Pedro Pires | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Pires in 2005 | |
| 3rdPresident of Cape Verde | |
| In office 22 March 2001 – 9 September 2011 | |
| Prime Minister | José Maria Neves |
| Preceded by | António Mascarenhas Monteiro |
| Succeeded by | Jorge Carlos Fonseca |
| Prime Minister of Cape Verde | |
| In office 8 July 1975 – 4 April 1991 | |
| President | Aristides Pereira António Mascarenhas Monteiro |
| Preceded by | Office established |
| Succeeded by | Carlos Veiga |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Pedro Verona Rodrigues Pires (1934-04-29)29 April 1934 (age 91) |
| Political party | African Party for the Independence of Cape Verde |
| Spouse | Adélcia Barreto |
| Alma mater | University of Lisbon |
Pedro de Verona Rodrigues Pires (Portuguese pronunciation:[ˈpedɾuvɨˈɾonɐʁuˈdɾiɡɨʃˈpiɾɨʃ]; born 29 April 1934) is aCape Verdean politician who served asPrime Minister of Cape Verde from 1975 to 1991, and later aspresident from 2001 to 2011.
Pires was born in São Filipe, Fogo, Cape Verde to Luís Rodrigues Pires and wife Maria Fidalga Lopes. Later, he studied atLiceu Gil Eanes (Old High School) andEscola Jorge Barbosa in Mindelo during the 1950s and later abroad at theUniversity of Lisbon in Portugal at theFaculty of Sciences. He fled to Conakry in 1962, then Ghana and afterwards headed to Algeria; he was trained in Cuba, the Soviet Union and Guinea-Bissau. He attended the Second PAIGC Congress in 1973. Before independence, he returned to Praia, Cape Verde on a Portuguese military ship on October 13, 1974.
Three days after the country became independent in 1975, he became the first prime minister of Cape Verde; the nation at the time was a one-party state under the rule of theAfrican Party for the Independence of Cape Verde (PAICV). He opposedapartheid in South Africa and opposed foreign intervention in Africa. On October 20–22, 1980, he visited Paris. He visited that city again in 1989 and met with French prime ministerMichel Rocard on 11 May 1989. He held additional portfolio ofMinister of Finance from 1986 to 1990.[1]
After the ruling PAICV decided to institute multiparty democracy in February 1990, Pires replaced PresidentAristides Pereira as General Secretary of PAICV in August 1990. The PAICV lost the multiparty parliamentary and presidential elections held in early 1991 and was left in opposition.
At a party congress in August 1993, Pires was replaced as General Secretary byAristides Lima and was instead elected as President of PAICV.[2] As a candidate for the party presidency at PAICV's September 1997 congress, he facedJosé Maria Neves[3] and prevailed with 68% of the vote.[4] He stepped down as PAICV President in 2000 in preparation for a presidential bid in the next year's election[5] and he was succeeded by Neves.[2] He officially announced his candidacy for the Presidency of Cape Verde on September 5, 2000.[6]
Pires was the PAICV candidate in theFebruary 2001 presidential election, defeating former prime ministerCarlos Veiga of theMovement for Democracy (MpD) in the second round by just 12 votes.[7][8][9] Pires took office on March 22; the MpD boycotted his inauguration, saying that the election was marred by a "non-transparent process".[10] As president, Pires appointed Neves as prime minister.[2]
On April 22, 2002, Pires was received the Grand Cross of theOrder of Prince Henry of Portugal.[11]
On June 7, 2005, the president paid hommage toSergio Frusoni and declared him one of the Greatest Crioulo poets.
Days later on 16 and 17 June, he met and talked with the French Minister of CooperationBrigitte Girardin in Praia for discussions with the Europe Union for obtaining special status, fight against insecurity.
When he was president, in October 2005, he visited Brazil, the capital city Brasília and met the president at the timeLuiz Inácio Lula da Silva.
He ran for a second term in thepresidential election held on 12 February 2006 and again prevailed over Veiga, this time winning in the first round by a 51%-49% margin.[9]
In May 2008, he said that he favored a cautious, long-term approach to the formation of aUnited States of Africa, preferring that regional integration precede a continent-wide union. He attended theTokyo International Conference on African Development at this time. On March 26 and 27 2009, he met with the foreign ministerJosé Brito, the French Minister of Immigration (which includes Solidarity Development)Éric Besson on examining projects for solidarity development.
Pires was awarded the 2011Mo Ibrahim Prize for Achievement in African Leadership. The prize was awarded in recognition of Pires role in making Cape Verde a "model of democracy, stability and increased prosperity". The prize includes a monetary component of $5m.[12]
He is married to Adélcia Barreto Pires,[13][14][15] and has two children Sara and Indira.[14][15]
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Order of Amílcar Cabral
Cuba:
Grand Commander of theOrder of the Republic of The Gambia, 2008[16]
Amílcar Cabral Medal
Grand Collar of theOrder of Prince Henry, 2002[17]
Grand Cross of theOrder of Christ, Portugal, 1986[17]
Grand Cross of theNational Order of the Lion
Grand Collar of theOrder of East Timor, 2011[18]
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| New office | Prime Minister of Cape Verde 1975–1991 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | President of Cape Verde 2001–2011 | Succeeded by |
| Awards and achievements | ||
| Preceded by | Prize for Achievement in African Leadership 2011 | Succeeded by |
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| International | |
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| National | |
| Other | |
