- Diogo Freitas do Amaral
Diogo Pinto de Freitas do Amaral, GCC, GCSE, GCIH (pronounced|diˈogu ˈfɾɐitɐʃ du ɐmɐˈɾaɫ; b.
Póvoa de Varzim ,21 July 1941 ), usually referred to as either Freitas do Amaral or, informally, Freitas, is a Portuguese politician and law professor. He was Minister of Foreign Affairs from12 March 2005 to1 July 2006 . He also served briefly as Prime Minister in an interim capacity in the early 1980s. He is the third but first surviving son of Duarte Pinto de Carvalho de Freitas do Amaral (Guimarães ,May 13 ,1909 -Lisbon ,July 16 ,1979 ) and wife (married at the Chapel of the Patriarchate ofLisbon onDecember 12 ,1936 ) Maria Filomena de Campos Trocado (Póvoa de Varzim ,July 8 ,1913 -).In 1974, some months after the
Carnation Revolution , he was one of the founders of the "Democratic and Social Centre" (CDS), a right-wing party. He led this party till 1985, and again from 1988 to 1991. He served as a member of theAssembly of the Republic (the PortugueseParliament ) from 1975 to 1983, and again in 1992 and 1993.In the parliamentary elections of 1979 and 1980, the Democratic Alliance (of which the CDS was a part) won a majority and formed the government, in which Freitas served as Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defence. He was also Minister of Foreign Affairs in 1980 and 1981. After the death of
Francisco Sá Carneiro , Freitas do Amaral was interim Prime Minister for a short period.He was a candidate for the presidency in the 1986 presidential election. Supported by his own People's Party and by the Social Democratic Party, he established a commanding lead in the first round, but lost the second round by some 150,000 votes to
Mário Soares , who was endorsed by the two eliminated candidates.He was President of the
United Nations General Assembly in 1995.A European federalist, he left the party he founded, disagreeing mainly with the
Eurosceptic line followed byManuel Monteiro andPaulo Portas .Always seen as a right-winger, Freitas do Amaral supported the Social Democratic Party in the parliamentary election of 2002. However, disappointed with the government performance, and critical of its support for the U.S. invasion of
Iraq , Freitas do Amaral surprised many observers by announcing his support for the Socialist Party in the 2005 election. He was subsequently nominated for Minister of Foreign Affairs of the XVII Constitutional Government, led by the Socialist leaderJosé Sócrates . He resigned after a little over one year in office, citing health reasons.He has authored a
biography of King Afonso I and a play ofViriato .He married at Santa Maria,
Sintra , onAugust 31 ,1965 Maria José Salgado Sarmento de Matos, born inLisbon onOctober 13 ,1943 ,writer asMaria Roma , and has four children:
* Pedro Sarmento de Matos de Freitas do Amaral, born inLisbon onJuly 2 ,1966 , unmarried and without issue
* Domingos Sarmento de Matos de Freitas do Amaral, born inLisbon onOctober 12 ,1967 ,journalist andwriter , married to Diana Pereira dos Reis Gentil de Quina, born onJune 29 ,1972 , and has two children:
** Carolina Gentil de Quina de Freitas do Amaral, born onOctober 27 ,1998
** Duarte Gentil de Quina de Freitas do Amaral, born onAugust 19 ,2001
* Filipa Sarmento de Matos de Freitas do Amaral, born inLisbon onJune 16 ,1969 , married to Manuel Francisco Daun e Lorena de Barros e Carvalhosa, of the Viscounts of Santarém and Viscounts (formerly Barons) ofVila Nova da Rainha , born onJuly 18 ,1966 , without issue
* Joana Sarmento de Matos de Freitas do Amaral, born inLisbon onJune 16 ,1971 , married to Gonçalo de Aragão Morais Teotónio Pereira, and has two children:
** José Maria de Freitas do Amaral Teotónio Pereira
** Teresa de Freitas do Amaral Teotónio PereiraAncestors
Ancestors of Diogo Pinto de Freitas do Amaral
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