Politics of Portugal - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Politics

Politics is a process by which groups of people make collective decisions. The term is generally applied to the art or science of running governmental or state affairs, including behavior within civil governments, but also applies to institutions, fields, and special interest groups such as the...

in Portugal

Portugal

Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...

take place in a framework of a parliamentary

Parliamentary system

A parliamentary system is a system of government in which the ministers of the executive branch get their democratic legitimacy from the legislature and are accountable to that body, such that the executive and legislative branches are intertwined....

representative democratic

Representative democracy

Representative democracy is a form of government founded on the principle of elected individuals representing the people, as opposed to autocracy and direct democracy...

republic

Republic

A republic is a form of government in which the people, or some significant portion of them, have supreme control over the government and where offices of state are elected or chosen by elected people. In modern times, a common simplified definition of a republic is a government where the head of...

, whereby the Prime Minister

Prime Minister of Portugal

Prime Minister is the current title of the chief of the Portuguese Government. As chief executive, the Prime Minister coordinates the action of ministers, representing the Government from the other organs of state, accountable to Parliament and keeps the President informed...

is the head of government

Head of government

Head of government is the chief officer of the executive branch of a government, often presiding over a cabinet. In a parliamentary system, the head of government is often styled prime minister, chief minister, premier, etc...

, and of a multi-party system

Multi-party system

A multi-party system is a system in which multiple political parties have the capacity to gain control of government separately or in coalition, e.g.The Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition in the United Kingdom formed in 2010. The effective number of parties in a multi-party system is normally...

. The President of the Republic

President of Portugal

Portugal has been a republic since 1910, and since that time the head of state has been the president, whose official title is President of the Portuguese Republic ....

is the head of state and has several significant political powers, which he exercises often. Executive power

Executive Power

Executive Power is Vince Flynn's fifth novel, and the fourth to feature Mitch Rapp, an American agent that works for the CIA as an operative for a covert counter terrorism unit called the "Orion Team."-Plot summary:...

is exercised by the Council of Ministers

Portuguese Council of Ministers

The Cabinet of Portugal is a collegial body presided over by the Prime Minister. All ministers are members of the council of ministers, and when the prime minister finds it fit, state secretaries can also attend its meetings.- Functions :The Council of Ministers discusses and approves bills to be...

. Legislative power is vested in both the government

Government

Government refers to the legislators, administrators, and arbitrators in the administrative bureaucracy who control a state at a given time, and to the system of government by which they are organized...

and the Assembly of the Republic

Assembly of the Republic

The Assembly of the Republic is the Portuguese parliament. It is located in a historical building in Lisbon, referred to as Palácio de São Bento, the site of an old Benedictine monastery...

. Since 1975 the party system is dominated by the social democratic Socialist Party

Socialist Party (Portugal)

The Socialist Party , abbreviated to PS, is a social-democratic political party in Portugal. It was founded on 19 April 1973 in the German city of Bad Münstereifel, by militants from Portuguese Socialist Action ....

and the liberal conservative Social Democratic Party

Social Democratic Party (Portugal)

The Social Democratic Party , is a centre-right liberal conservative political party in Portugal. It is commonly known by its initials, PSD; on ballot papers, its initials appear as PPD/PSD, with the first three letters coming from the party's original name, Democratic People's Party...

.
The Judiciary

Judiciary

The judiciary is the system of courts that interprets and applies the law in the name of the state. The judiciary also provides a mechanism for the resolution of disputes...

is independent of the executive and the legislature.

Political background

The national and regional governments are dominated by two political parties, the PS

Socialist Party (Portugal)

, a Social Democratic

Social democracy

Social democracy is a political ideology of the center-left on the political spectrum. Social democracy is officially a form of evolutionary reformist socialism. It supports class collaboration as the course to achieve socialism...

party, that resembles the British Labour

Labour Party (UK)

The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...

or the German SPD

Social Democratic Party of Germany

The Social Democratic Party of Germany is a social-democratic political party in Germany...

, and the PSD

Social Democratic Party (Portugal)

, a conservative party, member of the European People's Party

European People's Party

The European People's Party is a pro-European centre-right European political party. The EPP was founded in 1976 by Christian democratic parties, but later it increased its membership to include conservative parties and parties of other centre-right perspectives.The EPP is the most influential of...

, that have similar base politics in some themes: both are Pro-Europe and support the market economy

Market economy

A market economy is an economy in which the prices of goods and services are determined in a free price system. This is often contrasted with a state-directed or planned economy. Market economies can range from hypothetically pure laissez-faire variants to an assortment of real-world mixed...

