Politics of Portugal
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The four main organs of the national government are the presidency, the prime minister and Council of Ministers (the government), the Assembly of the Republic (the parliament), and the judiciary. The President, elected to a 5-year term by direct, universal suffrage, is also commander in chief of the armed forces. Presidential powers include appointing the prime minister and Council of Ministers, in which the president must be guided by the assembly election results; dismissing the prime minister; dissolving the assembly to call early elections; vetoing legislation, which may be overridden by the assembly; and declaring a state of war or siege.
The Council of State, a presidential advisory body, is composed of six senior civilian officers, any former presidents elected under the 1976 constitution, five members chosen by the assembly, and five selected by the president.
The government is headed by the presidentially appointed prime minister, who names the Council of Ministers. A new government is required to define the broad outline of its policy in a program and present it to the assembly for a mandatory period of debate. Failure of the assembly to reject the program by a majority of deputies confirms the government in office.
The Assembly of the Republic is a unicameral body composed of up to 230 deputies. Elected by universal suffrage according to a system of proportional representation, deputies serve terms of office of 4 years, unless the president dissolves the assembly and calls for new elections.
The national Supreme Court is the court of last appeal. Military, administrative, and fiscal courts are designated as separate court categories. A nine-member Constitutional Tribunal reviews the constitutionality of legislation.
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History of the current regime
Portugal's April 25, 1976 constitution reflected the country's 1974-76 move from authoritarian rule to provisional military government to a parliamentary democracy with some initial communist and left-wing influence. The military coup in 1974 was a result of the colonial wars and removed the authoritarian dictator, Marcelo Caetano, from power. The threat of a communist takeover in Portugal generated considerable concern among the country's NATO allies. The revolution also led to the country abruptly abandoning its colonies overseas and to the return of an estimated 600,000 Portuguese citizens from abroad. The 1976 constitution, which defined Portugal as a "Republic...engaged in the formation of a classless society," was revised in 1982, 1989, 1992, 1997, 2001, and 2004.
The 1982 revision of the constitution placed the military under strict civilian control, trimmed the powers of the president, and abolished the Revolutionary Council (a non-elected committee with legislative veto powers). The country joined the European Union in 1986, beginning a path toward greater economic and political integration with its richer neighbors in Europe. The 1989 revision of the constitution eliminated much of the remaining Marxist rhetoric of the original document, abolished the communist-inspired "agrarian reform," and laid the groundwork for further privatization of nationalized firms and the government-owned communications media. The 1992 revision made it compatible with the Maastricht treaty.
The current Portuguese constitution provides for progressive administrative decentralization and calls for future reorganization on a regional basis. The Azores and Madeira Islands have constitutionally mandated autonomous status. A regional autonomy statute promulgated in 1980 established the Government of the Autonomous Region of the Azores; the Government of the Autonomous Region of Madeira operates under a provisional autonomy statute in effect since 1976. Apart from the Azores and Madeira, the country is divided into 18 districts, each headed by a governor appointed by the Minister of Internal Administration. Macau, a former dependency, reverted to Chinese sovereignty in December 1999.
XIV Constitutional Government (1995-2002)
The Socialist Party, under the leadership of António Guterres, came to power following the October 1995 parliamentary elections. The Socialists later won a new mandate by winning exactly half the parliamentary seats in the October 1999 election, and constituing then the XIV Constitutional Government. Socialist Jorge Sampaio won the February 1996 presidential elections with nearly 54% of the vote. Sampaio's election marked the first time since the 1974 revolution that a single party held the prime ministership, the presidency, and a plurality of the municipalities. Local elections were held in December 1997.
Prime Minister Guterres continued the privatization and modernization policies begun by his predecessor, Aníbal Cavaco Silva of the Social Democratic Party. Guterres was a vigorous proponent of the effort to include Portugal in the first round of countries to collaborate and put into effect the euro in 1999. In international relations, Guterres pursued strong ties with the United States and greater Portuguese integration with the European Union while continuing to raise Portugal's profile through an activist foreign policy. One of his first decisions as Prime Minister was to send 900 troops to participate in the IFOR peacekeeping mission in Bosnia. Portugal later contributed 320 troops to SFOR, the follow-up Bosnia operation. Portugal also contributed aircraft and personnel to NATO's Operation Allied Force in Kosovo.
XV Constitutional Government (2002-2004)
The XV Constitutional Government was led by José Manuel Durão Barroso, leader of the Social Democratic Party in coalition with People's Party, whose leader was Paulo Portas, that became Minister of Defence.
XVI Constitutional Government (2004-2005)
After José Manuel Durão Barroso accepted the invitation to be the next European Commission President, a new government had to be formed, the opposition parties called for general elections, but the President Jorge Sampaio nominated the new Social Democratic leader, Pedro Santana Lopes, to form a new government, in which Paulo Portas kept his place as Minister of Defence. However, in December 2004, due to several scandals involving the government, the President dissolved the parliament and called for early elections. Nevertheless, Santa Lopes resigned after the announcement of the President's decision.
