Prime Minister of Portugal facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Prime Minister of the Portuguese Republic
Flag of the prime minister
Government logo
Incumbent Luís Montenegro since 2 April 2024
Council of Ministers of Portugal Government of Portugal
Style	Mr Prime Minister (informal) His Excellency (diplomatic)
Member of	Council of State Council of Ministers European Council
Residence	Palacete de São Bento
Seat	Lisbon, Portugal
Appointer	President
Term length	No term limit
Inaugural holder	Pedro de Sousa Holstein, 1st Duke of Palmela
Formation	24 September 1834; 190 years ago (1834-09-24)
Salary	€116,144 annually

The Prime Minister of Portugal (called primeiro-ministro in Portuguese) is the main leader of the government in Portugal. Think of them as the chief executive of the country. They are in charge of making sure the government runs smoothly.

The Prime Minister works closely with the other ministers, making sure everyone is doing their job. They also represent the Government of Portugal to other important parts of the state, like the President. The Prime Minister must answer to the parliament (the main law-making body). They also keep the President updated on what the government is doing.

Portugal has a special system where both the President and the Prime Minister share power. This is called a semi-presidential parliamentary republic. Because of this, the Prime Minister is usually the most important political figure in the country.

There is no limit to how many times a person can be Prime Minister. The President chooses the Prime Minister after elections. Usually, the person chosen is the leader of the political party that won the most votes in the election. However, there have been times when this was not the case.

History of the Prime Minister Role

For a long time, even in the Middle Ages, some important officials in Portugal acted a bit like prime ministers. They had more power than other officials. Over the years, different roles held this top position, like the `chanceler-mor` (chancellor) or the `escrivão da puridade` (the king's private secretary).

The first modern Prime Minister of Portugal was Pedro de Sousa Holstein. He became the "President of the Council of Ministers" on September 24, 1834. This was the start of the modern role.

Later, in 1911, the official title changed to "President of the Ministry." Then, in 1933, it went back to "President of the Council of Ministers." The name we use today, "Primeiro-Ministro" (Prime Minister), became official with the Constitution of 1976. This happened after the Carnation Revolution in 1974, which brought democracy to Portugal.

Who is the Current Prime Minister?

The current Prime Minister of Portugal is Luís Montenegro. He started his job on April 2, 2024. He is the 14th Prime Minister of the Third Portuguese Republic, which is the current democratic period in Portugal.

The official home and office for the Prime Minister is the Palacete de São Bento. This is a large house located right next to the São Bento Palace, where the parliament meets. Sometimes, people get the two buildings confused.

Prime Ministers of the Third Portuguese Republic

Here is a list of the Prime Ministers since Portugal became a republic in 1976:

• 1st Mário Soares (served two times)
• 2nd Alfredo Nobre da Costa
• 3rd Carlos Mota Pinto
• 4th Maria de Lourdes Pintasilgo
• 5th Francisco Sá Carneiro
• (interim) Diogo Freitas do Amaral – He was the Deputy Prime Minister
• 6th Francisco Pinto Balsemão (served two times)
• 1st Mário Soares (served a third time)
• 7th Aníbal Cavaco Silva (served three times)
• 8th António Guterres (served two times)
• 9th José Manuel Barroso
• 10th Pedro Santana Lopes
• 11th José Sócrates (served two times)
• 12th Passos Coelho (served two times)
• 13th António Costa (served three times)
• 14th Luís Montenegro

The Prime Minister's Official Residence

• 

  Facade of the São Bento Mansion.

• 

  Interior of the Mansion.

The Palacete de São Bento is a beautiful mansion built in 1877. It is located behind the main building of the Assembly of the Republic. This mansion has been the official residence and office for the Prime Minister of Portugal since 1938. Even though it's the official residence, not all Prime Ministers have actually lived there during their time in office.

How Long Prime Ministers Served

You can find a full list of all Prime Ministers of Portugal and how long they served in the main article: List of prime ministers of Portugal.

Timeline of Prime Ministers (Since 1976)

This timeline shows who has been Prime Minister of Portugal since 1976 and which political party they belonged to.

Public Opinion on Prime Ministers

In 2012 and 2014, a newspaper called i and a polling company asked people in Portugal who they thought was the best Prime Minister from the last 30 years.

The results showed that people clearly saw some Prime Ministers as much better than others. The three best ones each got more than 20% of the votes. The four worst ones got much less, between 4% and 8% of the votes.

António Guterres (who was Prime Minister from 1995 to 2002) was ranked as the best in both polls. Mário Soares (who served from 1976–78 and 1983–85) and Aníbal Cavaco Silva (who served from 1985–95) were also considered among the best.

On the other hand, José Manuel Durão Barroso (2002–04), Pedro Santana Lopes (2004–05), José Sócrates (2005–11), and Pedro Passos Coelho (2011–15) were ranked as the worst. Pedro Santana Lopes was ranked the worst in 2012, while Barroso was ranked the worst in 2014.

It's interesting to note that the three Prime Ministers ranked as the best ruled Portugal for a long time, from 1983 to 2002. The four Prime Ministers ranked as the worst ruled from 2002 to 2015.

See also

In Spanish: Primer ministro de Portugal para niños

• Leader of the Opposition (Portugal)
• Deputy Prime Minister of Portugal
• President of Portugal