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| Constitution |
Portugal is aunitarymulti-partysemi-presidentialrepresentative democraticrepublic, whereby theprime minister is thehead of government, and thepresident is the non-executivehead of state which, although it is a somewhat ceremonial figure,[1] has some significant political powers they exercise often.[2]Executive power is exercised by thegovernment, whose leader is the prime minister.Legislative power is primarily vested in theAssembly of the Republic (the Portugueseparliament), although the government is also able to legislate on certain matters.[3] TheJudiciary of Portugal is independent of the executive and the legislature. The President exerts a sort of "moderating power", not easily classified into any of thetraditional three branches of government.[2]
Since 1975, the party system has been dominated by the center-leftSocialist Party and the liberal-conservativeSocial Democratic Party, but in the2025 snap elections, the nationalist far-rightChega managed to achieve 23% of the popular vote and got 60 seats in theAssembly of the Republic, leading the opposition.
According to theV-Dem Democracy Indices Portugal was, in 2024, the 24th most electoral democratic country in the world.[4]
The national and regional governments are dominated by two political parties, the centre-leftSocialist Party (PS), asocial-democratic party, and the centre-right,liberal-conservativeSocial Democratic Party (PSD), which have similar basic policies in some respects: both arepro-European, supportNATO membership,welfare state andmarket economy. Other parties with seats in parliament areChega, thePortuguese Communist Party, theLeft Bloc,LIVRE, theLiberal Initiative andPeople-Animals-Nature. The Communists and theEcologist Party "The Greens" run in a coalition as theUnitary Democratic Coalition.
In thePortuguese legislative election of 2011, the PSD won enough seats to form a majority government with theChristian democraticPeople's Party (CDS-PP). The coalition, led by Prime MinisterPedro Passos Coelho, was supported by a majority in the Parliament, with 132 of the 230 MPs. The major opposition party was the Socialist Party (the party of the former prime ministerJosé Sócrates, in office 2005–2011) with 74 MPs. Also represented were the Portuguese Communist Party (14 MPs), "The Greens" (2 MPs) and the Left Bloc (8 MPs), all to the left of the governing coalition.
In the2015 elections, which the PSD and CDS-PP contested as a coalition,Portugal Ahead, the government lost its absolute majority. Theleft-wing parties, theSocialist Party,Portuguese Communist Party,Ecologist Party "The Greens", and Left Bloc, argued that as they were willing to form a coalition which would have a majority in the assembly, they ought to be invited to form the government, whilePortugal Ahead, as the largest grouping, argued that they should be invited to form the government. After three weeks of uncertainty, the President designated Passos Coelho as prime minister, which was followed by the formation of a minority government. However, the plan was rejected by the Parliament. It was the shortest-lived Portuguese national government since theCarnation Revolution. After that, theleft-wing parties supported a minority government led by theSocialist Party (PS). António Costa's first government was formed on 26 November 2015.
In the Portuguese legislativeof 2019, the centre-left PS of incumbent Prime Minister Costa obtained the largest share of the vote, and the most seats. On 26 October 2019, there was established a new PS minority government led by Prime Minister António Costa. In the snap2022 election the ruling PS won an outright majority. Following theOperation Influencer police searches, in November 2023, António Costa resigned and snap elections were called for10 March 2024, which were won by theDemocratic Alliance.
The first constitution was created in 1822 (following theLiberal Revolution of 1820),[5] followed by a second in 1826, followed by a third in 1838 (after theLiberal Wars),[6] a fourth in1911 (following the5 October 1910 revolution),[6] and a fifth 1933 (after the28 May 1926 coup d'état).[6]
Portugal's 25 April 1976 constitution reflected the country's 1974–76 move from authoritarian rule to provisional military government to arepresentative democracy with some initialCommunist andleft-wing influence. The military coup in 1974, which became known as theCarnation Revolution, was a result of multiple internal and external factors like the colonial wars that ended in removing the dictator,Marcelo Caetano, from power. The prospect of a communist takeover in Portugal generated considerable concern among the country'sNATO 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 strictcivilian control, trimmed the powers of the president, and abolished theRevolutionary Council (a military body with legislative veto and quasi-judicial powers). The countryjoined the European Union in 1986, beginning a path toward greater economic and political integration with its richer neighbors inEurope. The 1989 revision of the constitution eliminated much of the remainingMarxist 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 theMaastricht Treaty.
