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List of presidents of Portugal facts for kids

Kids Encyclopedia Facts
  • Top left: Teofilo Braga President of the Provisional Government of the Republic.
  • Top right: Óscar Carmona was the longest serving head of state.
  • Bottom left: António Ramalho Eanes was the first president elected in democracy.
  • Bottom right: Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa is the incumbent president.

The complete list of presidents of the Portuguese Republic consists of the 20 heads of state in the history of Portugal since the 5 October 1910 revolution that installed a republican regime.

This list includes not only those persons who were sworn into office as President of Portugal but also those who de facto served as head of state since 1910. This is the case of Teófilo Braga who served as President of the Provisional Government after the republican coup d'état. Also Sidónio Pais, Mendes Cabeçadas, Gomes da Costa, as well as Canto e Castro and Óscar Carmona in their early months, were not sworn into office as presidents of the Republic, usually being prime ministers, but de facto accumulated this function, thus combining in practice head of state and head of government in one person.

See the notes for more information.

Election terms

The numbering reflects the uninterrupted terms in office served by a single man. For example, Jorge Sampaio served two consecutive terms and is counted as the 19th president (not the 19th and 20th). Teófilo Braga served as the first and sole president of the Provisional Government, and therefore is not considered to be the first president, although he would serve again as head of state and be the second president after the resignation of Manuel de Arriaga.

However, Bernardino Machado served two non-consecutive terms, and he is counted as both the third and the eighth presidents. Because of this, the list below contains 20 presidencies, but only 19 presidents.

Under the Constitution of Portugal adopted in 1976, in the wake of the 1974 Carnation Revolution, the president is elected to a five-year term with the possibility of running for a second consecutive term; there is no limit to the number of terms a president may serve, but a president who serves two consecutive terms may not serve again in the next five years after the second term finishes.

The official residence of the president of Portugal is the Belém Palace.

The current president of the Portuguese Republic is Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, the winner of the 2016 presidential election and re-elected in the 2021 presidential election.

Presidents

The colors indicate the political affiliation of each president.

             Republican
             Democratic
             National Republican/Sidonist
             Evolutionist Party/Republican Liberal
             National Union/Popular National Action
             Democratic Renewal
             Socialist
             Social Democratic
             No party/Independent

First Republic (1910–1926)

No. Portrait President
(Birth–Death)
Elected Term of office Political party Ref.
President of the Provisional Government of the Republic (1910–1911)
- Teófilo Braga (1915) - Fotografia Vasques, Lisboa (Museu da Presidência da República).png Teófilo Braga
(1843–1924)
5 October 1910 24 August 1911 Republican
Presidents of the Republic (1911–1926)
1 Manuel de Arriaga - Fotografia Vasques.png Manuel de Arriaga
(1840–1917)
1911 24 August 1911 26 May 1915 Republican
later Democratic Republican
2 Teófilo Braga (1915) - Fotografia Vasques, Lisboa (Museu da Presidência da República).png Teófilo Braga
(1843–1924)
May
1915
29 May 1915 5 October 1915 Democratic Republican
3 Retrato do Dr. Bernardino Machado.jpg Bernardino Machado
(1851–1944)
August
1915
5 October 1915 5 December 1917 Democratic Republican
- Ministry
(Head of State ex officio)
President: Sidónio Pais
12 December 1917 28 April 1918
4 Sidónio Pais, phot. Bobone.png Sidónio Pais
(1872–1918)
April
1918
28 April 1918 14 December 1918 National Republican
or "Sidonist"
- Ministry
(Head of State ex officio)
President: João do Canto e Castro
14 December 1918 16 December 1918
5 Fotografia oficial do Presidente da República João do Canto e Castro.jpg João do Canto e Castro
(1862–1934)
December
1918
16 December 1918 5 October 1919 National Republican
or "Sidonist"
6 Presidente António José de Almeida.jpg António José de Almeida
(1866–1929)
1919 5 October 1919 5 October 1923 Evolutionist Party
later Republican Liberal
7 Manuel Teixeira Gomes.png Manuel Teixeira Gomes
(1860–1941)
1923 5 October 1923 11 December 1925 Democratic Republican
8 Retrato do Dr. Bernardino Machado.jpg Bernardino Machado
(1851–1944)
2nd time
1925 11 December 1925 31 May 1926 Democratic Republican

Second Republic (1926–1974)

