Politics

Portugal

Portugal is a semi-presidential republic. This means that the country's executive power is shared between the President of the Republic, the Prime Minister and the Council of Ministers.

 

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President

Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa

The President of the Republic is the Head of State and of the Armed Forces, elected for a five-year term. The current President is Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, who was elected on 9 March 2016 and re-elected on 24 January 2021.

 

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Prim-Minister

António Costa

The Prime Minister is the head of government and is, as a rule, the leader of the party that won the most votes in the parliamentary elections held every four years. The current Prime Minister is António Costa, since 2015.

 

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Parliament

The Assembly of the Republic (or Parliament) is the second sovereign body (after the President of the Republic) with legislative power. It is made up of 230 members, elected for four-year terms.

 

Government

The Government is made up of Ministers and Secretaries of State, at the Prime Minister’s invitation. Between them, they hold executive power, being able to submit bills to Parliament and even legislate independently on some issues - the so-called Decree Laws.

 

Courts

Courts are independent entities that hold judicial power. There are four categories of courts in Portugal: The Constitutional Court (guarantees the constitutionality of laws), the Court of Audits (oversees public assets and monies), the Administrative and Fiscal Court (judges conflicts between private individuals and the State) and the Judicial Court (acts in the remaining areas).