. Other parties with seats in the parliament are the Portuguese Communist Party

Portuguese Communist Party

The Portuguese Communist Party is a major left-wing political party in Portugal. It is a Marxist-Leninist party, and its organization is based upon democratic centralism. The party also considers itself to be patriotic and internationalist....

, the People's Party, the Leftwing Bloc and the Green Party. The Communists and the Greens are in coalition as the Unitarian Democratic Coalition

Unitarian Democratic Coalition

The Democratic Unity Coalition is an electoral and political coalition between the Portuguese Communist Party and the Ecologist Party "The Greens"...

.

As of 2011, Pedro Passos Coelho

Pedro Passos Coelho

Pedro Manuel Mamede Passos Coelho , is Prime Minister of Portugal. Passos Coelho started very early in politics, becoming the national leader of the youth branch of the Social Democratic Party...

is the prime minister for the liberal conservatives Social Democratic Party in coalition with the right-wing conservative People's Party. The coalition is supported by a majority in the Parliament of 132 MPs. The major opposition party is now the Socialist Party (the party of the former Prime-Minister José Sócrates

José Sócrates

José Sócrates Carvalho Pinto de Sousa, GCIH , commonly known by José Sócrates , is a Portuguese politician who was the Prime Minister of Portugal from 12 March 2005 to 21 June 2011....

) with 74 MPs. Other represented parties are the Portuguese Communist Party (16 MPs), the Green Party (2MPs) and the Leftist Bloc (8MPs) all to the left of the governing coalition.

History of the current regime

Portugal

's April 25, 1976 constitution reflected the country's 1974-76 move from authoritarian rule to provisional military government to a parliamentary democracy with some initial communist

Communism

Communism is a social, political and economic ideology that aims at the establishment of a classless, moneyless, revolutionary and stateless socialist society structured upon common ownership of the means of production...

and left-wing influence. The military coup in 1974, that became known as the Carnation Revolution

Carnation Revolution

The Carnation Revolution , also referred to as the 25 de Abril , was a military coup started on 25 April 1974, in Lisbon, Portugal, coupled with an unanticipated and extensive campaign of civil resistance...

was a result of multiple internal and external factors like the colonial wars that ended removing the authoritarian dictator, Marcelo Caetano

Marcelo Caetano

Marcelo José das Neves Alves Caetano, GCTE, GCC, also spelled Marcello Caetano , was a Portuguese politician and scholar, who was the last prime minister of the Estado Novo regime, from 1968 until his overthrow in the Carnation Revolution of 1974....

, from power. The prospect of a communist takeover in Portugal generated considerable concern among the country's NATO 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 strict civilian control

Civilian control of the military

Civilian control of the military is a doctrine in military and political science that places ultimate responsibility for a country's strategic decision-making in the hands of the civilian political leadership, rather than professional military officers. One author, paraphrasing Samuel P...

, trimmed the powers of the president, and abolished the Revolutionary Council (a non-elected committee with legislative veto powers). The country joined the European Union in 1986, beginning a path toward greater economic and political integration with its richer neighbors in Europe

Europe

Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...

. The 1989 revision of the constitution eliminated much of the remaining Marxist

Marxism

Marxism is an economic and sociopolitical worldview and method of socioeconomic inquiry that centers upon a materialist interpretation of history, a dialectical view of social change, and an analysis and critique of the development of capitalism. Marxism was pioneered in the early to mid 19th...

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 the Maastricht

Maastricht

Maastricht is situated on both sides of the Meuse river in the south-eastern part of the Netherlands, on the Belgian border and near the German border...

treaty.

The current Portuguese constitution provides for progressive administrative decentralization and calls for future reorganization on a regional basis. The Azores

Azores

The Archipelago of the Azores is composed of nine volcanic islands situated in the middle of the North Atlantic Ocean, and is located about west from Lisbon and about east from the east coast of North America. The islands, and their economic exclusion zone, form the Autonomous Region of the...

and Madeira Islands have constitutionally mandated autonomous status. A regional autonomy statute promulgated in 1980 established the Government of the Autonomous Region of the Azores

Azores

; the Government of the Autonomous Region of Madeira

Madeira

Madeira is a Portuguese archipelago that lies between and , just under 400 km north of Tenerife, Canary Islands, in the north Atlantic Ocean and an outermost region of the European Union...

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

Macau

Macau , also spelled Macao , is, along with Hong Kong, one of the two special administrative regions of the People's Republic of China...

, a former dependency, reverted to Chinese sovereignty in December 1999.

XIII and XIV Constitutional Governments (1995-2002)

The Socialist Party

Socialist Party (Portugal)

, under the leadership of António Guterres

António Guterres

António Manuel de Oliveira Guterres, GCC is a Portuguese politician, a former prime minister and President of the Socialist International. Currently he is the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.-Early life:...