XVII Constitutional Government (2005-)
In the elections of February 20, the Socialist Party obtained its largest victory ever, achieving an absolute majority for the first time in the party's history. Prime Minister José Sócrates was worn in by President Jorge Sampaio on March 12. To many's surprise, Sócrates formed a cabinet made up of roughly half senior members of the Socialist Party and half independents, among whom are Diogo Freitas do Amaral, founder of the rightist Partido Popular currently Minister of Foreign Affairs.
Parties
The national and regional governments are dominated by two political parties, the PSD (Partido Social Democrata) - Social Democrats and the PS (Partido Socialista) – Socialists. Within the Portuguese political culture, the PSD is described as center-right and the PS is described as center-left. Other parties with seat in the parliament are the PP (Partido Popular) – Popular Party, PCP (Partido Comunista Português) – Communists, Os Verdes – The Greens, and the BE (Bloco de Esquerda) – Left Bloc. BE, Os Verdes and PCP are left wing and the PP right wing. During the second half of 2004, a coalition between the PSD (main party) and PP governed Portugal in the 16th constitutional government, led by Pedro Santana Lopes, substituting José Manuel Durão Barroso. Barroso resigned to become President of the European Commission. After dissolution of the Assembly by President Jorge Sampaio, this coalition lost the election on February 20 2005. The victory of José Sócrates, the leader of the PS, is complete with no less than 121 MPs - an unprecendented absolute majority for the PS.
General data
Country name:
conventional long form:
Portuguese Republic
conventional short form:
Portugal
local long form:
Republica Portuguesa
local short form:
Portugal
Data code: PO
Government type: parliamentary democracy
Capital: Lisbon
Administrative divisions: 18 districts (distritos, singular - distrito) and 2 autonomous regions* (regiões autónomas, singular - região autónoma); Aveiro, Açores (Azores)*, Beja, Braga, Bragança, Castelo Branco, Coimbra, Évora, Faro, Guarda, Leiria, Lisboa, Madeira*, Portalegre, Porto, Santarém, Setúbal, Viana do Castelo, Vila Real, Viseu
Independence: 1139 (independent republic proclaimed 5 October 1910)
National holiday: Day of Portugal and Luís de Camões, 10 June (1580)
Constitution: 25 April 1976, revised in 1982, 1989, 1992, 1997, 2001 and 2004.
Legal system: civil law system; the Constitutional Tribunal reviews the constitutionality of legislation; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations
Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal
Executive branch:
chief of state:
President Jorge Sampaio (since 9 March 1996), see Presidents of Portugal
head of government:
Prime Minister Jose Socrates (since March 2005), see: List of Prime Ministers of Portugal
cabinet:
Council of Ministers appointed by the president on the recommendation of the prime minister
note:
there is also a Council of State that acts as a consultative body to the president
elections:
president elected by popular vote for a five-year term; election last held January 2001 (next to be held 2006); following legislative elections, the leader of the majority party or leader of a majority coalition is usually appointed prime minister by the president
election results:
Jorge Sampaio elected president; percent of vote - Jorge Sampaio (Socialist) 53.96%, Ferreira Amaral (Social Democrat - Conservative) 33.69%, Simões de Abreu (Communist) 5.02%, Fernando Rosas (Left Block) 2.92%, Garcia Pereira (PCTP-MRPP) 1.55%
Legislative branch:
unicameral Assembly of the Republic or Assembleia da Republica (230 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms)
elections:
last held 20 February 2005
election results:
PS 45.0% 121 seats; PSD 28.7% 75 seats; CDU(PCP+PEV) 7.6% 14 seats; CDS-PP 7.3% 12 seats; B.E. 6.4% 8 seats.
Judicial branch: Supreme Court or Supremo Tribunal de Justica, judges appointed for life by the Conselho Superior da Magistratura
Political parties represented in the parliament and respective leaders: The Leftwing Block or BE (Francisco Louçã); Portuguese Communist Party or PCP (Jerónimo de Sousa); Ecologist Party "The Greens" or PEV (No Leader); Portuguese Socialist Party or PS (José Sócrates); Social Democratic Party or PSD (Pedro Santana Lopes); Popular Party or PP (Paulo Portas)
International organization participation: AfDB, Australia Group, BIS, CCC, CE, CERN, EAPC, EBRD, ECE, ECLAC, EIB, EMU, EU, FAO, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, International Maritime Organization, Inmarsat, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, LAIA (observer), MINURSO, NAM (guest), NATO, NEA, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, OPCW, OSCE, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNMIBH, UNMIK, UNMOP, UPU, WCL, WEU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO, Zangger Committee
Flag description:
two vertical bands of green (hoist side, two-fifths) and red (three-fifths) with the Portuguese coat of arms centered on the dividing line
See also: