Pedro Santana Lopes facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Pedro Santana Lopes
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Santana Lopes in 2005
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| Prime Minister of Portugal | |
| In office 17 July 2004 – 12 March 2005 |
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| President | Jorge Sampaio |
| Preceded by | José Manuel Barroso |
| Succeeded by | José Sócrates |
| Mayor of Figueira da Foz | |
| Assumed office 17 October 2021 |
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| Preceded by | Carlos Monteiro |
| In office 14 December 1997 – 16 December 2001 |
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| Preceded by | Aguiar de Carvalho |
| Succeeded by | António Duarte Silva |
| Chair of Santa Casa da Misericórdia de Lisboa | |
| In office 14 September 2011 – 20 October 2017 |
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| Preceded by | Rui Cunha |
| Succeeded by | Edmundo Martinho |
| Mayor of Lisbon | |
| In office 14 March 2005 – 28 October 2005 |
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| Preceded by | Carmona Rodrigues |
| Succeeded by | Carmona Rodrigues |
| In office 23 January 2002 – 17 July 2004 |
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| Preceded by | João Soares |
| Succeeded by | Carmona Rodrigues |
| President of the Social Democratic Party | |
| In office 30 June 2004 – 10 April 2005 |
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| Secretary-General | Miguel Relvas |
| Preceded by | José Manuel Barroso |
| Succeeded by | Luís Marques Mendes |
| Secretary of State for Culture | |
| In office 9 January 1990 – 30 December 1994 |
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| Prime Minister | Aníbal Cavaco Silva |
| Preceded by | Teresa Gouveia |
| Succeeded by | Manuel Frexes |
| Secretary of State for the Presidency of the Council of Ministers | |
| In office 6 November 1985 – 17 August 1987 |
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| Prime Minister | Aníbal Cavaco Silva |
| Preceded by | Alfredo Barroso |
| Succeeded by | Luís Marques Mendes |
| President of Sporting CP | |
| In office 2 June 1995 – 11 April 1996 |
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| Preceded by | Sousa Cintra |
| Succeeded by | José Roquette |
| Member of the Assembly of the Republic | |
| In office 29 October 2005 – 14 October 2009 |
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| Constituency | Lisbon |
| In office 17 December 2001 – 22 January 2002 |
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| Constituency | Lisbon |
| In office 5 October 1980 – 30 September 1995 |
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| Constituency | Lisbon |
| Member of the European Parliament | |
| In office 14 September 1987 – 24 July 1989 |
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| Constituency | Portugal |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 29 June 1956 Lisbon, Portugal |
| Political party | Independent (2021–present) |
| Other political affiliations |
Social Democratic (1976–2018) Alliance (2018–2021) |
| Spouses |
Maria Isabel Marques Dias
(m. 1979, divorced)Maria Teresa de Arriaga
(m. 1983, divorced) |
| Children | 5 |
| Relatives | Kaúlza de Arriaga (former father-in-law) Manuela Ferreira Leite (cousin) |
| Alma mater | University of Lisbon |
| Signature |  |
Pedro Miguel de Santana Lopes is a Portuguese lawyer and politician. He was born on June 29, 1956. He is currently the mayor of Figueira da Foz. He is most known for serving as the prime minister of Portugal from 2004 to 2005.
Contents
Early Life and Education
Pedro Santana Lopes was born in Lisbon, Portugal. He studied law at the University of Lisbon. While there, he was the leader of the Student Union. After finishing his studies, he became a lawyer.
Political Journey
Pedro Santana Lopes joined the Social Democratic Party (PSD) in 1976. He began his political career as a deputy in the Portuguese parliament, called the Assembly of the Republic.
In 1979, he became a legal advisor to the Prime Minister at the time, Francisco Sá Carneiro. He always saw himself as a follower of Sá Carneiro's political ideas.
Later, in 1986, he worked as an assistant state secretary for Prime Minister Aníbal Cavaco Silva. The next year, he was elected to the European Parliament, where he served for two years.
In 1990, Cavaco Silva appointed him as the Secretary of State for Culture. He left this role in 1994 due to disagreements. After that, he went back to working as a lawyer.
Becoming a Mayor
In 1997, he successfully ran to become the mayor of Figueira da Foz. He decided not to run for a second term there. Instead, he ran for mayor of Lisbon in 2001. He won, which was a big surprise at the time.
Serving as Prime Minister
In July 2004, the Prime Minister, José Manuel Barroso, resigned. He left to become the president of the European Commission. Santana Lopes then became the leader of the PSD party. Since his party had a majority in parliament with another party, he was chosen to be the new prime minister of Portugal. When he became prime minister, his role as mayor of Lisbon was paused.
