Portugal Government - 2024

Country name

conventional long form: Portuguese Republic

conventional short form: Portugal

local long form: Republica Portuguesa

local short form: Portugal

etymology: name derives from the Roman designation "Portus Cale" meaning "Port of Cale"; Cale was an ancient Celtic town and port in present-day northern Portugal

Government type

semi-presidential republic

Capital

name: Lisbon

geographic coordinates: 38 43 N, 9 08 W

time difference: UTC 0 (5 hours ahead of Washington, DC, during Standard Time)

daylight saving time: +1hr, begins last Sunday in March; ends last Sunday in October

time zone note: Portugal has two time zones, including the Azores (UTC-1)

etymology: Lisbon is one of Europe's oldest cities (the second oldest capital city after Athens) and the origin of the name is lost in time; it may have been founded as an ancient Celtic settlement that subsequently maintained close commercial relations with the Phoenicians (beginning about 1200 B.C.); the name of the settlement may have been derived from the pre-Roman appellation for the Tagus River that runs through the city, Lisso or Lucio; the Romans named the city "Olisippo" when they took it from the Carthaginians in 205 B.C.; under the Visigoths the city name became "Ulixbona," under the Arabs it was "al-Ushbuna"; the medieval version of "Lissabona" became today's Lisboa

Administrative divisions

18 districts (distritos, singular - distrito) and 2 autonomous regions* (regioes autonomas, singular - regiao autonoma); Aveiro, Acores (Azores)*, Beja, Braga, Braganca, Castelo Branco, Coimbra, Evora, Faro, Guarda, Leiria, Lisboa (Lisbon), Madeira*, Portalegre, Porto, Santarem, Setubal, Viana do Castelo, Vila Real, Viseu

Independence

1143 (Kingdom of Portugal recognized); 1 December 1640 (independence reestablished following 60 years of Spanish rule); 5 October 1910 (republic proclaimed)

National holiday

Portugal Day (Dia de Portugal), 10 June (1580); note - also called Camoes Day, the day that revered national poet Luis DE CAMOES (1524-80) died

Constitution

history: several previous; latest adopted 2 April 1976, effective 25 April 1976

amendments: proposed by the Assembly of the Republic; adoption requires two-thirds majority vote of Assembly members; amended several times, last in 2005

Legal system

civil law system; Constitutional Court review of legislative acts

International law organization participation

accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction with reservations; accepts ICCt jurisdiction

Citizenship

citizenship by birth: no

citizenship by descent only: at least one parent must be a citizen of Portugal

dual citizenship recognized: yes

residency requirement for naturalization: 10 years; 6 years if from a Portuguese-speaking country

Suffrage

18 years of age; universal

Executive branch

chief of state: President Marcelo REBELO DE SOUSA (since 9 March 2016)

head of government: Prime Minister Antonio Luis Santos da COSTA (since 24 November 2015); note - da COSTA resigned on 7 November 2023 but remains in caretaker status until new prime minister is selected following the elections held on 10 March 2024

cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the president on the recommendation of the prime minister

elections/appointments: president directly elected by absolute majority popular vote in 2 rounds if needed for a 5-year term (eligible for a second term); election last held on 24 January 2021 (next to be held on 10 March 2024); following legislative elections the leader of the majority party or majority coalition is usually appointed prime minister by the president

election results:
2021: Marcelo REBELO DE SOUSA reelected president in the first round; percent of vote - Marcelo REBELO DE SOUSA (PSD) 60.7%, Ana GOMES (ran as an independent but is a member of PS) 13%, Andre VENTURA (CH) 11.9%, João FERREIRA (PCP-PEV) 4.3%, other 10.1%

2016: Marcelo REBELO DE SOUSA elected president in the first round; percent of vote - Marcelo REBELO DE SOUSA (PSD) 52%, António SAMPAIO DA NOVOA (independent) 22.9%, Marisa MATIAS (BE) 10.1%, Maria DE BELEM ROSEIRA (PS) 4.2%, other 10.8%

there is also a Council of State that acts as a consultative body to the president

Legislative branch

description: unicameral Assembly of the Republic or Assembleia da Republica (230 seats; 226 members directly elected in multi-seat constituencies by closed-list proportional representation vote and 4 members - 2 each in 2 constituencies representing Portuguese living abroad - directly elected by proportional representation vote; members serve 4-year terms)

elections: last held on 10 March 2024 (next to be held on 30 September 2028); note - early elections were called after Prime Minister Antonio Luis Santos da COSTA resigned on 7 November 2023

election results: percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - PSD 79, PS 77, Enough 48, other 26; composition - men NA, women NA, percent of women NA%

