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There
have been 20 presidents in
Portugal since the revolution
of 5th October 1910 when a republican regime was
installed. The president of Portugal is the head of
state and the official title is President of
Portuguese Republic.
The
president of Portugal
is elected to office and serves a five year term. Under
the Constitution of Portugal, a president may serve a
maximum of two consecutive terms. However a president
who has served for two consecutive terms, may run for a
further third, non consecutive term. The official
resident of the president is the Palace of Belém near
Lisbon.
Although
the president of Portugal has wide ranging powers
including the ability to dissolve Parliament, these are
rarely used. Out of
the 20 heads of state only three have resigned during
office. Though four have been forced to resign due to
'Coup d'etat'. Only one of Portugal's presidents has had
the misfortune to be assassinated during office.
Sidonio Pais, known as the
president king, was born in the small central Portugal
village of
Dornes, near Ferreira do Zęzere.
He only served
a short period in office as president, but had the
misfortune of having two assassination attempts on his
life. The first he survived, but the second he was not
so fortunate.
His killer Jose Julio da
Costa (the great grandfather of the present Mayor of
Lisbon Antonio Costa) shot him at Rossio Railway station
in Lisbon as he prepared to board the train to meet
Military Juntas in Porto.
Only one president of
Portugal has died in office through natural causes -
Antonio Oscar Fragoso Carmona. Carmona, the eleventh
president of the country, was effectively a puppet of
Salazar and died in office in 1951.
The current president is Anibal Cavaco Silva, whom served two terms
as
Prime Minister of Portugal. |
