Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa

His Excellency Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa ComSE GCIH
20th President of Portugal
Incumbent
Assumed office 9 March 2016
Prime Minister	António Costa
Preceded by	Aníbal Cavaco Silva
President of the Social Democratic Party
In office 31 March 1996 – 27 May 1999
Deputy	Rui Rio Carlos Horta e Costa Artur Torres Pereira
Preceded by	Fernando Nogueira
Succeeded by	José Manuel Barroso
Minister of Parliamentary Affairs
In office 12 June 1982 – 9 June 1983
Prime Minister	Francisco Pinto Balsemão
Preceded by	Fernando Amaral
Succeeded by	António de Almeida Santos
Secretary of State for the Presidency of the Council of Ministers
In office 4 September 1981 – 12 June 1982
Prime Minister	Francisco Pinto Balsemão
Preceded by	José Luís da Cruz Vilaça
Succeeded by	Leonor Beleza
Personal details
Born	Marcelo Nuno Duarte Rebelo de Sousa 12 December 1948 Lisbon, Portugal
Political party	Social Democratic Party
Spouse(s)	Ana Cristina Motta Veiga (1972–1980; separated)
Domestic partner	Rita Amaral Cabral (1980–present)
Children	Nuno Sofia
Residence	Belém Palace
Alma mater	University of Lisbon
Religion	Roman Catholicism
Signature

Marcelo Nuno Duarte Rebelo de Sousa (Portuguese pronunciation: [mɐɾˈsɛlu ˈnunu ˈdwaɾtɨ ʁɨˈbelu dɨ ˈsozɐ]), ComSE, GCIH (born 12 December 1948) is a Portuguese politician and the President of Portugal since 9 March 2016.^[1] Previously he was a government minister and Member of Parliament, a law professor, journalist, political analyst and pundit.

Background

Born in Lisbon, he is the eldest son of Baltasar Rebelo de Sousa and wife Maria das Neves Fernandes Duarte. He is named after Marcelo Caetano, who was to be his godfather.

Early life and education

Rebelo de Sousa is a Licentiate, Doctorate, Professor and Publicist specialized in Administrative Law from the Faculty of Law of the University of Lisbon, where he currently teaches Law.^[2]

Career

Rebelo de Sousa started his career during the Estado Novo as a lawyer, and later as a journalist. He joined the Popular Democratic Party, becoming a Deputy to the Assembly of the Republic. During that time, he helped draft Portugal’s constitution in 1976.^[3] Later he rose to Adjoint Minister of Prime Minister Francisco Pinto Balsemão. Together with him he was a Co-Founder, Director and Administrator of the Expresso newspaper, owned by Pinto Balsemão. He was also the Founder of Sedes and the Founder and President of the Administration Council of another newspaper, Semanário. He started as a political analyst and pundit on TSF radio with his Exams, in which he gave marks (0 to 20) to the main political players.

In 1989 he ran for Mayor of the Municipal Chamber of Lisbon (Mayor of Lisbon) but lost to Jorge Sampaio, though he did win a seat as City Councilor (Vereador). In that campaign he took a plunge into the waters of the Tagus River to prove they were not polluted despite claims to the contrary.

Leader of the PSD, 1996–1999

Rebelo de Sousa was leader of the Social Democratic Party from 31 March 1996 to 27 May 1999 (some weeks before his election as party leader, he declared he wouldn't be a leadership candidate, "not even if Christ came down to Earth"). He created a center-right coalition, the Democratic Alliance, with the People's Party in 1998. He became, however, the Vice-President of the European People's Party–European Democrats. The coalition didn't please large parts of its own party, due to the role the People's Party leader, Paulo Portas, had in undermining Cavaco Silva's government while director of the weekly O Independente.

Rebelo de Sousa resigned after Portas, in a TV interview, described a private talk they had had concerning this matter. Portas claimed Marcelo, as an anonymous source for O Independente, described in great detail a dinner where he wasn't present, down to the menu (which included vichyssoise); when later Paulo Portas, in revenge, went back on the decision of the coalition established between both their parties—the decision which was made before that dinner—the term vichyssoise – a cold soup – became a reference to that "revenge served cold". For these and other inconsistencies, he was called by Manuel Maria Carrilho political gelatin. A speech, in which he condemned the Portuguese habit of expecting a Messiah and a Dom Sebastião, was not well taken. The failure of the coalition led to his public and televised demission.

In other local elections, he also became the President of the Municipal Assembly of Cascais and the President of the Municipal Assembly of Celorico de Basto.