Challenges as Prime Minister
Santana Lopes' time as prime minister was short and faced many challenges. Portugal's economy was struggling when his party took power. The country had a high government debt.
He also faced difficulties gaining a reputation as a strong prime minister. Some people felt his government started with confusion. For example, some government ministers changed roles on the same day they were sworn in.
There were also problems with assigning teachers to schools. This caused delays for students. There were also claims that he tried to influence the news media.
End of His Term
His time as prime minister ended on November 30, 2004. The President, Jorge Sampaio, decided to call for an early election. This meant a new government would be formed. Santana Lopes officially resigned on December 11. His government then only served as a temporary one until the election.
In the 2005 election, his party lost to the Socialist Party. Santana Lopes resigned as his party's leader two days later.
After the Prime Minister Role
Even after his party lost the 2005 election, Santana Lopes kept his seat in the Assembly of the Republic. He also briefly returned to his duties as mayor of Lisbon. However, he did not run for mayor again in the 2005 local elections.
In 2007, he was asked to lead the PSD's group in parliament. He held this position for about a year.
In 2009, Santana Lopes ran for mayor of Lisbon again. He had the support of several parties. However, he lost to the Socialist Party. He then became the leader of the opposition in the Lisbon city council.
Leading a Charity
In September 2011, he was chosen to lead Santa Casa da Misericórdia de Lisboa. This is a charity that manages Portugal's national lottery. He was re-nominated for this role in 2016.
Forming a New Party
In October 2017, Santana Lopes announced he wanted to run for the leadership of the Social Democratic Party again. He resigned from the charity to do this. However, he lost the election.
After this, he became unhappy with the party's direction. In June 2018, he announced he was leaving the party after 42 years. He decided to create a new political party.
Alliance Party (2018–2021)
On August 18, 2018, it was announced that his new party would be called Alliance. The party was officially registered in October.
The Alliance party then started preparing for the 2019 European Parliament election. Santana Lopes said he would not run himself. The party's main candidate was Paulo de Almeida Sande.
Car Accident and Election Results
In May 2019, Santana Lopes and Paulo Sande were in a car accident. Santana Lopes fell asleep while driving. The car crashed and overturned. Paulo Sande had minor injuries. Santana Lopes was taken to the hospital but was discharged the next day with no serious injuries.
The accident caused the party to stop its campaign for a short time. The party did not win any seats in the European Parliament election.
Later in 2019, the Alliance party ran in the Portuguese legislative elections. Santana Lopes hoped the party would win a few seats. However, the party did not win any seats. After this, he said he might step down as party leader.
In May 2020, Santana Lopes paused his role as Alliance leader. In August 2020, he announced he would not seek re-election as leader. He officially left the Alliance party in January 2021. He felt the party could do better without him because many people still linked him to his old party.
Independent and Return to Figueira da Foz
After leaving Alliance, there were rumors that Santana Lopes might return to the Social Democratic Party. However, in March 2021, it was announced that he would run for mayor of Figueira da Foz again. He had been mayor there before, from 1998 to 2001. He ran with a group called "Figueira The First."
His candidacy created a lot of interest. In the election, his group won the most votes, with 40.39%. This meant he automatically became the mayor again. He took office on October 17, 2021.
As mayor, he announced a deal with the University of Coimbra. They plan to build a campus in Figueira da Foz. This campus will focus on marine economy and sciences. The campus opened in December 2022.
In April 2023, Santana Lopes mentioned he might run for President of Portugal in the 2026 election. However, he later decided not to run in October 2023.
In January 2024, he attended a meeting of the Democratic Alliance. This is a group led by the Social Democratic Party. His presence there made people wonder if he might return to his former party.
Outside Politics: Sporting CP
After leaving his role as Secretary of State for Culture, Santana Lopes became the president of Sporting CP. This is a famous Portuguese sports club. Even though he was president for less than a year, the club won the Portuguese Cup in football in 1995 under his leadership.
Honours
National Awards
Grand Cross of the Order of Christ (2010)
International Awards
Austria: Grand Decoration of Honour in Gold with Sash of the Decoration of Honour for Services to the Republic of Austria (2004)
Brazil: Grand Cross of the National Order of the Southern Cross (1991 and 2003)
Hungary: Grand Cross of the Hungarian Order of Merit (2002)
Morocco: Grand Cordon of the Order of Ouissam Alaouite (1995)
See also
In Spanish: Pedro Santana Lopes para niños
- Politics of Portugal
- Social Democratic Party (Portugal)