No. Portrait President
(Birth–Death)
Elected Term of office Political party Ref.
Ditadura Nacional (National Dictatorship) (1926–1932)
9 Vice-almirante José Mendes Cabeçadas Júnior.jpg José Mendes Cabeçadas
(1883–1965)
31 May 1926 17 June 1926 Military officer
- Ministry
(Head of State ex officio)
President: Manuel Gomes da Costa
17 June 1926 29 June 1926
10 General Manuel Gomes da Costa (1918) - Photographia Vasques.png Manuel Gomes da Costa
(1863–1929)
29 June 1926 9 July 1926 Military officer
- Ministry
(Head of State ex officio)
President: Óscar Carmona
9 July 1926 16 November 1926
11 Retrato do Presidente da República Óscar Carmona - Photographia Ingleza de J. & M. Lazarus (Museu da Presidência da República).png Óscar Carmona
(1869–1951)
16 November 1926 15 April 1928 Military officer
Estado Novo (New State) (1932–1974)
Retrato do Presidente da República Óscar Carmona - Photographia Ingleza de J. & M. Lazarus (Museu da Presidência da República).png Óscar Carmona
(1869–1951)
1928 15 April 1928 26 April 1935 Military officer
from 1932
National Union
1935 26 April 1935 15 April 1942
1942 15 April 1942 20 April 1949
1949 20 April 1949 18 April 1951
- António de Oliveira Salazar portrait (by Manuel Alves San Payo) – Lisboa.jpg António de Oliveira Salazar
(1889–1970)
(interim)
18 April 1951 21 July 1951 National Union
12 General Francisco Higino Craveiro Lopes, Presidente de Portugal.tif Francisco Craveiro Lopes
(1894–1964)
1951 21 July 1951 9 August 1958 National Union
13 Fotografia oficial do Presidente da República Américo Tomás.jpg Américo Tomás
(1894–1987)
1958 9 August 1958 9 August 1965 National Union
from 1970
People's National Action
1965 9 August 1965 9 August 1972
1972 9 August 1972 25 April 1974

Third Republic (1974–present)

No. Portrait President
(Birth–Death)
Elected Term of office Political party Ref.
Presidents appointed in the aftermath of the Carnation Revolution (1974–1976)
- National Salvation Junta
President: António de Spínola
25 April 1974 15 May 1974
14
António de Spínola (1974).png
António de Spínola
(1910–1996)
15 May 1974 30 September 1974 Military officer
15
Francisco Costa Gomes Roma 1975.jpg
Francisco da Costa Gomes
(1914–2001)
30 September 1974 14 July 1976 Military officer
Presidents elected under the Constitution of the Republic (1976–present)
16
Ramalho Eanes (1983-09-14) (cropped).png
António Ramalho Eanes
(born 1935)
1976 14 July 1976 14 January 1981 until 1985
Military officer
1980 14 January 1981 9 March 1986 from 1985
Democratic Renewal
17
Mário Soares par Claude Truong-Ngoc 1978.png
Mário Soares
(1924–2017)
1986 9 March 1986 9 March 1991 Socialist
1991 9 March 1991 9 March 1996
18
Jorge Sampaio 3.jpg
Jorge Sampaio
(1939–2021)
1996 9 March 1996 9 March 2001 Socialist
2001 9 March 2001 9 March 2006
19
Cavaco Silva (2014-06-05), cropped.png
Aníbal Cavaco Silva
(born 1939)
2006 9 March 2006 9 March 2011 Social Democratic
2011 9 March 2011 9 March 2016
20
Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa (Web Summit).jpg
Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa
(born 1948)
2016 9 March 2016 9 March 2021 Social Democratic
2021 9 March 2021 Incumbent
  • Left office early:
Assassinated.
Died in office of natural causes.
Resigned.
Forced to resign due to a coup d'état.

Timeline

Portugal Presidents of Portugal (1910–present)
Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa Cavaco Silva Jorge Sampaio Mário Soares Ramalho Eanes Costa Gomes António de Spínola Américo Tomás Craveiro Lopes Oliveira Salazar Óscar Carmona Gomes da Costa Mendes Cabeçadas Manuel Teixeira Gomes António José de Almeida Canto e Castro Sidónio Pais Bernardino Machado Manuel de Arriaga Teófilo Braga

Birthplaces

Presidents by time in office

Rank by
length
of terms
President Length by
time served
Number of
terms
Party
1 Óscar Carmona 24 years, 286 days 5 National Union
2 Américo Tomás 15 years, 259 days 3 National Union
3 Mário Soares 10 years, 0 days 2 Socialist
Jorge Sampaio 10 years, 0 days 2 Socialist
Aníbal Cavaco Silva 10 years, 0 days 2 Social Democratic
4 António Ramalho Eanes 9 years, 238 days 2 Independent
5 Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa 8 years, 291 days (Incumbent) 2 Social Democratic
6 Francisco Craveiro Lopes 7 years, 0 days 1 National Union
7 António José de Almeida 4 years, 0 days 1 Evolutionist Party
8 Manuel de Arriaga 3 years, 278 days 1 Democratic
9 Bernardino Machado 2 years, 239 days 2 Democratic
10 Manuel Teixeira Gomes 2 year, 67 days 1 Democratic
11 Francisco da Costa Gomes 1 year, 288 days 1 Independent
12 Teófilo Braga 1 year, 87 days 1 Democratic
13 Sidónio Pais 1 year, 2 days 1 National Republican
14 João do Canto e Castro 295 days 1 National Republican
15 António de Spínola 158 days 1 Independent
16 Manuel Gomes da Costa 22 days 1 Independent
17 José Mendes Cabeçadas 17 days 1 Independent
Interim António de Oliveira Salazar 94 days - National Union

See also

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