, came to power following the October 1995 parliamentary elections. The Socialists later won a new mandate by winning exactly half the parliamentary seats in the October 1999 election, and constituting then the XIV Constitutional Government. Socialist Jorge 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

Prime Minister of Portugal

Guterres continued the privatization and modernization policies begun by his predecessor, Aníbal Cavaco Silva

Aníbal Cavaco Silva

Aníbal António Cavaco Silva, GCC , is the President of Portugal. He won the Portuguese presidential election on 22 January 2006 and was re-elected on 23 January 2011, for a second five-year term. Cavaco Silva was sworn in on 9 March 2006....

of the Social Democratic Party

Social Democratic Party (Portugal)

. Guterres was a vigorous proponent of the effort to include Portugal in the first round of countries to collaborate and put into effect the euro

Euro

The euro is the official currency of the eurozone: 17 of the 27 member states of the European Union. It is also the currency used by the Institutions of the European Union. The eurozone consists of Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg,...

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 the IFOR

IFOR

The Implementation Force was a NATO-led multinational peacekeeping force in Bosnia and Herzegovina under a one-year mandate from 20 December 1995 to 20 December 1996 under the codename Operation Joint Endeavour. Its task was to implement the military Annexes of The General Framework Agreement for...

peacekeeping mission in Bosnia

Bosnia and Herzegovina

Bosnia and Herzegovina , sometimes called Bosnia-Herzegovina or simply Bosnia, is a country in Southern Europe, on the Balkan Peninsula. Bordered by Croatia to the north, west and south, Serbia to the east, and Montenegro to the southeast, Bosnia and Herzegovina is almost landlocked, except for the...

. Portugal later contributed 320 troops to SFOR

SFOR

The Stabilisation Force was a NATO-led multinational peacekeeping force in Bosnia and Herzegovina which was tasked with upholding the Dayton Agreement. It replaced the previous force IFOR...

, the follow-up Bosnia

Bosnia and Herzegovina

operation. Portugal also contributed aircraft and personnel to NATO's Operation Allied Force in Kosovo

Kosovo

Kosovo is a region in southeastern Europe. Part of the Ottoman Empire for more than five centuries, later the Autonomous Province of Kosovo and Metohija within Serbia...

XV Constitutional Government (2002-2004)

The XV Constitutional Government was led by José Manuel Durão Barroso

José Manuel Durão Barroso

José Manuel Durão Barroso is a Portuguese politician. He is President of the European Commission, since 23 November 2004. He served as Prime Minister of Portugal from 6 April 2002 to 17 July 2004.-Academic career:...

, leader of the Social Democratic Party in coalition with the People's Party, whose leader, Paulo Portas

Paulo Portas

Paulo de Sacadura Cabral Portas , commonly known just by Paulo Portas , is a Portuguese politician, party leader of the Democratic and Social Centre – People's Party , a member of the Portuguese Parliament and former Portuguese minister of State, National Defense and Sea Affairs.In 2011, after he...

, became Minister of Defence.

XVI Constitutional Government (2004-2005)

After José Manuel Durão Barroso

José Manuel Durão Barroso

accepted the invitation to be the next European Commission

European Commission

The European Commission is the executive body of the European Union. The body is responsible for proposing legislation, implementing decisions, upholding the Union's treaties and the general day-to-day running of the Union....

President, a new government had to be formed. Though opposition parties called for general elections, the President Jorge Sampaio nominated Pedro Santana Lopes

Pedro Santana Lopes

Pedro Miguel de Santana Lopes , a Portuguese lawyer and politician, was Prime Minister of Portugal from 2004 to 2005. He is a former and current Member of the Portuguese Parliament.-Background:...

, the new Social Democratic leader, as Prime Minister, who thus formed a new government, in coalition with the People's Party. However, in December 2004, due to several controversies involving the government, the President dissolved the parliament and called for early elections. Nevertheless, Santana Lopes resigned after the announcement of the President's decision.

XVII and XVIII Constitutional Governments (2005-2011)

In the elections of February 20, the Socialist Party

Socialist Party (Portugal)

obtained its largest victory ever, achieving an absolute majority for the first time in the party's history. Prime Minister José Sócrates

José Sócrates

José Sócrates Carvalho Pinto de Sousa, GCIH , commonly known by José Sócrates , is a Portuguese politician who was the Prime Minister of Portugal from 12 March 2005 to 21 June 2011....

was sworn in by President Jorge Sampaio on March 12. To many's surprise, Sócrates formed a cabinet made up of roughly half senior members of the Socialist Party and half independents, notably including Diogo Freitas do Amaral

Diogo Freitas do Amaral

Diogo Pinto de Freitas do Amaral, GCC, GCSE, GCIH , usually referred to as either Freitas do Amaral or informally Freitas, is a Portuguese politician and law professor. He was Minister of Foreign Affairs from 12 March 2005 to 1 July 2006...

