- Jorge Sampaio
Jorge Fernando Branco de Sampaio, GColTE, GCIH, GColL (pronounced|ˈʒɔɾʒ(ɨ) sɐ̃ˈpaiu; Audio|Pt-Jorge Sampaio.ogg|listen) is a Portuguese
lawyer ,politician , and the former President of the Republic. His brother is the teenagepsychologist andwriter Daniel Sampaio .Background
Sampaio was born in
Lisbon on 18 September 1939. The Sampaio family lived abroad in theUnited States andEngland for some years, due to the professional activity of his father Arnaldo de Sampaio (1908-1984), amedical doctor . His mother was Fernanda Bensaude Branco (1908-Lisbon , 15 February 2000). His maternal grandmother Sara Bensliman Bensaude, who died in 1976, was a of Sephardi Jew fromMorocco of Portuguese origin, and his maternal grandfather Fernando Branco (1880-1940) was anaval officer and later theForeign Minister of Portugal; Sampaio himself isagnostic [See [http://www.shavei.org/article.php?id=267] , retrieved from the [http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/jpost/access/443340731.html?dids=443340731:443340731&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&date=Nov+7%2C+2003&author=MICHAEL+FREUND&pub=Jerusalem+Post&edition=&startpage=06&desc=Portugal%27s+president%3A+%27I+am+proud+of+my+Jewish+ancestry%27 Jerusalem Post of the 7th of November, 2003] :Jerusalem Post: I understand that you have Jewish ancestry in your family. What is your personal connection to the Jewish people? Do you consider yourself to be a Jew?.
Jorge Sampaio: My grandmother belonged to a Jewish family that came from Morocco in the beginning of the 19th century. She married a non-Jewish naval officer who later was Foreign Affairs minister. I am naturally very proud of this ancestry and of all those that I call my "favorite Jewish cousins," one of whom is the president of the Lisbon Jewish Community, as I am proud of the ancestry on my non-Jewish father's side. Personally, I am agnostic, and I do not consider myself a Jew; but I am proud, as I said, of my ancestors.
] . He started his political career as college student of the Law School of theUniversity of Lisbon . Jorge Sampaio was involved in the student contestation against the fascist regime and was leader of the Lisbon students union between 1960 and 1961. Following his graduation in 1961, Jorge Sampaio started a notable career as a lawyer, often involved in the defence of many political prisoners.He married firstly a
medical doctor named Karin Schmidt Dias, daughter of António Jorge Dias (Porto , 31 July 1907 -Lisbon , 5 February 1973) and wife Margot Schmidt. The couple had no issue and later divorced. He married secondly Maria José Rodrigues Ritta, born inLisbon on 19 December 1941, daughter of José António Ritta and wife Maria José Rodrigues Xavier and sister of Maria Ermelinda and José António, by whom he had two children: Vera Ritta de Sampaio (b. 1977) and André Ritta de Sampaio (b. 1981).After the
Carnation Revolution of 25 April 1974, Sampaio funded MES (Portugueseacronym for Social Left Movement) but abandoned the political project soon after. In 1978 he joined PS, the Socialist Party, where he remains to present day. His first election as a deputy forLisbon in the Portuguese National Parliament is in 1979. Between this year and 1984, he was a member of theEuropean Commission for Human Rights , where he developed important work on these topics. Between 1986 and 1987 he was president of the parliamentary bench of the Socialist Party. In 1989, he was elected president of this political group, an office he held until 1991. Also in 1989, Jorge Sampaio was elected the 62ndMayor of Lisbon , charge he took in 1990, and re-elected in 1993, remaining in office until 1995.Presidency
In 1995, Jorge Sampaio announced his wish to run for the presidency of the Republic. He won the election of 14 January 1996 in the first round against
Aníbal Cavaco Silva , the former prime-minister by then, and became president on 9 March. After a non-controversial first mandate, he was re-elected as President on 14 January 2001.As President, Sampaio's actions were focused on social and cultural affairs. In the international political scene, he oversaw the return of
Macau to China in December 1999 and he also gave important publicity to the cause ofEast Timor 's independence.It is generally considered that Sampaio's presidency were marked by a firm sense of prudence and moderation, an approach which earned him a remarkably uneventful first term in office. In 2004, however, his refusal to hold early elections following Social Democrat Prime Minister
José Manuel Durão Barroso 's resignation met with vigorous protest from all left-wing parties and even led to the stepping down of Socialist leader Eduardo Ferro Rodrigues. Sampaio made this decision to ensure political stability at a time when the country was facing economic recession, and he appointedPedro Santana Lopes as Prime Minister. However, only four months afterwards, on 30 November, Sampaio concluded that the new cabinet was not achieving the desired stability, but quite the opposite, and he therefore dissolved the Parliament, calling new elections for February 2005.On 24 February 2005, Sampaio called on
José Sócrates , as the nation's next prime minister, to form a government.Sampaio's successor was chosen in the
Portuguese presidential election, 2006 , that occurred on 22 January.Aníbal Cavaco Silva , the man he defeated in 1996, succeeded Sampaio on 9 March 2006.Member of the
Club of Madrid [http://www.clubmadrid.org] . [en [http://www.clubmadrid.org The Club of Madrid is an independent organization dedicated to strengthening democracy around the world by drawing on the unique experience and resources of its Members – 66 democratic former heads of state and government.]He is also a Member of the
Portuguese Council of State , as a former electedPresident of Portugal .Post-presidential career
In May 2006, Sampaio was appointed by the
United Nations Secretary-General as his firstSpecial Envoy for theGlobal Plan to Stop Tuberculosis . In April 2007, current UN Secretary-GeneralBan Ki-moon designated him as High Representative for theAlliance of Civilizations .Ancestors
Ancestors of Jorge Fernando Branco de SampaioNotes
ee also
*
Politics of Portugal
*History of Portugal External links
* [http://www.presidenciarepublica.pt Official Site of the President of the Republic]
Persondata
NAME=Sampaio, Jorge
ALTERNATIVE NAMES=Branco de Sampaio, Jorge Fernando (full name)
SHORT DESCRIPTION=President of Portugal
DATE OF BIRTH=18 September 1939
PLACE OF BIRTH=Lisbon ,Portugal
DATE OF DEATH=
PLACE OF DEATH=
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