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| Order: | 11th Prime Minister of Portugal (since the Carnation Revolution) |
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| Term of Office | November 6, 1985 - October 28, 1995 |
| Predecessor: | Mário Soares |
| Successor: | António Guterres |
| Date of Birth | July 15, 1939 |
| Place of Birth: | Boliqueime |
| Occupation: | Economist |
| Political Party: | Social Democratic |
Aníbal António Cavaco Silva (born at Boliqueime in Loulé municipality in the Algarve region, on July 15, 1939) was Prime Minister of Portugal from November 6, 1985 to October 28, 1995. His tenure of ten years was the longest of any democratically elected Prime Minister in Portuguese history, and he was the first Portuguese Prime Minister to have won an absolute parliamentary majority, a feat which he achieved twice.
With his background as a professor of economics and a doctorate from the University of York, Cavaco Silva was appointed Minister of Finance by Prime Minister Francisco Sá Carneiro in 1980. He gained a reputation as an economic liberalizer, gradually dismantling regulations inhibiting free enterprise. He refused to serve in the Center Bloc coalition of Socialists and Social Democrats (PSD) that governed from 1983 to 1985, and his election to the leadership of the PSD on 2 June, 1985, portended the end of the coalition.
The election that followed was complicated by the arrival of a new political party, the Party for Democratic Renewal (PRD) formed by the supporters of the President, António Ramalho Eanes. In the 250-member Assembly of the Republic, the nation's legislature, the PRD won 45 seats - at the expense of every party except Cavaco Silva's PSD. Despite winning less than 30 percent of the vote and 88 seats, the PSD was the only traditional political party not to suffer substantial losses; its 88 seats, in fact, represented a gain of 13 over the previous election. Cavaco Silva became Prime Minister on 6 November 1985.
Tax cuts and economic deregulation spurred several years of uninterrupted economic growth, which increased Cavaco Silva's popularity. He was inhibited, however, by a parliament controlled by the opposition. On most issues, his Social Democrats could rely on the 22 votes of the Social and Democratic Center Party (CDS), but the two parties' combined 110 votes fell 16 short of a parliamentary majority. The Socialists and Communists held 57 and 38 seats respectively; Cavaco Silva could govern if the 45 members of the PRD, who held the balance of power, abstained, as they frequently did. In 1987, however, the PRD withdrew its tacit support, and a parliamentary vote of no confidence forced president Mário Soares to call an early election.
In a result which stunned even the most optimistic of their supporters, Cavaco Silva's Social Democrats captured 50.2 percent of the popular vote, and 148 of the 250 seats in the Assembly of the Republic. Far behind were the Socialists, with only 60 seats, and the Communists, with 31. The CDS and the PRD were virtually wiped out, left with only 4 and 7 seats, respectively. This was the first time in Portuguese history that a single party had won an outright parliamentary majority.
The 1991 election was another triumph for Cavaco Silva, which yielded a majority almost as large as the one he had won four years earlier. Continuing unemployment, however, eroded his popularity. He decided not to contest the 1995 election, and the PSD, lacking a leader of his stature, lost 48 seats and the election. Cavaco Silva contested the 1996 Presidential election, but was defeated by Jorge Sampaio. Retiring from politics, he served for several years as an advisor to the board of the Banco de Portugal (Bank of Portugal), but retired from this position in 2004. Currently he is a full Professor at the School of Economics and Management of the Catholic University of Portugal, where he teaches the undergraduate and MBA programs.
He declined to support Pedro Santana Lopes in the Portuguese Parliament election, 2005, despite pressures inside his party, and he is currently believed to be contemplating a possible comeback as a candidate for the Presidency in 2006.
Biography
Cavaco Silva, Autobiografia politica, vol I and II.
| Preceded by: Mário Soares | Prime Minister of Portugal 1985 - 1995 | Succeeded by: António Guterres |