He had a weekly program of political analysis every Sunday on public TV station RTP after previously having a similar program on the private TV station TVI, where he was introduced as being the wisest and most perspicacious political analyst of current times. His comments cover everything, from politics to sports, including his famous presentations and comments on the newest published books; and they are sometimes controversial, some of the comments being seen as personal and political attacks.

In his analysis, still in TVI, he often attacked Pedro Santana Lopes, accusing him of being truculent, a cudgeller and resentful, and not having the profile to be a President of the Republic. This animosity remained until after he became Prime-Minister, with a particular commentary on his performance finishing with the statement that he was worse than the worst Guterres and that he was making Guterres look better and pushing them to Belém, leading to a response from Santana Lopes' Government Speaker Rui Gomes da Silva, who accused him of an involuntary cabal. The then-President of the network, Miguel Pais do Amaral, asked in a private dinner that Marcelo be more moderate in his attacks, something that Marcelo took as a form of censorship, leading to his exit from the program and the channel. It was after that episode that we was hired by RTP.

Partially in consequence of these events, President Jorge Sampaio dissolved the Assembly of the Republic, with that also dismissing the Government, at a time when it had a stable coalition majority, calling up for anticipated elections, that lead to the defeat of Santana Lopes and the election of José Sócrates, more popular at the time and the Secretary-General of the Party the President always belonged.

In 2010, he left RTP and returned to TVI to do the same program that he had before.

He is also a Member of the Portuguese Council of State, designated by the President of Portugal.

He was a leading figure on the pro-life side of the 2007 abortion referendum.

President of Portugal, 2016–present

On 24 January 2016, Rebelo de Sousa was elected as President of Portugal in the first round of voting. He stood as an independent, appealing for moderation and cross-party consensus.^[4] During his election campaign, he had been promising to repair political divisions and the hardship of Portugal's 2011-14 bailout. Unlike his predecessor, Anibal Cavaco Silva, he has never previously held a top state position.^[5]

Honours

National honours^[6]

•  Portugal: Grand Master of the Honorific Orders of Portugal (2016-Present)
•  Portugal: Grand Cross of the Order of Prince Henry (2005)
•  Portugal: Commander of the Order of Saint James of the Sword (1994)

Personal life

On 27 July 1972, in the parish of São Bento do Mato in Évora, Rebelo de Sousa married Ana Cristina da Gama Caeiro da Mota Veiga, born in the parish of Santos-o-Velho in Lisbon, on 4 June 1950, daughter of António da Mota Veiga and Maria Emília da Gama Caeiro and current widow without issue of Jorge Manuel Vassalo Sors Lagrifa (7 May 1948 – 2 February 2005), maternal grandson of Manuel António Vassalo e Silva, with whom he had two children:

• Nuno da Mota Veiga Rebelo de Sousa (b. parish São Sebastião da Pedreira, Lisbon, 8 August 1973)
• Sofia da Mota Veiga Rebelo de Sousa (b. Lisbon, São Sebastião da Pedreira, 27 September 1976)

He separated later in 1980, but has never divorced due to his religious belief.^[7] He has started dating his former pupil, in the 1980's, who was at the time his fellow lecturer at the Faculty of Law of the University of Lisbon. They are still dating, but living separately.^[8]

He claims to sleep only 4 to 5 hours daily and to read 2 books a day and is an avid surfer at the Guincho Beach in Cascais.

References

1. http://www.reuters.com/article/us-portugal-politics-idUSKCN0WB1B0
2. Teaching staff, Faculty of Law, University of Lisbon
3. Vince Chadwick (January 24, 2016), Portugal elects Rebelo de Sousa as president Politico Europe.
4. Paul Ames (January 24, 2016), 5 takeaways from Portugal’s presidential election Politico Europe.
5. Axel Bugge (March 9, 2016), President says Portugal must respect EU, avoid return to crisis Reuters.
6. http://www.ordens.presidencia.pt/?idc=153&list=1
7. "Quem é a mulher que não quer ser primeira-dama?". www.sabado.pt. Revista Sábado. Retrieved 12 March 2016.
8. "Quem é a mulher que não quer ser primeira-dama?". www.sabado.pt. Retrieved 13 March 2016.

• Costados Alentejanos, II, António Luís de Torres Cordovil Pestana de Vasconcelos, Edição do Autor, Évora 2006, N.º 41

External links

• Marcelo Nuno Duarte Rebelo de Sousa's genealogy in a Portuguese genealogical site