Diogo Freitas do Amaral
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| Prime Minister of Portugal (interim) |
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| Order: | 112th (58th of the Republic, 10th since the Carnation Revolution) |
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| Term of Office | December 4, 1980 - January 9, 1981 |
| Predecessor: | Francisco Sá Carneiro |
| Successor: | Francisco Pinto Balsemão |
| Date of Birth | July 21, 1941 |
| Place of Birth: | Póvoa de Varzim |
| Nickname | Freitas |
| Wife: | Maria José Salgado Sarmento de Matos |
| Occupation: | Professor of Law, writer, biographer, playwright, President of the United Nations General Assembly |
| Political Party: | Democratic and Social Centre, later independent in a Socialist government |
Diogo Pinto de Freitas do Amaral, GCC, GCSE, GCIH (pron. IPA [di'ogu 'fɾɐitɐʃ du ɐmɐ'ɾaɫ]; b. Póvoa de Varzim, 21 July 1941), usually referred to as either Freitas do Amaral or simply Freitas, is a Portuguese politician and law professor. He was Minister of Foreign Affairs from 12 March 2005 to 1 July 2006. He also served briefly as Prime Minister in an interim capacity in the early 1980s.
In 1974, some months after the Carnation Revolution, he was one of the founders of the Democratic and Social Centre (CDS), a right-wing party. He led this party till 1985, and again from 1988 to 1991. He served as a member of the Assembly of the Republic (the Portuguese Parliament) from 1975 to 1983, and again in 1992 and 1993.
In the parliamentary elections of 1979 and 1980, the Democratic Alliance (of which the CDS was a part) won a majority and formed the government, in which Freitas served as Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defence. He was also Minister of Foreign Affairs in 1980 and 1981. After the death of Francisco Sá Carneiro, Freitas do Amaral was interim Prime Minister for a short period.
He was a candidate for the presidency in the 1986 presidential election. Supported by his own People's Party and by the Social Democratic Party, he established a commanding lead in the first round, but lost the second round by some 150,000 votes to Mário Soares, who was endorsed by the two eliminated candidates.
He was President of the United Nations General Assembly in 1995.
A European federalist, he left the party he founded, disagreeing mainly with the Eurosceptic line followed by Manuel Monteiro and Paulo Portas.
Always seen as a right-winger, Freitas do Amaral supported the Social Democratic Party in the parliamentary election of 2002. However, disappointed with the government performance, and critical of its support for the U.S. invasion of Iraq, Freitas do Amaral surprised many observers by announcing his support for the Socialist Party in the 2005 election. He was subsequently nominated for Minister of Foreign Affairs of the XVII Constitutional Government, led by the Socialist leader José Sócrates. He resigned after a little over one year in office, citing health reasons.
He has authored biographies of King Afonso I and Viriato. He is married to the writer Maria Roma.
| Preceded by Amara Essy |
President of the United Nations General Assembly 1995–1996 |
Succeeded by Razali Ismail |
| Prime Ministers of Portugal since the Carnation Revolution (1974) |  |
|---|---|
| National Salvation Junta - Palma Carlos - Vasco Gonçalves - Pinheiro de Azevedo - Almeida Costa - Mário Soares - Nobre da Costa - Mota Pinto - Maria de Lurdes Pintasilgo - Sá Carneiro - Freitas do Amaral - Pinto Balsemão - Mário Soares - Cavaco Silva - António Guterres - Durão Barroso - Santana Lopes - José Sócrates |
1940s: Spaak (BEL) | Aranha (BRA) | Arce (ARG) | Evatt (AUS) | Rómulo (PHI) - 1950s: Entezam (IRI) | Nervo (MEX) | Pearson (CAN) | Pandit (IND) | van Kleffens (NED) | Maza (CHI) | Ortega (CHI) | Waithayakon (THA) | Munro (NZL) | Malik (LIB) | Belaúnde (PER) - 1960s: Boland (IRL) | Slim (TUN) | Khan (PAK) | Rodriguez (VEN) | Quaison-Sackey (GHA) | Fanfani (ITA) | Pazhwak (AFG) | Mănescu (ROM) | Catalán (GUA) | Brooks (LBR) - 1970s: Hambro (NOR) | Malik (INA) | Trepczyński (POL) | Benites (ECU) | Bouteflika (ALG) | Thorn (LUX) | Amerasinghe (SRI) | Mojsov (YUG) | Liévano (COL) | Salim (TAN) - 1980s: Wechmar (BRD) | Kittani (IRQ) | Hollai (HUN) | Illueca (PAN) | Lusaka (ZAM) | Piniés (ESP) | Choudhury (BAN) | Florin (DDR) | Caputo (ARG) | Garba (NGR) - 1990s: de Marco (MLT) | Shihabi (KSA) | Ganev (BUL) | Insanally (GUY) | Essy (CIV) | Freitas (POR) | Ismail (MAS) | Udovenko (UKR) | Opertti (URU) | Gurirab (NAM) - 2000s: Holkeri (FIN) | Han (KOR) | Kavan (CZE) | Hunte (LCA) | Ping (GAB) | Eliasson (SWE) | Al-Khalifa (BAH)
