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The Prime Minister
is the title of the chief officer of the government in
Portugal. The prime minister co-ordinates the
ministers within the government and is accountable to
Parliament and keeps the President of Portugal
informed.
There are no limits to the number of terms can be served
as Prime Minister in Portugal, unlike other
countries. Usually the prime minister of Portugal is the
head of the leader of the winning party during
elections.
Prime Ministers have held office in Portugal for 176
years though many only for a few days or months. The
first to hold the office, though under a different name,
possibly chief minister, was Pedro de Sousa Holstein the
Marquess of Palmela who was sworn in on 24th
September 1834.
Since de Sousa’s signing in there have been a variety of
titles for the position including the Chief Officer of
the Government; Chief Steward, Head of the Ministry and
Chairman of the Council.
Since their inception in 1834 there have been 119 Prime
Ministers. During the constitutional monarchy there were
54 prime ministers with the shortest serving minister
only completing one day in office before being replaced.
During the period of the
first republic there were no less than 39 official prime
ministers. However during that period the post of Prime
Minister was also held by four persons concurrently
during a time of unrest. An elected minister
Francisco
Jose Fernandes Costa did not take office.
During the second republic
there were nine first ministers.
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