Diogo de Freitas do Amaral

Diogo de Freitas do Amaral

Freitas do Amaral in 2005
110th Prime Minister of Portugal
Acting
In office
4 December 1980 – 9 January 1981
(1 month and 5 days)
President António Ramalho Eanes
Preceded by Francisco de Sá Carneiro
(effective)
Succeeded by Francisco Pinto Balsemão
(effective)
Minister of Foreign Affairs
In office
12 March 2005 – 3 July 2006
Prime Minister José Sócrates
Preceded by António Monteiro
Succeeded by Luís Amado
In office
10 January 1980 – 12 January 1981
Prime Minister Francisco de Sá Carneiro
Preceded by João Cardoso
Succeeded by André Gonçalves Pereira
Leader of the CDS – People's Party
In office
31 January 1988 – 22 March 1992
Preceded by Adriano Moreira
Succeeded by Manuel Monteiro
In office
19 July 1974 – 20 February 1983
Preceded by Position established
Succeeded by Francisco Lucas Pires
Deputy Prime Minister of Portugal
In office
4 September 1981 – 9 June 1983
Prime Minister Francisco Pinto Balsemão
Preceded by Position vacant
Succeeded by Ricardo Bayão Horta
In office
3 January 1980 – 9 January 1981
Prime Minister Francisco de Sá Carneiro
Preceded by Manuel Jacinto Nunes
Succeeded by Position vacant
Minister of National Defence
In office
4 September 1981 – 9 June 1983
Prime Minister Francisco Pinto Balsemão
Preceded by Luís de Azevedo Coutinho
Succeeded by Rui Machete
Personal details
Born (1941-07-21) 21 July 1941
Póvoa de Varzim, Portugal
Political party Independent
Other political
affiliations		 Democratic and Social Centre - People's Party
Spouse(s) Maria José Salgado Sarmento de Matos

Diogo Pinto de Freitas do Amaral, GCC, GCSE, GCIH (Portuguese pronunciation: [diˈoɡu ˈfɾɐjtɐʃ du ɐmɐˈɾaɫ]; b. Póvoa de Varzim, 21 July 1941), usually referred to as either Freitas do Amaral or informally Freitas, is a Portuguese politician and law professor. He was Minister of Foreign Affairs from 12 March 2005 to 3 July 2006. He also served briefly as Prime Minister in an interim capacity in the early 1980s.

Background

He is the third but first surviving son of Duarte de Freitas do Amaral and wife Maria Filomena de Campos Trocado, and the older brother of João de Freitas do Amaral.

Career

He is a Licentiate and a Doctorate in Law specialised in Administrative Law and Political Science from the Faculty of Law of the University of Lisbon, and a Cathedratic Professor in the Faculty of Law at the New University of Lisbon and is also a publicist.

Currently, he is Professor in the Faculty of Law of the Lusófona University of Lisbon, where he teaches and governs the chair of the Economics of Public Law in Law degree, developing other teaching activities in the same college.

In 1974, some months after the Carnation Revolution, he was one of the Founders and President of then 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 Deputy to the Assembly of the Republic (the Portuguese parliament) from 1975 to 1982 or 1983, and again in 1992 and 1993.

He was also a Member of the Portuguese Council of State between 1974 and 1982.

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 or Vice-Prime-Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs in 1980 and Deputy Prime Minister or Vice-Prime-Minister and Minister of Defence between 1981 and 1983. After the death of Francisco Sá Carneiro, Freitas do Amaral was interim Prime Minister for a short period between 1980 and 1981. Between 1981 and 1982 he was also the President of the European People's Party.

He was a candidate in 1985 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 and until 1996.

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 State and 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 and, as revealed to a newspaper, tiredness resulting from the many diplomatic trips taken.

He was also a Juridical Consultant of many companies.

He has authored a biography of King Afonso I and a play about Viriatus.

He also published a study of the actuality and reform of the prison system in Portugal.

Decorations

Marriage and issue

He married in Sintra, Santa Maria, on 31 July 1965 Maria José Salgado Sarmento de Matos, born in Lisbon on 13 October 1943, writer under the pseudonym Maria Roma, daughter of José Sarmento Osório de Vasconcelos de Matos (Moimenta da Beira, 28 July 1909 – Sintra, 17 July 1992), a maternal grandson of the 2nd Viscount (formerly Barons) of Moimenta da Beira, and wife (m. Lisbon, 27 January 1940) Maria do Carmo Roma Machado Cardoso Salgado (Lisbon, Santa Isabel, b. 18 February 1914), a half-grand-niece of the 1st Viscount de Faria e Maia, and has four children:

Electoral results

1986 Portuguese presidential election

Summary of the 26 January and 16 February 1986 Portuguese presidential election results

 
Candidates Supporting parties First round Second round
Votes % Votes %
Mário Soares Socialist Party 1,443,683 25.43 3,010,756 51.18
Diogo Freitas do Amaral Democratic and Social Centre, Social Democratic Party 2,629,597 46.31 2,872,064 48.82
Francisco Salgado Zenha Portuguese Communist Party, Democratic Renovator Party 1,185,867 20.88  
Maria de Lourdes Pintasilgo Independent 418,961 7.38
Ângelo Veloso[A] Portuguese Communist Party left the race
Total valid 5,677,525 100.00 5,882,820 100.00
Blank ballots 46,334 0.81 33,844 0.57
Invalid ballots 18,292 0.32 20,436 0.34
Total (turnout 75.38% and 77.99%) 5,742,151 5,937,100
A He left the race in favor of Salgado Zenha.
Source: Comissão Nacional de Eleições

Ancestors

Books

References

Diplomatic posts
Preceded by
Amara Essy		 President of the United Nations General Assembly
15 September 1995 – 14 September 1996 		Succeeded by
Razali Ismail
Political offices
Preceded by
João Carlos Lopes Cardoso		 Minister of Foreign Affairs
1980–1981 		Succeeded by
André Gonçalves Pereira
Preceded by
Francisco Sá Carneiro		 Prime Minister of Portugal
1980–1981 		Succeeded by
Francisco Pinto Balsemão
Preceded by
António Monteiro		 Minister of Foreign Affairs
2005–2006 		Succeeded by
Luís Amado
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