Pedro Passos Coelho facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Pedro Passos Coelho
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Passos Coelho in 2012
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| Prime Minister of Portugal | |
| In office 21 June 2011 – 26 November 2015 |
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| President | Aníbal Cavaco Silva |
| Deputy | Paulo Portas |
| Preceded by | José Sócrates |
| Succeeded by | António Costa |
| President of the Social Democratic Party | |
| In office 9 April 2010 – 16 February 2018 |
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| Secretary-General | Luís Marques Guedes Miguel Relvas José Matos Rosa |
| Preceded by | Manuela Ferreira Leite |
| Succeeded by | Rui Rio |
| President of the Social Democratic Youth | |
| In office March 1990 – December 1995 |
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| Preceded by | Carlos Coelho |
| Succeeded by | Jorge Moreira da Silva |
| Member of the Assembly of the Republic | |
| In office 23 October 2015 – 28 February 2018 |
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| Constituency | Lisbon |
| In office 20 June 2011 – 22 October 2015 |
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| Constituency | Vila Real |
| In office 4 November 1991 – 24 October 1999 |
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| Constituency | Lisbon |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
Pedro Manuel Mamede Passos Coelho
24 July 1964 Coimbra, Portugal |
| Political party | Social Democratic Party |
| Spouses |
Fátima Padinha
(m. 1985; div. 2003)Laura Ferreira
(m. 2004; died 2020) |
| Children | 3 |
| Education | Escola Secundária Camilo Castelo Branco |
| Alma mater | Lusíada University of Lisbon |
| Awards |    |
| Signature |  |
Pedro Manuel Mamede Passos Coelho (born 24 July 1964) is a Portuguese politician. He was the Prime Minister of Portugal from 2011 to 2015. He also led the Social Democratic Party (PSD) from 2010 to 2018.
Passos Coelho started his political journey at a young age. He became the national leader of the youth group of the PSD party. As Prime Minister, he led Portugal during a time when the country needed financial help. His time in office was known for making big changes to save money.
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Early Life and Interests
Pedro Passos Coelho was born in Coimbra, Portugal, on July 24, 1964. He was the youngest of three children. His father was a doctor and his mother was a nurse.
He spent his early childhood in Angola, which was then a Portuguese territory. His family moved back to Portugal in 1974, after Angola became independent. They settled in Vila Real.
Passos Coelho became interested in politics when he was only 14 years old. He joined the youth branch of the Social Democratic Party (PSD), called JSD. Even though he thought about becoming a doctor or a mathematician, politics became his main passion.
Education Journey
Pedro Passos Coelho started school in Angola. He attended both Catholic and public schools there. When he was 10, he moved back to Portugal with his family. He went to high school in Vila Real.
He was very busy with his political activities in the JSD. This made it hard for him to focus on his schoolwork. He even had to repeat a school year. At 18, he worked as a math teacher. He later studied economics at Lusíada University in Lisbon. He earned his degree in 2001, when he was 37.
Political Career Highlights
Starting in Politics
Passos Coelho began his political career very early. He was a key member of the JSD from 1980 to 1995. He also served as a member of the Portuguese Parliament for Lisbon from 1991 to 1999. He was even a vice-chairman for the PSD group in Parliament.
In 1997, he ran for mayor of Amadora but did not win. However, he was elected as a city councilor. After being a Member of Parliament, he was offered a lifetime pension, but he chose not to take it.
He worked as a consultant and later became a financial officer for a company called Fomentinvest. He also became vice-president of the PSD from 2005 to 2006. In 2010, he was elected president of the PSD.
In 2011, he played a role in the Socialist government stepping down. This led to a new election in June 2011.
Becoming Prime Minister
On June 5, 2011, Pedro Passos Coelho was elected Prime Minister of Portugal. His party, the PSD, won many seats. He formed a government with another party, the CDS-PP.
His main goal was to fix Portugal's money problems. The country had asked for financial help from the European Union and the IMF. This plan meant the government had to spend less money and raise taxes.
Key Government Actions
As Prime Minister, Passos Coelho's government made several important changes:
- Government Spending: They worked to cut down on government spending. This included looking at how many people worked for the government and how much they were paid.
- Taxes: Taxes were increased on many goods and services. This was to help the country collect more money.
- Work Rules: Some rules about work were changed. This included how long people could receive unemployment benefits.
- Selling State Companies: The government sold parts of some companies that were owned by the state. This included energy companies and the national airline.
- Healthcare: Changes were made to public hospitals. The fees for using the national health service also went up.
- Local Government: The number of local government areas (parishes) was reduced to save money.
- International Relations: The government worked to improve economic ties with Portuguese-speaking countries like Angola and Brazil. They also encouraged unemployed citizens to find jobs abroad.
Some of these changes were challenged by Portugal's Constitutional Court. The court ruled that some of the government's plans were against the country's laws.
Changes in the Cabinet
In July 2013, two important ministers, Paulo Portas and Vítor Gaspar, resigned. This was because they disagreed with some of the government's money-saving plans. Passos Coelho worked to keep his government together. Paulo Portas later returned as Deputy Prime Minister.
Losing Power
In the 2015 Portuguese legislative election, Passos Coelho's party won the most votes. However, they did not win enough seats to have a majority in Parliament. This meant they could not easily pass laws.
Weeks later, his government lost a vote in Parliament and he resigned as Prime Minister. He continued to lead his party in opposition for a while. After his party did not do well in local elections in 2017, he announced he would step down as party leader.
Awards and Recognitions
Pedro Passos Coelho has received several honors from other countries:
Grand-Cross of the Order of Merit, Poland (2012)
Grand-Cross with diamonds of the Order of the Sun, Peru (2012)
Sash of Special Category of the Order of the Aztec Eagle, Mexico (2014)
Personal Life
Pedro Passos Coelho lives in Massamá, near Lisbon. He has three daughters. Two daughters, Joana and Catarina, are from his first marriage to Fátima Padinha. His third daughter, Júlia, is from his second marriage to Laura Ferreira. Laura Ferreira passed away in 2020.
Besides Portuguese, he can speak some French and English. After being Prime Minister, he became a teacher at two universities. Interestingly, Pedro Passos Coelho also studied opera singing and is a baritone.
Images for kids
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Pedro Passos Coelho's signature
See also
In Spanish: Pedro Passos Coelho para niños
