the Constitution of Portugal adopted in 1976, in the wake of the 1974 Carnation Revolution, the president is elected to a five-year term with the possibility of running for a second consecutive 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.

The official residence of the president of Portugal is the Belém Palace.

The current president of the Portuguese Republic is Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, the winner of the 2016 presidential election and re-elected in the 2021 presidential election.

Presidents

The colors indicate the political affiliation of each president.

             Republican
             Democratic
             National Republican/Sidonist
             Evolutionist Party/Republican Liberal
             National Union/Popular National Action
             Democratic Renewal
             Socialist
             Social Democratic
             No party/Independent

First Republic (1910–1926)

No.	Portrait	President (Birth–Death)	Elected	Term of office		Political party	Ref.
President of the Provisional Government of the Republic (1910–1911)
-		Teófilo Braga (1843–1924)	—	5 October 1910	24 August 1911	Republican
Presidents of the Republic (1911–1926)
1		Manuel de Arriaga (1840–1917)	1911	24 August 1911	26 May 1915	Republican later Democratic Republican
2		Teófilo Braga (1843–1924)	May 1915	29 May 1915	5 October 1915	Democratic Republican
3		Bernardino Machado (1851–1944)	August 1915	5 October 1915	5 December 1917	Democratic Republican
-		Ministry (Head of State ex officio) President: Sidónio Pais	—	12 December 1917	28 April 1918	–
4		Sidónio Pais (1872–1918)	April 1918	28 April 1918	14 December 1918	National Republican or "Sidonist"
-		Ministry (Head of State ex officio) President: João do Canto e Castro	—	14 December 1918	16 December 1918	–
5		João do Canto e Castro (1862–1934)	December 1918	16 December 1918	5 October 1919	National Republican or "Sidonist"
6		António José de Almeida (1866–1929)	1919	5 October 1919	5 October 1923	Evolutionist Party later Republican Liberal
7		Manuel Teixeira Gomes (1860–1941)	1923	5 October 1923	11 December 1925	Democratic Republican
8		Bernardino Machado (1851–1944) 2nd time	1925	11 December 1925	31 May 1926	Democratic Republican

Second Republic (1926–1974)

No.	Portrait	President (Birth–Death)	Elected	Term of office		Political party	Ref.
Ditadura Nacional (National Dictatorship) (1926–1932)
9		José Mendes Cabeçadas (1883–1965)	—	31 May 1926	17 June 1926	Military officer
-		Ministry (Head of State ex officio) President: Manuel Gomes da Costa	—	17 June 1926	29 June 1926	–
10		Manuel Gomes da Costa (1863–1929)	—	29 June 1926	9 July 1926	Military officer
-		Ministry (Head of State ex officio) President: Óscar Carmona	—	9 July 1926	16 November 1926	–
11		Óscar Carmona (1869–1951)	—	16 November 1926	15 April 1928	Military officer
	Estado Novo (New State) (1932–1974)
		Óscar Carmona (1869–1951)	1928	15 April 1928	26 April 1935	Military officer from 1932 National Union
			1935	26 April 1935	15 April 1942
			1942	15 April 1942	20 April 1949
			1949	20 April 1949	18 April 1951
-		António de Oliveira Salazar (1889–1970) (interim)	—	18 April 1951	21 July 1951	National Union
12		Francisco Craveiro Lopes (1894–1964)	1951	21 July 1951	9 August 1958	National Union
13		Américo Tomás (1894–1987)	1958	9 August 1958	9 August 1965	National Union from 1970 People's National Action
			1965	9 August 1965	9 August 1972
			1972	9 August 1972	25 April 1974

Third Republic (1974–present)

No.	Portrait	President (Birth–Death)	Elected	Term of office		Political party	Ref.
Presidents appointed in the aftermath of the Carnation Revolution (1974–1976)
-	National Salvation Junta President: António de Spínola		—	25 April 1974	15 May 1974	–
14		António de Spínola (1910–1996)	—	15 May 1974	30 September 1974	Military officer
15		Francisco da Costa Gomes (1914–2001)	—	30 September 1974	14 July 1976	Military officer
Presidents elected under the Constitution of the Republic (1976–present)
16		António Ramalho Eanes (born 1935)	1976	14 July 1976	14 January 1981	until 1985 Military officer
			1980	14 January 1981	9 March 1986	from 1985 Democratic Renewal
17		Mário Soares (1924–2017)	1986	9 March 1986	9 March 1991	Socialist
			1991	9 March 1991	9 March 1996
18		Jorge Sampaio (1939–2021)	1996	9 March 1996	9 March 2001	Socialist
			2001	9 March 2001	9 March 2006
19		Aníbal Cavaco Silva (born 1939)	2006	9 March 2006	9 March 2011	Social Democratic
			2011	9 March 2011	9 March 2016
20		Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa (born 1948)	2016	9 March 2016	9 March 2021	Social Democratic
			2021	9 March 2021	Incumbent

• Left office early:

Assassinated.

Died in office of natural causes.

Resigned.

Forced to resign due to a coup d'état.

Timeline

Presidents of Portugal (1910–present)

Birthplaces

Presidents by time in office

See also

• President of Portugal
• First Lady of Portugal
• List of heads of state of Portugal
• List of prime ministers of Portugal
• List of Portuguese monarchs
• Prime Minister of Portugal
• Politics of Portugal
• History of Portugal
  • History of Portugal (1910–1926)
  • History of Portugal (1926–1932)
  • History of Portugal (1932–1974)
  • History of Portugal (1974–1986)
  • History of Portugal (1986–2000)
  • History of Portugal (2000–present)
• Timeline of Portuguese history