Pedro Passos Coelho facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Pedro Passos Coelho
|
|
|---|---|
Passos Coelho in 2025
|
|
| Prime Minister of Portugal | |
| In office 21 June 2011 – 26 November 2015 |
|
| 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 |
|
| 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 |
|
| 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 |
|
| Constituency | Lisbon |
| In office 20 June 2011 – 22 October 2015 |
|
| Constituency | Vila Real |
| In office 4 November 1991 – 24 October 1999 |
|
| 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 was a leader in the youth branch of the PSD. As prime minister, he led Portugal during a time when the country received financial help from international groups. This period was known for many changes to save money, called "austerity."
Contents
Early Life and Family
Pedro Passos Coelho was born in Coimbra, Portugal, on 24 July 1964. He was the youngest of three children. His father was a doctor, and his mother was a nurse. He had an older sister, who also became a doctor, and an older brother.
He spent his early childhood in Angola. At that time, Angola was a territory of Portugal. His father worked there as a doctor. After the Carnation Revolution in 1974, Angola became independent. Pedro and his family then moved back to Portugal. They settled in Vila Real.
Pedro became interested in politics when he was only 14 years old. He joined the youth group of the Social Democratic Party (PSD), called the JSD. He was a member of their National Council from 1980 to 1982.
Education Journey
Pedro Passos Coelho started school in Angola. He attended both Catholic and public schools there. When he was 10, he returned to Portugal with his family. He continued his studies in Vila Real.
He was very involved in the JSD, which took up a lot of his time. This affected his high school grades. He wanted to study medicine, like his father and sister. To improve his grades, he took a year off from politics to focus on school. He even worked as a math teacher when he was 18.
Although he worked hard, his grades were just shy of what was needed for medical school. So, he chose to study mathematics at the University of Lisbon. However, he did not finish this degree. He decided to work full-time for his party's youth branch instead. Later, in 1999, he went back to university. He earned a degree in economics from Lusíada University in 2001, when he was 37.
Political Career Highlights
Starting in Politics
Pedro Passos Coelho began his political career very early. He had a long and important role in the JSD. He was the chairman of their Political Committee from 1990 to 1995. He also served as a representative for Lisbon in the Assembly of the Republic (Portugal's parliament) from 1991 to 1999.
He was also a vice-president of the PSD from 2005 to 2006. In 2010, he became the president of the PSD. Around this time, Portugal was facing a difficult economic situation. Passos Coelho played a key role in challenging the government. This led to the prime minister resigning and a new election in 2011.
Becoming Prime Minister
On 5 June 2011, Pedro Passos Coelho was elected Prime Minister of Portugal. His party, the PSD, won many seats in the election. He formed a government with another party, the CDS-PP.
His government's main goal was to follow a plan to help Portugal's economy. This plan was set by the European Union and the IMF. It involved making many changes to save money and improve how the government worked. This included selling some state-owned companies and making public services more efficient.
Passos Coelho's government also created new financial groups. These included the Banco Português de Fomento and Portugal Ventures. These groups aimed to help businesses grow and invest in new ideas.
His Cabinet and Policies
From June 2011 to November 2015, Passos Coelho led two governments. His cabinet included various ministers responsible for different areas. For example, Paulo Portas served as Deputy Prime Minister and Vítor Gaspar and Maria Luís Albuquerque were Ministers of Finance.
His government introduced several major policies to manage the country's finances:
- Public Servants: The government aimed to reduce the number of people working for the state. They also changed rules about hiring and wages for public servants.
- Public Administration: Many public organizations and foundations were closed or merged to save money.
- Taxes: Taxes were increased on many goods and services.
- Labour: Some labor laws were changed. Rules for unemployment benefits were also adjusted.
- Privatizations: The government sold parts of state-owned companies. This included energy companies, banks, and the national airline.
- Finance: New financial institutions were created to support economic development.
- Transports: Plans for a high-speed train line were put on hold to save money. Tolls were introduced on some highways.
- Health: Public hospitals were encouraged to use private management if it was more efficient. Fees for using the national health service increased.
- Foreign Affairs: The government focused on building stronger economic ties with Portuguese-speaking countries like Angola and Brazil. They also supported a policy to help unemployed citizens find jobs abroad.
Some of these policies faced challenges. The Portuguese Constitutional Court rejected some of the government's plans. These rejections often related to labor laws and public pensions.
Losing Power
In the 2015 election, Passos Coelho's party won the most votes. However, they did not win enough seats to form a majority government on their own. Weeks later, his government lost a vote in parliament and he resigned as Prime Minister. He continued to lead the PSD party in opposition for a while. He stepped down as party leader in December 2017.
Public Opinion and Challenges
During his time as prime minister, Passos Coelho's government faced many challenges. The economic crisis was very deep. His policies, aimed at saving money, led to public protests. Many people felt that the changes were too harsh.
On 15 September 2012, one of the largest protests in Portuguese history took place. People demanded solutions to the country's problems.
Awards and Recognition
Pedro Passos Coelho has received several honors from other countries:
Personal Life
Pedro Passos Coelho lives in Massamá, near Lisbon. He has three daughters. His first marriage was to Fátima Padinha, a former singer. They had two daughters, Joana and Catarina. His second marriage was to Laura Ferreira, a physiotherapy technician. They had one daughter, Júlia. Laura Ferreira passed away in February 2020.
Besides his native Portuguese, he can also speak some French and English. After being Prime Minister, he became a teacher at two universities in Lisbon. Interestingly, Pedro Passos Coelho also studied opera singing and is a baritone.
See also
In Spanish: Pedro Passos Coelho para niños
- Liberalism in Portugal
Images for kids
-
Pedro Passos Coelho's signature