The current Portuguese constitution provides for progressive administrative decentralization and calls for future reorganization on a regional basis. TheAzores andMadeira archipelagos have constitutionally mandated autonomous status. A regional autonomy statute promulgated in 1980 established the Government of the Autonomous Region of theAzores; the Government of the Autonomous Region ofMadeira 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.
TheSocialist Party, under the leadership ofMário Soares, rose to power after the1976 legislative elections and formed the I Constitutional Government. However, this government faced a lot of problems due to the country's economic situation, losing avote of confidence in 1977, and in 1978, the II Constitutional Government, a coalition between the Socialists and theDemocratic and Social Centre, was sworn in. The coalition only lasted eight months and Mário Soares resigned.[7]
PresidentEanes then nominated the III Constitutional Government, under the leadership ofAlfredo Nobre da Costa, which was sworn in on late August 1978, but lasted just three months as it failed to gain Parliamentary support.[8]
The IV Constitutional Government, under the leadership ofCarlos Mota Pinto, was sworn in on late November 1978, but, like the previous government, lasted very little, eight months, due to its failure to pass policies in Parliament.[9]
The president then swore in the V Constitutional Government, under the leadership ofMaria de Lourdes Pintasilgo, the first and still only female prime minister in Portuguese history. The government managed the country until the early elections ofDecember 1979.[10]
TheDemocratic Alliance, under the leadership ofFrancisco Sá Carneiro, won the1979 legislative elections by a big margin and the VI Constitutional Government was sworn in in January 1980. Sá Carneiro's tenure was short lived as he died in a tragicplane crash in December 1980.[11]
In January 1981, theSocial Democratic Party, the main party within the Democratic Alliance, electedFrancisco Pinto Balsemão as leader and the VII Constitutional Government was sworn in.[12] Internal issues within the Alliance forced a new government to take office, the VIII Constitutional Government, in September 1981, also led by Pinto Balsemão. Balsemão resigned in late 1982.[13]
TheSocialist Party, under the leadership ofMário Soares, returned to power after the1983 legislative election and formed aCentral Bloc government, the IX Constitutional Government, between the two main parties, the Socialists and the Social Democrats. Soares resigned in June 1985 after the Social Democrats withdrew from government.[14]
TheSocial Democratic Party, under the leadership ofAníbal Cavaco Silva, rose to power after the1985 legislative elections and formed a minority government. However, the government lost the confidence of Parliament in April 1987 after losing a non-confidence vote.[15] After this, PresidentMário Soares called an early election for July 1987.
The1987 early elections were held on 19 July and resulted in a landslide majority government for the Social Democrats, the first time a party won a majority on its own in democracy.[16] The XI Constitutional Government, the first one to finish a full 4-year term in democracy, was sworn in on 17 August 1987. During this term, the PSD government initiated a big program of liberalization and privatization of several sectors of the economy.[17]
In the1991 election the Social Democrats were returned again to power and, also, with an absolute majority. It was the third consecutive election victory for the PSD, a record in democracy. The XII Constitutional Government was sworn in on 31 October 1991. After 1992, the economy fell into a recession and despite the recession being over by mid 1994, the government was badly hit and Cavaco Silva decided to not run for a fourth term as prime minister.[18] Cavaco Silva's 10-year tenure as prime minister is the longest, so far, in democracy.[19]
TheSocialist Party, under the leadership ofAntónio Guterres, came to power following theOctober 1995 legislative elections. The Socialists later won a new mandate by winning exactly half the parliamentary seats in theOctober 1999 election, and constituting then the XIV Constitutional Government. SocialistJorge 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 initiated by his predecessor,Aníbal Cavaco Silva (in office 1985–1995) of theSocial 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 theeuro 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 theIFOR peacekeeping mission inBosnia. Portugal later contributed 320 troops toSFOR, the follow-upBosnia operation. Portugal also contributed aircraft and personnel toNATO's Operation Allied Force inKosovo. Guterres resigned in December 2001 after a disappointing result in thelocal elections.[20]
Following the results of the2002 early election, the XV Constitutional Government, led byJosé Manuel Durão Barroso, leader of the Social Democratic Party, in coalition with the People's Party, whose leader,Paulo Portas, became Minister of Defence, was sworn in in April 2002. This government lasted two years because, in June 2004, Durão Barroso announced his resignation in order to becomePresident of the European Commission.[21]
AfterJosé Manuel Durão Barroso accepted the invitation to be the nextEuropean Commission President, a new government had to be formed. Though opposition parties called for general elections, PresidentJorge Sampaio namedPedro Santana Lopes, the new Social Democratic Party leader, as prime minister, who thus formed a new government, in coalition with thePeople's Party. However, in December 2004, due to several controversies involving the government, the President dissolved the parliament and called forearly elections. Santana Lopes resigned after the announcement of the President's decision.