, founder of the right wing People's Party, who assumed office as Ministry of Foreign Affairs (he later resigned due to personal issues). Sócrates was re-elected in 2009 but lost the majority he had. The 2010 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 the parliament and called for early elections

Portuguese legislative election, 2011

A general election was held in Portugal on 5 June 2011 to elect all 230 members of the Assembly of the Republic. Pedro Passos Coelho led the center-right Social Democratic Party to victory over the Socialist Party, led by incumbent Prime Minister José Sócrates...

XIX Constitutional Government (2011-)

In the elections

Portuguese legislative election, 2011

held on June 5, the Social Democratic Party won enough seats to form a majority government with the People's Party. The XIX Constitutional Government is led by Pedro Passos Coelho

Pedro Passos Coelho

Pedro Manuel Mamede Passos Coelho , is Prime Minister of Portugal. Passos Coelho started very early in politics, becoming the national leader of the youth branch of the Social Democratic Party...

, it is composed by 11 ministers and was sworn in on June 21.

Executive branch

The President, elected to a 5-year term by direct, universal suffrage

Universal suffrage

Universal suffrage consists of the extension of the right to vote to adult citizens as a whole, though it may also mean extending said right to minors and non-citizens...

, 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.

The Council of State, a presidential advisory body, is composed of six senior civilian officers, any former presidents elected under the 1976 constitution, five members chosen by the assembly, and five selected by the president.

The government is headed by the presidentially appointed prime minister, who names the Council of Ministers. 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.
|President

President of Portugal

Portugal has been a republic since 1910, and since that time the head of state has been the president, whose official title is President of the Portuguese Republic ....

|Aníbal Cavaco Silva

Aníbal Cavaco Silva

|Social Democratic Party

Social Democratic Party (Portugal)

|9 March 2006
|-
|Prime Minister

Prime Minister of Portugal

|Pedro Passos Coelho

Pedro Passos Coelho

Pedro Manuel Mamede Passos Coelho , is Prime Minister of Portugal. Passos Coelho started very early in politics, becoming the national leader of the youth branch of the Social Democratic Party...

|Social Democratic Party

Social Democratic Party (Portugal)

|21 June 2011
|}

Legislative branch

The four main organs of the national government are the presidency, the prime minister and Council of Ministers

Portuguese Council of Ministers

(the government), the Assembly of the Republic

Assembly of the Republic

The Assembly of the Republic is the Portuguese parliament. It is located in a historical building in Lisbon, referred to as Palácio de São Bento, the site of an old Benedictine monastery...

(the parliament), and the judiciary. The Assembly of the Republic is a unicameral body composed of up to 230 deputies. 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.

Political parties and elections

Summary of the 23 January 2011 Portuguese

Portugal

presidential

President of Portugal

Portugal has been a republic since 1910, and since that time the head of state has been the president, whose official title is President of the Portuguese Republic ....

election results

Elections in Portugal

Elections in Portugal gives information on election and election results in Portugal.Only the elections since the Carnation Revolution of 1974 are listed here. During the period encompassing the Constitutional Monarchy and the First Republic there were also elections, but only for a limited...

Aníbal Cavaco Silva

|align=left|Social Democratic Party

Social Democratic Party (Portugal)

, People's Party, Hope for Portugal Movement

Hope for Portugal Movement

Hope for Portugal Movement is a minor centre political party in Portugal. It has no representatives in the Assembly of the Republic, the Portuguese legislature...

Manuel Alegre

Manuel Alegre de Melo Duarte, GCL , is a Portuguese poet and politician, member of the Socialist Party, and a candidate to the Portuguese presidential election, 2006...

|align=left|Socialist Party

Socialist Party (Portugal)

, Left Bloc, Democratic Party of the Atlantic

Democratic Party of the Atlantic

The Democratic Party of the Atlantic is one of the political parties in Portugal, without parliamentary representation. It is a small party whose electorate concentrates itself in São Miguel island, in the Azores. PDA promotes, officially, not independence, but home rule for the Azores, following...

Fernando Nobre

Fernando José de La Vieter Ribeiro Nobre is a Portuguese doctor who is the founder and president of the Portuguese NGO AMI . In 2007 he was voted as the 25th greatest Portuguese ever in the contest Os Grandes Portugueses, being the 5th most voted among Portuguese living people at that date...

|align=left|Independent

Independent (politician)

In politics, an independent or non-party politician is an individual not affiliated to any political party. Independents may hold a centrist viewpoint between those of major political parties, a viewpoint more extreme than any major party, or they may have a viewpoint based on issues that they do...