Judicial branch

highest court(s): Supreme Court or Supremo Tribunal de Justica (consists of 12 justices); Constitutional Court or Tribunal Constitucional (consists of 13 judges)

judge selection and term of office: Supreme Court justices nominated by the president and appointed by the Assembly of the Republic; judges can serve for life; Constitutional Court judges - 10 elected by the Assembly and 3 elected by the other Constitutional Court judges; judges elected for 6-year nonrenewable terms

subordinate courts: Supreme Administrative Court (Supremo Tribunal Administrativo); Audit Court (Tribunal de Contas); appellate, district, and municipal courts

Political parties and leaders

Democratic Alliance (2022 electoral alliance in the Azores, includes PSD, CDS-PP, PPM)
Democratic and Social Center/People's Party (Partido do Centro Democratico Social-Partido Popular) or CDS-PP [Nuno MELO]
Ecologist Party "The Greens" or "Os Verdes" (Partido Ecologista-Os Verdes) or PEV [Heloisa APOLONIA]
Enough (Chega) [Andre VENTURA]
Liberal Initiative (Iniciativa Liberal) or IL [Rui ROCHA]
Madeira First (2022 electoral alliance in Madeira, includes PSD, CDS-PP)
People-Animals-Nature Party (Pessoas-Animais-Natureza) or PAN [Ines SOUSA REAL]
People's Monarchist Party or PPM [Gonçalo DA CAMARA PEREIRA]
Portuguese Communist Party (Partido Comunista Portugues) or PCP [Paulo RAIMUNDO]
Social Democratic Party (Partido Social Democrata) or PSD [Luis MONTENEGRO] (formerly the Partido Popular Democratico or PPD)
Socialist Party (Partido Socialista) or PS [Pedro Nunes SANTOS]
The Left Bloc (Bloco de Esquerda) or BE or O Bloco [Mariana MORTAGUA]
Unitary Democratic Coalition (Coligacao Democratica Unitaria) or CDU [Paulo RAIMUNDO] (includes PCP and PEV) (2024)

International organization participation

ADB (nonregional member), AfDB (nonregional member), Australia Group, BIS, CD, CE, CERN, CPLP, EAPC, EBRD, ECB, EIB, EMU, ESA, EU, FAO, FATF, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC (national committees), ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, IMSO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, ITUC (NGOs), LAIA (observer), MIGA, NATO, NEA, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, OPCW, OSCE, Pacific Alliance (observer), Paris Club (associate), PCA, Schengen Convention, SELEC (observer), UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, Union Latina, UNOOSA, UNWTO, UPU, Wassenaar Arrangement, WCO, WFTU (NGOs), WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO, ZC

Diplomatic representation in the US

chief of mission: Ambassador Francisco Antonio DUARTE LOPES (since 7 June 2022)

chancery: 2012 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20036

telephone: [1] (202) 350-5400

FAX: [1] (202) 462-3726

email address and website:
info.washington@mne.pt

https://washingtondc.embaixadaportugal.mne.gov.pt/en/

consulate(s) general: Boston, Newark (NJ), New York, San Francisco

consulate(s): New Bedford (MA), Providence (RI)

Diplomatic representation from the US

chief of mission: Ambassador Randi Charno LEVINE (since 22 April 2022)

embassy: Avenida das Forcas Armadas, 1600-081 Lisboa

mailing address: 5320 Lisbon Place, Washington DC  20521-5320

telephone: [351] (21) 727-3300

FAX: [351] (21) 726-9109

email address and website:
conslisbon@state.gov
https://pt.usembassy.gov/

consulate(s): Ponta Delgada (Azores)

Flag description

two vertical bands of green (hoist side, two-fifths) and red (three-fifths) with the national coat of arms (armillary sphere and Portuguese shield) centered on the dividing line; explanations for the color meanings are ambiguous, but a popular interpretation has green symbolizing hope and red the blood of those defending the nation

National symbol(s)

armillary sphere (a spherical astrolabe modeling objects in the sky and representing the Republic); national colors: red, green

National anthem

name: "A Portugesa" (The Song of the Portuguese)

lyrics/music: Henrique LOPES DE MENDOCA/Alfredo KEIL

note: adopted 1910; "A Portuguesa" was originally written to protest the Portuguese monarchy's acquiescence to the 1890 British ultimatum forcing Portugal to give up areas of Africa; the lyrics refer to the "insult" that resulted from the event

National heritage

total World Heritage Sites: 17 (16 cultural, 1 natural)

selected World Heritage Site locales: Historic Évora (c); Central Zone of the Town of Angra do Heroismo in the Azores (c); Cultural Landscape of Sintra (c); Laurisilva of Madeira (n); (c); Monastery of the Hieronymites and Tower of Belém in Lisbon (c); Convent of Christ in Tomar (c); Prehistoric Rock Art Sites in the Côa Valley and Siega Verde (c); University of Coimbra – Alta and Sofia (c); Sanctuary of Bom Jesus do Monte in Braga (c)