President of Portugal
| President of the Portuguese Republic |
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 Presidential Flag |
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| Style | His/Her Excellency |
|---|---|
| Residence | Belém Palace |
| Term length | Five years, renewable once; may run for third and final non-consecutive term. |
| Inaugural holder | Teófilo Braga |
| Formation | October 5, 1910 (Portuguese first republic) March 19, 1933 (Estado Novo) April 25, 1973 (Carnation Revolution) |
| Portugal |
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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 (Presidente da República Portuguesa, Portuguese pronunciation: [pɾɨziˈdẽtɨ dɐ ʁɛˈpublikɐ]).
Under the Portuguese Constitution adopted in 1976, in the wake of the 1974 Carnation Revolution, the President is elected to a five-year term, and may serve for a maximum of two consecutive terms. A president who serves two consecutive terms may run for a third and final non-consecutive term. The official residence of the Portuguese President is the Belém Palace.
The President theoretically has wide powers, but most are rarely used, following the precedent set by President António Ramalho Eanes (1976-1986) and upheld by his successors Mário Soares and Jorge Sampaio.
The President, however, has the discretionary power to dissolve Parliament when s/he sees fit, and President Sampaio made use of this prerogative in late 2004 to remove the controversial government of Pedro Santana Lopes, despite the absolute majority of MPs supporting the government.
The President is elected, as in France, in a two-round system: if no candidate reaches 50% of the votes during the first round, the two candidates with the most votes face each other in a second round held two weeks later. However, the second round has only been needed once, during the 1986 presidential election. To date, all of the elected presidents since the Revolution have served for two consecutive terms, and presidents consistently rank as the most popular political figure in the country.
If the president dies or becomes incapacitated while in office, the Speaker of Parliament assumes the office with restricted powers until a new president can be inaugurated following fresh elections.
Prior to the Carnation Revolution, the powers of the presidency varied widely; some presidents were virtual dictators (such as Pais, and Carmona in his early years), while others were little more than figureheads (such as Carmona in his later years, Craveiro Lopes, and Américo Thomaz; during their administrations, supreme power was held by Prime Minister António de Oliveira Salazar).
Latest election
| Candidates | Supporting parties | Votes | % |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aníbal Cavaco Silva | PPD/PSD, CDS/PP | 2,773,431 | 50.54% |
| Manuel Alegre | Independent | 1,138,297 | 20.74% |
| Mário Soares | PS | 785,355 | 14.31% |
| Jerónimo de Sousa | PCP, PEV | 474,083 | 8.64% |
| Francisco Louçã | BE | 292,198 | 5.32% |
| António Garcia Pereira | PCTP/MRPP | 23,983 | 0.44% |
| Invalid Ballots (Blank Ballots Included) | 102,785 | ||
| Total (turnout 61.53%) | 5,590,132 | ||
| Registered Voters: | 9,085,339 | ||
| Source: Eleições Presidenciais 2006 (Portuguese Electoral Commission) | |||
See also
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