Francisco Lopes

Francisco José de Almeida Lopes is a Portuguese politician who, supported by the Communist Party, ran for president in the Portuguese presidential election of 2011....

|align=left|Portuguese Communist Party

Portuguese Communist Party

José Manuel Coelho

Jose Manuel Vieira Coelho da Mata is a Portuguese politician. He was a member of the Portuguese Communist Party until 1999, and still calls himself a communist "who evolved". He was substitute deputy of the Legislative Assembly of Madeira for the New Democracy Party, taking office in 2008...

Independent (politician)

|align="right" |67,110
|align="right" |1.59
|-
|colspan="3" align=left style="background-color:#E9E9E9"|Total valid
|width="65" align="right" style="background-color:#E9E9E9"|4,214,860
|width="40" align="right" style="background-color:#E9E9E9"|100.00
|-
|align=right colspan="3"|Blank ballots
|width="65" align="right" |192,127
|width="40" align="right" |4.28
|-
|align=right colspan="3" |Invalid ballots
|width="65" align="right"|85,466
|width="40" align="right"|1.90
|-
|colspan="3" align=left style="background-color:#E9E9E9"|Total (turnout 46.52%)
|width="65" align="right" style="background-color:#E9E9E9"|4,492,453
|width="40" align="right" style="background-color:#E9E9E9"|
|-
|colspan=5 align=left|Source: Comissão Nacional de Eleições
|}

Judicial branch

The national Supreme Court

Portuguese Supreme Court of Justice

Portuguese Supreme Court of Justice is the highest court of law in Portugal without prejudice to the jurisdiction of the Portuguese Constitutional Court.The President of the Supreme Court of Justice is elected by and among the members of the court....

is the court of last appeal. Military, administrative, and fiscal courts are designated as separate court categories. A nine-member Constitutional Court

Portuguese Constitutional Court

The Portuguese Constitutional Court is a special court, defined by the Portuguese Constitution as part of the judicial branch of the Portuguese political organization. Unlike the rest of the country's courts, the Constitutional Court has important characteristics, such as a special composition,...

reviews the constitutionality of legislation.

Administrative divisions

18 districts (distritos, singular - distrito) and 2 autonomous regions* (regiões autónomas, singular - região autónoma); Aveiro, Açores (Azores)

Azores

*, Beja, Braga

Braga

Braga , a city in the Braga Municipality in northwestern Portugal, is the capital of the Braga District, the oldest archdiocese and the third major city of the country. Braga is the oldest Portuguese city and one of the oldest Christian cities in the World...

, Bragança

Bragança (district)

Bragança District is a traditional political division of Portugal, in the northeast corner bordering on Spain, covering 7.4% of the nations continental landmass. The capital of the district, Bragança, is 217 kilometres from Porto, the second largest town in Portugal, and 107 kilometres and 169...

, Castelo Branco, Coimbra

Coimbra

Coimbra is a city in the municipality of Coimbra in Portugal. Although it served as the nation's capital during the High Middle Ages, it is better-known for its university, the University of Coimbra, which is one of the oldest in Europe and the oldest academic institution in the...

, Évora

Évora

Évora is a municipality in Portugal. It has total area of with a population of 55,619 inhabitants. It is the seat of the Évora District and capital of the Alentejo region. The municipality is composed of 19 civil parishes, and is located in Évora District....

, Faro

Faro, Portugal

Faro is the southernmost city in Portugal. It is located in the Faro Municipality in southern Portugal. The city proper has 41,934 inhabitants and the entire municipality has 58,305. It is the seat of the Faro District and capital of the Algarve region...

, Guarda

Guarda, Portugal

Guarda is a city in Guarda Municipality, Portugal. The city has a population of 32 111Guarda was founded in 1199 by the second king of Portugal, Sancho I....

, Leiria

Leiria

Leiria is a city in Leiria Municipality in the Centro Region, Portugal. It is the capital of Leiria District. The city proper has 50,200 inhabitants and the entire municipality has nearly 120,000...

, Lisboa, Madeira

Madeira

Madeira is a Portuguese archipelago that lies between and , just under 400 km north of Tenerife, Canary Islands, in the north Atlantic Ocean and an outermost region of the European Union...

*, Portalegre, Porto

Porto

Porto , also known as Oporto in English, is the second largest city in Portugal and one of the major urban areas in the Iberian Peninsula. Its administrative limits include a population of 237,559 inhabitants distributed within 15 civil parishes...

, Santarém

Santarém, Portugal

Santarém is a city in the Santarém Municipality in Portugal. The city itself has a population of 28,760 and the entire municipality has 64,124 inhabitants.It is the capital of Santarém District....

