| Prime Minister of the Portuguese Republic | |
|---|---|
| Primeiro-Ministro da República Portuguesa | |
 Government logo | |
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| Style |
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| Type | Head of government |
| Member of | |
| Reports to | |
| Residence | São Bento Mansion |
| Seat | Lisbon, Portugal |
| Appointer | President |
| Term length | Four years no term limits |
| Constituting instrument | Constitution of Portugal (1976) |
| Precursor | Secretary of State |
| Inaugural holder | The 1st Duke of Palmela |
| Formation | 24 September 1834 (191 years ago) (1834-09-24) |
| Succession | Minister appointed by the President[1] |
| Salary | €116,144 annually[2] |
| Website | portugal.gov.pt |
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| Constitution |
Theprime minister of Portugal (Portuguese:primeiro-ministro;pronounced[pɾiˈmɐjɾumiˈniʃtɾu]) is thehead of government ofPortugal. As head of government, the prime minister coordinates the actions of ministers, represents theGovernment of Portugal to the other bodies of state, is accountable toparliament and keeps thepresident informed. The prime minister can hold the role of head of government with the portfolio of one or more ministries. As Portugal is asemi-presidentialparliamentary republic, the prime minister is the country's leading political figure andde facto chief executive.
There is no limit to the number of terms a person can serve as prime minister. The prime minister is appointed by the president followinglegislative elections, after having heard the parties represented in the parliament. Usually, the person named is the leader of the largest party in the previous election, but there have been exceptions over the years.
Since theMiddle Ages, some officers of the Portuguese Crown gained precedence over the others, serving as a kind of prime ministers. Over time, the role of principal officer of the Crown fell upon thechanceler-mor (chancellor), themordomo-mor (mayor of the palace) and theescrivão da puridade (king's private secretary).
The first modern prime minister of Portugal wasthe 1st Duke of Palmela, who was sworn in on 24 September 1834, asPresidente do Conselho de Ministros (President of theCouncil of Ministers). In 1911, the official title of the prime minister becamePresidente do Ministério (President of theMinistry). In 1933, it became againPresidente do Conselho de Ministros.
The present titlePrimeiro-Ministro (Prime Minister), attributed to the head of theGovernment of Portugal, was officially established by theConstitution of 1976 after therevolution of 25 April 1974
The incumbent prime minister of Portugal isLuís Montenegro, who took office on 2 April 2024 as the 14th prime minister of theThird Portuguese Republic.[3] The official residence of the prime minister is thePalacete de São Bento, a mansion next toSão Bento Palace, which, in confusion, is sometimes also called "São Bento Palace".
Portuguese prime ministers of the Third Portuguese Republic:
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Just behind the main building of theAssembly of the Republic, there is a mansion that serves as residence and office for the prime minister of Portugal. The mansion, dated from 1877, was built within the garden of the old monastery that held the Portuguese parliament. It has been the prime minister's official residence since 1938, when Salazar moved in. Although it is the official residence of the prime minister, not all incumbents have lived in the mansion during their term in office. The incumbent Prime Minister,Luís Montenegro, currently resides in the mansion.[4]
Living former prime minister showing periods in office with dates of birth and age. Currently there are 7 former Prime Ministers alive:
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In 2012 and 2014 newspaperi and the polling agency Pitagórica conducted polls asking for the best Portuguese prime minister among the seven most recent ones (i.e. in the previous 30 years). The results revealed that the public clearly separated the seven evaluated prime ministers between the three best ones (each receiving more than 20% of the votes) and the four worst (each receiving from 4 to 8% of the votes).[5][6] In both polls,António Guterres (1995–2002) ranked as the best prime minister.Mário Soares (1976–78 and 1983–85) andAníbal Cavaco Silva (1985–95) were also among the best prime ministers. On the other hand,José Manuel Durão Barroso (2002–04),Pedro Santana Lopes (2004–05),José Sócrates (2005–11) andPedro Passos Coelho (2011–15, incumbent at the time of the polls) ranked as the worst prime ministers. Pedro Santana Lopes was ranked the worst in the 2012 poll[7] while Barroso ranked as the worst in the 2014 one.[6] Together, the three best prime ministers ruled Portugal uninterruptedly from 1983 to 2002, while the four worst ruled from 2002 to 2015.
| Prime Minister | Party | Tenure | 2012[8] | 2014[7] |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| António Guterres | PS | 1995–2002 | 26.8% | 24.2% |
| Mário Soares | PS | 1976–1978 1983–1985 | 22.7% | 23.9% |
| Aníbal Cavaco Silva | PSD | 1985–1995 | 23.7% | 23.6% |
| José Sócrates | PS | 2005–2011 | 6.2% | 7.7% |
| Pedro Santana Lopes | PSD | 2004–2005 | 4.0% | 6.9% |
| Pedro Passos Coelho | PSD | 2011–2015 | 8.4% | 6.8% |
| José Manuel Durão Barroso | PSD | 2002–2004 | 8.1% | 6.7% |
Em Portugal, o cargo político com maior salário bruto, e que serve de referência para o cálculo dos restantes salários, é o de Presidente da República, que aufere 9.833€ mensais, seguindo-se o de Presidente da Assembleia da República, com 8.849€, e o de Primeiro-ministro, com 8.296€.
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