In theelections on 20 February, theSocialist Party obtained its largest victory ever, achieving an absolute majority for the first time in the party's history. Prime MinisterJosé Sócrates was sworn in by PresidentJorge Sampaio on 12 March. To many's surprise, Sócrates formed a cabinet made up of roughly half senior members of the Socialist Party and half independents, notably includingDiogo Freitas do Amaral, founder of the right wingPeople's Party, who assumed office as Ministry of Foreign Affairs (he later resigned due to personal issues).
In theelections on 27 September 2009, The Socialist Party, led by incumbent Prime Minister José Sócrates, won the largest number of seats, but did not repeat the overall majority they gained in 2005. Sócrates was reconducted but lost his majority. The2010 European debt crisis led Portugal to ask for a bailout from the IMF and the European Union. This situation led to the resignation of José Sócrates as prime minister and the President dissolved parliament and called anearly election for June 2011.
In theelections held on 5 June 2011, the Social Democratic Party won enough seats to form a majority government with the People's Party. The Government was led byPedro Passos Coelho. It had 11 ministers and was sworn in on 21 June.
The Portugueselegislative election of 2015 was held on 4 October. The results display a relative victory of the right-wing coalition, but they also display a combined victory of the left-wing parties (including the Socialist Party), with a hung parliament (a right-wing single winner and a left-wing majority parliament). After the election, the XX Constitutional Government of Portugal had Pedro Passos Coelho (PSD) as the prime minister and lasted from 30 October 2015 to 26 November 2015. However, the Government Programme was rejected by the Parliament. It was the shortest-lived Portuguese national government since the Carnation Revolution.
The 21stcabinet of thePortuguese government since the establishment of the current constitution. It was established on 26 November 2015 as aSocialist Party (PS)minority government led by Prime MinisterAntónio Costa.
The Portuguese legislativeelection of 2019 was held on 6 October 2019. The centre-left Socialist Party (PS) of incumbent Prime Minister Costa obtained the largest share of the vote, and the most seats. TheXXII Constitutional Government of Portugal was sworn in on 26 October 2019 as a Socialist Party (PS) minority government led by Prime Minister António Costa. In October 2021, the budget proposed by the government was rejected by Parliament, leading PresidentMarcelo Rebelo de Sousa to call an early election for January 2022.[22]
The2022 early elections were held on 30 January 2022. The election resulted in an absolute majority for the Socialist Party, the second in its history.[23] However, the government swearing in was postponed because of a rerun in the overseas constituency of Europe, and theXXIII Constitutitional Government, led by Prime Minister António Costa, was only sworn in on 30 March 2022.[24] António Costa resigned on 7 November 2023, following theOperation Influencer police searches into government contracts surrounding lithium and hydrogen businesses.[25] The President dissolved parliament and calledearly elections.[26]
In theelections held on 10 March 2024, theDemocratic Alliance (AD), alliance between the Social Democratic Party, People's Party and the People's Monarchist Party, won enough seats to form a minority government. The Government led byLuís Montenegro has 17 ministers and was sworn in on 2 April 2024. The government fell after losing avote of confidence in March 2025,[27] and the President dissolved Parliament and called anearly election for 18 May 2025.[28] The AD coalition won again, with a stronger mandate albeit still a minority,[29] with theXXV Constitutional Government taking office on 5 June 2025.[30]
| Semi-presidential republic | |
| |
| Formation | 25 April 1976 (1976-04-25) |
|---|---|
| Founding document | 1976 Constitution |
| Country | Portugal |
| President of the Republic | |
| Holder | Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa |
| Seat | Belém Palace |
| Legislative branch | |
| Legislature | Assembly of the Republic |
| Speaker | José Pedro Aguiar-Branco |
| Deputy Speaker | Teresa Morais, Marcos Perestrello, Diogo Pacheco de Amorim, Rodrigo Saraiva |
| Assembly members | 230 |
| Meeting place | São Bento Palace |
| Executive branch | |
| Prime Minister | Luís Montenegro |
| Main body | Government |
| Vice Prime Minister | Currently none |
| Appointed by | President of the Republic |
| Headquarters | São Bento Mansion |
| Main organ | Council of Ministers |
| Departments | Ministries and State Secretariats |
| Judicial branch | |
| Court | Constitutional Court |
| President | José João Abrantes |
| Seat | Ratton Palace |
| Other courts and presidents | Supreme Court of Justice (João Cura Mariano), Supreme Administrative Court (Dulce Neto), Court of Auditors (José Tavares) |
Government in Portugal is made up of three branches originally envisioned byenlightenmentphilosopherBaron de Montesquieu:executive,legislative, andjudicial. Each branch isseparate and is designed to keepchecks and balances on the others. ThePresident's powers, however, do not fall into either of the traditional three, forming instead a sort of "moderating power" over the government and the legislature.[2]
The four main organs of the national government are the President, theGovernment (which includes theprime minister and theCouncil of Ministers), theAssembly of the Republic (Parliament), and the judiciary, made up of different hierarchies of courts (the Supreme Court of Justice and its lower courts, the Supreme Administrative Court and its lower courts, the Constitutional Court and the Court of Auditors).