, Setúbal

Setúbal

Setúbal is the main city in Setúbal Municipality in Portugal with a total area of 172.0 km² and a total population of 118,696 inhabitants in the municipality. The city proper has 89,303 inhabitants....

, Viana do Castelo, Vila Real, Viseu

Viseu

Viseu is both a city and a municipality in the Dão-Lafões Subregion of Centro Region, Portugal. The municipality, with an area of 507.1 km², has a population of 99,593 , and the city proper has 47,250...

International organization participation

AfDB

African Development Bank

The African Development Bank Group is a development bank established in 1964 with the intention of promoting economic and social development in Africa...

, Australia Group

Australia Group

The Australia Group is an informal group of countries established in 1985 to help member countries to identify those of their exports which need to be controlled so as not to contribute to the spread of chemical and biological weapons .The group, initially consisting of 15 members, held its first...

, BIS

Bank for International Settlements

The Bank for International Settlements is an intergovernmental organization of central banks which "fosters international monetary and financial cooperation and serves as a bank for central banks." It is not accountable to any national government...

, CE

Council of Europe

The Council of Europe is an international organisation promoting co-operation between all countries of Europe in the areas of legal standards, human rights, democratic development, the rule of law and cultural co-operation...

, CERN

CERN

The European Organization for Nuclear Research , known as CERN , is an international organization whose purpose is to operate the world's largest particle physics laboratory, which is situated in the northwest suburbs of Geneva on the Franco–Swiss border...

, EAPC

Euro-Atlantic Partnership Council

The Euro-Atlantic Partnership Council , a NATO institution, is a multilateral forum created to improve relations between NATO and non-NATO countries in Europe and those parts of Asia on the European periphery. The member states meet to cooperate and consult on a range of political and security issues...

, EBRD

European Bank for Reconstruction and Development

Founded in 1991, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development uses the tools of investment to help build market economies and democracies in 30 countries from central Europe to central Asia. Its mission was to support the formerly communist countries in the process of establishing their...

, ECE

United Nations Economic Commission for Europe

The United Nations Economic Commission for Europe was established in 1947 to encourage economic cooperation among its member states. It is one of five regional commissions under the administrative direction of United Nations headquarters. It has 56 member states, and reports to the UN Economic and...

, ECLAC

United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean

The United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean was established in 1948 to encourage economic cooperation among its member states. In 1984, a resolution was passed to include the countries of the Caribbean in the name...

, EIB

European Investment Bank

The European Investment Bank is the European Union's long-term lending institution established in 1958 under the Treaty of Rome. A policy-driven bank, the EIB supports the EU’s priority objectives, especially European integration and the development of economically weak regions...

, EMU

Economic and Monetary Union of the European Union

The Economic and Monetary Union is an umbrella term for the group of policies aimed at converging the economies of members of the European Union in three stages so as to allow them to adopt a single currency, the euro. As such, it is largely synonymous with the eurozone.All member states of the...

, EU

European Union

The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958...

, FAO

Food and Agriculture Organization

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations is a specialised agency of the United Nations that leads international efforts to defeat hunger. Serving both developed and developing countries, FAO acts as a neutral forum where all nations meet as equals to negotiate agreements and...

, IADB

Inter-American Development Bank

The Inter-American Development Bank is the largest source of development financing for Latin America and the Caribbean...

, IAEA

International Atomic Energy Agency

The International Atomic Energy Agency is an international organization that seeks to promote the peaceful use of nuclear energy, and to inhibit its use for any military purpose, including nuclear weapons. The IAEA was established as an autonomous organization on 29 July 1957...

, IBRD

International Bank for Reconstruction and Development

The International Bank for Reconstruction and Development is one of five institutions that compose the World Bank Group. The IBRD is an international organization whose original mission was to finance the reconstruction of nations devastated by World War II. Now, its mission has expanded to fight...

, ICAO

International Civil Aviation Organization

The International Civil Aviation Organization , pronounced , , is a specialized agency of the United Nations. It codifies the principles and techniques of international air navigation and fosters the planning and development of international air transport to ensure safe and orderly growth...

, ICCt

International Criminal Court

The International Criminal Court is a permanent tribunal to prosecute individuals for genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes, and the crime of aggression .It came into being on 1 July 2002—the date its founding treaty, the Rome Statute of the...

, ICC

International Chamber of Commerce

The International Chamber of Commerce is the largest, most representative business organization in the world. Its hundreds of thousands of member companies in over 130 countries have interests spanning every sector of private enterprise....

