List of Prime Ministers of Portugal

In Portugal, the post of Prime Minister (Portuguese: "primeiro-ministro", pron. IPA2|pɾi'mɐiɾu mɨ'niʃtɾu or [IPA|mi'niʃtɾu] ) is the head of the country's Government. He coordinates the actions of all ministers, represents the Government as a whole, reports his actions and is controlled by the Assembly of the Republic, and keeps the President of the Republic informed.

There is no limit to the number of mandates as Prime Minister. He is appointed by the President of the Republic, after the legislative elections and after an audience with every leader of a party represented at the Assembly. It is usual for the leader of the party most voted in the elections to be named Prime Minister.

Before the Carnation Revolution of 1974 the competences of the Prime Minister were different. Since the 1820 Liberal Revolution of Porto, liberalism and parliamentarism were installed in the country. In the first liberal period, there were three to six secretaries of state with equal position in the hierarchy, but with the Secretary of State of Internal Affairs of the Kingdom (usually known by Minister of the Kingdom) occupying a prominent position. Occasionally there was a Minister Assistant to the Dispatch, a coordinator of all secretaries of state, and with a post similar to that of a prime minister. After a brief absolutistic restoration, the second liberalism started. With the beginning of the Constitutional Monarchy, post of President of the Council of Ministers was created. The Presidents of the Council were clearly the heads of government of the kingdom holding the executive power that absolutistic monarchs had, but were restricted by the controlling power of a National Congress.

With the advent of the Republic in the 5 October 1910 revolution, the Prime Minister was renamed President of the Ministry. During this period the heads of government were under the strong power of the parliament and often fell due to parliamentary turmoils and social instability. With the 28 May 1926 coup d'état, and eventually, after the formation of the "Estado Novo" quasi-fascist dictatorial regime of António de Oliveira Salazar, the Prime Minister was again named President of the Council of Ministers, and was nominally the most important figure in the country. First Salazar and then Marcello Caetano occupied this post for almost 42 years. With the Carnation Revolution came the Prime Minister, which replaced the President of the Council.

Numbering

The numbering of the Prime Ministers starts with the first President of the Council of Ministers of the constitutional monarchy. A second column is added after the establishment of the Republic, numbering the Prime Ministers from there to the present day. Another column is added for the numbering inside the three regimes: First Republic, the Second Republic and Third Republic, with a fourth column in the "Second Republic" to mark the numbering of Prime Ministers since the 1926 revolution that established the "National Dictatorship" and since the replacement of the National Dictatorship with the Salazarist "Estado Novo". In the Third Republic, a fourth column is also used to distinguish the prime ministers of the provisional governments that existed during the period immediately following the Carnation Revolution of 1974 from the prime ministers that assumed office after the entry into force of Portugal's current democratic Constitution adopted 1976. The numbering of the "Constitutional Governments" since the first elections held under the 1976 Constitution is used in Portugal as the official numbering of succeeding Cabinets.

Constitutional Monarchy

Third Republic

Legend

ee also

*List of Prime Ministers of Portugal by time in office
*List of Presidents of Portugal
*List of Presidents of Portugal by longevity
*Politics of Portugal
*Lists of incumbents