| Office | Name | Party | Since |
|---|---|---|---|
| President | Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa | Social Democratic Party | 9 March 2016 |
| Prime Minister | Luís Montenegro | Social Democratic Party | 2 April 2024 |
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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, only with the approval of the assembly and on government advice.
TheCouncil of State, a presidential advisory body, is composed of:[31]
The president, according to the election results, names the party that shall form a government, whose leader is appointed prime minister. The prime minister names the Council of Ministers, and the ministers name theirSecretaries of State. 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.
| Candidate | Party | First round | Second round | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Votes | % | Votes | % | |||
| António José Seguro | Socialist Party[a] | 1,755,563 | 31.11 | 3,505,846 | 66.83 | |
| André Ventura | Chega | 1,327,021 | 23.52 | 1,739,745 | 33.17 | |
| João Cotrim de Figueiredo | Liberal Initiative | 903,057 | 16.00 | |||
| Henrique Gouveia e Melo | Independent[b] | 695,377 | 12.32 | |||
| Luís Marques Mendes | Social Democratic Party[c] | 637,442 | 11.30 | |||
| Catarina Martins | Left Bloc | 116,407 | 2.06 | |||
| António Filipe | Portuguese Communist Party[d] | 92,644 | 1.64 | |||
| Manuel João Vieira | Independent | 60,927 | 1.08 | |||
| Jorge Pinto | LIVRE | 38,588 | 0.68 | |||
| André Pestana | Independent[e] | 10,897 | 0.19 | |||
| Humberto Correia | Independent | 4,773 | 0.08 | |||
| Total | 5,642,696 | 100.00 | 5,245,591 | 100.00 | ||
| Valid votes | 5,642,696 | 97.82 | 5,245,591 | 95.03 | ||
| Invalid votes | 64,565 | 1.12 | 98,709 | 1.79 | ||
| Blank votes | 61,275 | 1.06 | 175,508 | 3.18 | ||
| Total votes | 5,768,536 | 100.00 | 5,519,808 | 100.00 | ||
| Registered voters/turnout | 11,009,803 | 52.39 | 11,039,672 | 50.00 | ||
| Source: Comissão Nacional de Eleições[32][33] | ||||||
Legislative power is exercised by theAssembly of the Republic, which is theparliament of Portugal, although the Government also has a more limited ability to legislate on some matters (on others, Parliament has exclusive legislative competence). It is also the body which holds the Government accountable and has the means to remove it from office at any time, as described earlier, primarily through amotion of no confidence, although alternative methods exist.[3]
The Assembly of the Republic is aunicameral body composed of 230deputies (that is,members of parliament). 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.[3] According to the constitution, members of the assembly represent the entire country, not the constituency from which they are elected.
 | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party or alliance | Votes | % | +/– | Seats | +/– | |||
| AD – PSD/CDS Coalition | AD – PSD/CDS Coalition[f] | 1,971,602 | 31.20 | +3.02 | 88 | +10 | ||
| Coalition PSD/CDS/PPM[g] | 36,886 | 0.58 | –0.07 | 3 | +1 | |||
| Total | 2,008,488 | 31.78 | +2.95 | 91 | +11 | |||
| Socialist Party | 1,442,546 | 22.83 | –5.15 | 58 | –20 | |||
| Chega | 1,438,554 | 22.76 | +4.73 | 60 | +10 | |||
| Liberal Initiative | 338,974 | 5.36 | +0.42 | 9 | +1 | |||
| LIVRE | 257,291 | 4.07 | +0.91 | 6 | +2 | |||
| Unitary Democratic Coalition | 183,686 | 2.91 | –0.26 | 3 | –1 | |||
| Left Bloc | 125,808 | 1.99 | –2.37 | 1 | –4 | |||
| People Animals Nature | 86,930 | 1.38 | –0.57 | 1 | 0 | |||
| National Democratic Alternative | 81,660 | 1.29 | –0.29 | 0 | 0 | |||
| Together for the People | 20,900 | 0.33 | +0.03 | 1 | +1 | |||
| React, Include, Recycle | 14,021 | 0.22 | –0.18 | 0 | 0 | |||
| Volt Portugal | 12,150 | 0.19 | +0.01 | 0 | 0 | |||
| Portuguese Workers' Communist Party | 11,896 | 0.19 | –0.05 | 0 | 0 | |||
| Nova Direita | 10,216 | 0.16 | –0.09 | 0 | 0 | |||
| Ergue-te | 9,046 | 0.14 | +0.05 | 0 | 0 | |||
| Liberal Social Party | 7,332 | 0.12 | New | 0 | New | |||
| People's Monarchist Party | 5,616 | 0.09 | +0.08 | 0 | 0 | |||
| We, the Citizens! | 3,304 | 0.05 | +0.01 | 0 | 0 | |||
| Earth Party[h] | 478 | 0.01 | –0.06 | 0 | 0 | |||
| Portuguese Labour Party | 425 | 0.01 | –0.03 | 0 | 0 | |||
| Total | 6,059,321 | 100.00 | – | 230 | 0 | |||
| Valid votes | 6,059,321 | 95.88 | +0.24 | |||||
| Invalid votes | 172,994 | 2.74 | –0.23 | |||||
| Blank votes | 87,654 | 1.39 | –0.00 | |||||
| Total votes | 6,319,969 | 100.00 | – | |||||
| Registered voters/turnout | 10,848,816 | 58.25 | –1.65 | |||||
| Source: Comissão Nacional de Eleições[34] | ||||||||
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Executive power is exercised by theGovernment of Portugal. The Government is formed after the President appoints the prime minister based on election results, as described earlier – traditionally, the leader of the most voted party.
The Government can only remain in place for as long as the Parliament allows: the Parliament can remove the Government at the beginning by approving a motion of rejection to the introductory Government programme, or at any time by approving amotion of no confidence, either of which is achieved by asimple majority; the Government may also, of its own initiative, choose to present at any time amotion of confidence, which acts as the opposite of a motion of no confidence: if rejected, the Government is removed. Finally, the Government also relies on Parliament to approve thestate budget, which also allows Parliament to indirectly force the Government to resign by rejecting its budget proposal. Thus, the Government, although not directly elected, is held accountable before Parliament, which is proportionally representative of the people.[3] Typically, once the Government is removed from office, the President will call asnap election (also known as an early election).
Current government composition:[35]
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The nationalSupreme Court is the court of last appeal in civil and criminal matters, which is described by the Constitution as "the senior organ in the hierarchy of the courts of law". There is a separate system of courts for administrative and fiscal matters, for which the court of last appeal is theSupreme Administrative Court. During war time, the law provides for there being military courts.
A thirteen-memberConstitutional Court reviews the constitutionality of legislation. There is also aCourt of Auditors.
There are twoautonomous regions (regiões autónomas, singularregião autónoma) with limited legislative powers besides the administrative ones:Azores andMadeira.As purely administrative divisions, there are 18districts (distritos), 308municipalities (municípios) and 3,091civil parishes (freguesias).The districts areAveiro,Açores (Azores)*,Beja,Braga,Bragança,Castelo Branco,Coimbra,Évora,Faro,Guarda,Leiria,Lisboa,Madeira*,Portalegre,Porto,Santarém,Setúbal,Viana do Castelo,Vila Real andViseu.
| Parties represented in the Assembly of the Republic (230) |
|
|---|---|
| Legislative Assembly of the Azores Autonomous Region (57) |
|
| Legislative Assembly of the Madeira Autonomous Region (47) |
|
| European Parliament (21) | |
| Non-parliamentary parties | |
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