, ICFTU

International Confederation of Free Trade Unions

The International Confederation of Free Trade Unions was an international trade union. It came into being on 7 December 1949 following a split within the World Federation of Trade Unions , and was dissolved on 31 October 2006 when it merged with the World Confederation of Labour to form the...

, ICRM

International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement

The International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement is an international humanitarian movement with approximately 97 million volunteers, members and staff worldwide which was founded to protect human life and health, to ensure respect for all human beings, and to prevent and alleviate human...

, IDA

International Development Association

The International Development Association , is the part of the World Bank that helps the world’s poorest countries. It complements the World Bank's other lending arm — the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development — which serves middle-income countries with capital investment and...

, IEA

International Energy Agency

The International Energy Agency is a Paris-based autonomous intergovernmental organization established in the framework of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development in 1974 in the wake of the 1973 oil crisis...

, IFAD

International Fund for Agricultural Development

The International Fund for Agricultural Development , a specialized agency of the United Nations, was established as an international financial institution in 1977 as one of the major outcomes of the 1974 World Food Conference. IFAD is dedicated to eradicating rural poverty in developing countries...

, IFC

International Finance Corporation

The International Finance Corporation promotes sustainable private sector investment in developing countries.IFC is a member of the World Bank Group and is headquartered in Washington, D.C., United States....

, IFRCS

International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement

, IHO

International Hydrographic Organization

The International Hydrographic Organization is the inter-governmental organisation representing the hydrographic community. It enjoys observer status at the UN and is the recognised competent authority on hydrographic surveying and nautical charting...

, ILO

International Labour Organization

The International Labour Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations that deals with labour issues pertaining to international labour standards. Its headquarters are in Geneva, Switzerland. Its secretariat — the people who are employed by it throughout the world — is known as the...

, IMF

International Monetary Fund

The International Monetary Fund is an organization of 187 countries, working to foster global monetary cooperation, secure financial stability, facilitate international trade, promote high employment and sustainable economic growth, and reduce poverty around the world...

, IMO

International Maritime Organization

The International Maritime Organization , formerly known as the Inter-Governmental Maritime Consultative Organization , was established in Geneva in 1948, and came into force ten years later, meeting for the first time in 1959...

, Inmarsat

International Mobile Satellite Organization

The International Mobile Satellite Organization is the intergovernmental organization that oversees certain public satellite safety and security communication services provided via the Inmarsat satellites...

, Intelsat

Intelsat

Intelsat, Ltd. is a communications satellite services provider.Originally formed as International Telecommunications Satellite Organization , it was—from 1964 to 2001—an intergovernmental consortium owning and managing a constellation of communications satellites providing international broadcast...

, Interpol

Interpol

Interpol, whose full name is the International Criminal Police Organization – INTERPOL, is an organization facilitating international police cooperation...

, IOC, IOM

International Organization for Migration

The International Organization for Migration is an intergovernmental organization. It was initially established in 1951 as the Intergovernmental Committee for European Migration to help resettle people displaced by World War II....

, ISO

International Organization for Standardization

The International Organization for Standardization , widely known as ISO, is an international standard-setting body composed of representatives from various national standards organizations. Founded on February 23, 1947, the organization promulgates worldwide proprietary, industrial and commercial...

, ITU

International Telecommunication Union

The International Telecommunication Union is the specialized agency of the United Nations which is responsible for information and communication technologies...

, LAIA

Latin American Integration Association

The Asociación Latinoamericana de Integración is a Latin American trade integration association, based in Montevideo. Its main objective is the establishment of a common market, in pursuit of the economic and social development of the region...

(observer), MINURSO

United Nations Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara

MINURSO is the United Nations peacekeeping mission in Western Sahara. The name is a French acronym for "Mission des Nations Unies pour l'Organisation d'un Référendum au Sahara Occidental" — United Nations Mission for the organization of a Referendum in Western Sahara.-Purpose of the mission:MINURSO...

, NAM

Non-Aligned Movement

The Non-Aligned Movement is a group of states considering themselves not aligned formally with or against any major power bloc. As of 2011, the movement had 120 members and 17 observer countries...

(guest), NATO, NEA

Nuclear Energy Agency

The Nuclear Energy Agency is an intergovernmental multinational agency that is organized under the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development...

, NSG

Nuclear Suppliers Group

Nuclear Suppliers Group is a multinational body concerned with reducing nuclear proliferation by controlling the export and re-transfer of materials that may be applicable to nuclear weapon development and by improving safeguards and protection on existing materials.- History :It was founded in...

, OAS

Organization of American States

The Organization of American States is a regional international organization, headquartered in Washington, D.C., United States...

(observer), OECD

Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development

The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development is an international economic organisation of 34 countries founded in 1961 to stimulate economic progress and world trade...

, OPCW

Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons

The Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons is an intergovernmental organization, located in The Hague, Netherlands. The organization promotes and verifies the adherence to the Chemical Weapons Convention which prohibits of the use of chemical weapons and requires their destruction...

, OSCE

Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe

The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe is the world's largest security-oriented intergovernmental organization. Its mandate includes issues such as arms control, human rights, freedom of the press and fair elections...

, PCA

Permanent Court of Arbitration

The Permanent Court of Arbitration , is an international organization based in The Hague in the Netherlands.-History:The court was established in 1899 as one of the acts of the first Hague Peace Conference, which makes it the oldest institution for international dispute resolution.The creation of...

, UN

United Nations

The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...

, UNCTAD

United Nations Conference on Trade and Development

The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development was established in 1964 as a permanent intergovernmental body. It is the principal organ of the United Nations General Assembly dealing with trade, investment, and development issues....

, UNESCO

UNESCO

The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations...

, UNIDO

United Nations Industrial Development Organization

The United Nations Industrial Development Organization , French/Spanish acronym ONUDI, is a specialized agency in the United Nations system, headquartered in Vienna, Austria...

, UNMIBH

United Nations Mission in Bosnia and Herzegovina

The United Nations Mission in Bosnia and Herzegovina was an international organization formed under the United Nations Security Council Resolution 1035 on 21 December 1995. It completed its mandate on 31 December 2002, when it was succeeded by the European Union Police Mission in Bosnia and...

, UNMIK

United Nations Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo

The United Nations Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo or UNMIK is the interim civilian administration in Kosovo, under the authority of the United Nations. The mission was established on 10 June 1999 by Security Council Resolution 1244...

, UNMOP

United Nations Mission of Observers in Prevlaka

UN Mission of Observers in Prevlaka was established on 15 January 1996 in Security Council Resolution 1038 as a peacekeeping mission to monitor the demilitarization of the disputed Prevlaka peninsula by carrying out daily foot and vehicle patrols on both sides of the border between Croatia and...

, UPU

Universal Postal Union

The Universal Postal Union is an international organization that coordinates postal policies among member nations, in addition to the worldwide postal system. The UPU contains four bodies consisting of the Congress, the Council of Administration , the Postal Operations Council and the...

, WCL

World Confederation of Labour

The World Confederation of Labour was an international labour organization founded in 1920 and based in Europe. Totalitarian governments of the 1930s repressed the federation and imprisoned many of its leaders, limiting operations until the end of World War II...

, WCO

World Customs Organization

The World Customs Organization is an intergovernmental organization headquartered in Brussels, Belgium. With its worldwide membership, the WCO is recognized as the voice of the global customs community...

, WEU

Western European Union

The Western European Union was an international organisation tasked with implementing the Modified Treaty of Brussels , an amended version of the original 1948 Treaty of Brussels...

, WFTU

World Federation of Trade Unions

The World Federation of Trade Unions was established in 1945 to replace the International Federation of Trade Unions. Its mission was to bring together trade unions across the world in a single international organization, much like the United Nations...

, WHO

World Health Organization

The World Health Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations that acts as a coordinating authority on international public health. Established on 7 April 1948, with headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland, the agency inherited the mandate and resources of its predecessor, the Health...

, WIPO

World Intellectual Property Organization

The World Intellectual Property Organization is one of the 17 specialized agencies of the United Nations. WIPO was created in 1967 "to encourage creative activity, to promote the protection of intellectual property throughout the world"....

, WMO

World Meteorological Organization

The World Meteorological Organization is an intergovernmental organization with a membership of 189 Member States and Territories. It originated from the International Meteorological Organization , which was founded in 1873...

, WToO

World Tourism Organization

The World Tourism Organization , based in Madrid, Spain, is a United Nations agency dealing with questions relating to tourism. It compiles the World Tourism rankings. The World Tourism Organization is a significant global body, concerned with the collection and collation of statistical information...

, WTrO

World Trade Organization

The World Trade Organization is an organization that intends to supervise and liberalize international trade. The organization officially commenced on January 1, 1995 under the Marrakech Agreement, replacing the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade , which commenced in 1948...

, Zangger Committee

Zangger Committee

The Zangger Committee, also known as the Nuclear Exporters Committee, sprang from Article III.2 of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons which entered into force on March 5, 1970...

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.

Political background

History of the current regime

XIII and XIV Constitutional Governments (1995-2002)

XV Constitutional Government (2002-2004)

XVI Constitutional Government (2004-2005)

XVII and XVIII Constitutional Governments (2005-2011)

XIX Constitutional Government (2011-)

Executive branch

Legislative branch

Political parties and elections

Judicial branch

Administrative divisions

International organization participation

See also

External links