Prime Minister of Portugal
Pedro Manuel Mamede Passos Coelho born in Coimbra, on July 24, 1964. Is a Portuguese manager, politician, president of the Social Democratic Party and the Prime Minister of Portugal.
Passos Coelho leads the XIX Governo Constitucional (19th Constitutional Government of Portugal), as Prime Minister of Portugal, since June 21, 2011.
Biography
Early years
Pedro Passos Coelho was born in the parish of Sé Nova in Coimbra, Portugal, in 24 July 1964. He is the younger son of a medical doctor, António Passos Coelho (born Vale de Nogueiras, Vila Real, Douro, 31 May 1926) and the woman he married in 1955, a nurse, Maria Rodrigues Santos Mamede (born Santana da Serra, Ourique, Baixo Alentejo, c. 1930). He has an older sister, Maria Teresa Mamede Passos Coelho, a medical doctor, and a older brother, Miguel Mamede Passos Coelho, who was born with cerebral palsy.
He spent his childhood in Angola—one of Portugal's overseas possessions by then—where his father practised medicine. After the Carnation Revolution of 1974 and the independence of the territory as the People's Republic of Angola, he returned with his family to Europe and settled in Vila Real, Northern Portugal.
He started very early in politics, as a 14 years old boy, and had a long and prominent career in the youth branch of the Social Democratic Party (PSD), the JSD, where he was a member of the National Council (1980–1982). As a young student, his academic interests, vocations and ambitions where directed towards a future career in medicine, in order to follow his father and older sister steps, or instead mathematics. However, his largest ambition and vocation revolved around politics.
Education
Passos Coelho went to Africa at 5 years old, and studied in basic schools of the cities of Silva Porto and later Luanda, in the Portuguese territory of Angola, until the age of 10. His parents went to the Portuguese African territory of Angola to work there among the native rural populations who where plagued by diseases such as tuberculosis. Firstly, Pedro studied in a nun-run Catholic school, then in the public school, and again in another Catholic school run by the Maristas. Then, after the Carnation Revolution in 1974, and the dismantling of the Portuguese Overseas Empire in Africa, he returned to Europe, settling in his grandparents estate, in Valnogueiras, near the city of Vila Real, Norte Region, Portugal. In order to attend a secondary education institution in Vila Real, the Liceu Nacional Camilo Castelo-Branco (Camilo Castelo-Branco National High School), he moved to the city. His father only rejoined the family in 1975, the year that Angola became an independent territory known as the People's Republic of Angola. At the age of 19, Passos Coelho went to Lisbon in order to study mathematics at the University of Lisbon. This course was his second option after medicine at the same university, however he did not reach by a fraction the extremely high marks needed to be admitted in the Lisbon Medical School. Meanwhile he had taught mathemathics at the Escola Secundária de Vila Pouca de Aguiar high school for a year (1982/1983). In Lisbon, he made a living by working as a part-time private mathematics tutor, and continued to develop his political career as a promising figure of the PSD youth branch (JSD). He was elected vice-president of JSD in 1987, and president in 1991. However, Pedro did not graduate in mathematics by the University of Lisbon. He had his first child when he was 24 years old (1988), just before he was married for the first time to Fátima Padinha, former member of girl band Doce. After dropping out the University of Lisbon he would enroll in 1999 for the Lusíada University from where he would be awarded a degree in Economics in 2001, when he was 37 years old, and had already been member of the parliament between 1991–1999, among other attributions (he worked in a public relations capacity during the late 1980s in Qimibro, a metals broker and trading firm founded by José Manuel Bento dos Santos and Eduardo Catroga, after invitation by a cousin who worked there).
Political career
Starting very early in politics, he had a long career in the youth branch of the Social Democratic Party (PSD), the JSD, where he was a member of the National Council (1980–1982) and Chairman of the Political Committee (1990–1995). He was a Lisbon deputy to the Assembly of the Republic in the VI and VII Legislatures (1991–1999); he also joined the Parliamentary Assembly of NATO (1991–1995) and was vice chairman of the Parliamentary Group of the PSD (1996–1999). In 1997, he ran for mayor of Amadora without success, but was elected municipal councillor (1997–2001). After has been member of the parliament from 1991 to 1999, Passos Coelho became eligible by law to a life pension, however, he declined the offer.
He was awarded a degree in economics by Lusíada University (Lisbon) when he was 37 (2001). He became a consultant with Tecnoformas (2000–2004), consultant of consultants LDN (2001–2004), Director of the Training Department and coordinator of the Program of Seminars URBE – Núcleos Urbanos de Pesquisa e Intervenção (2003–2004). He joined the company Fomentinvestas a CFO (2004–2006) working with Ângelo Correia, chairman of Fomentinvest and also a noted member of the PSD. Correia, an experienced member of PSD, is a close friend of Passos Coelho, both inside their party and corporate governance careers, and is considered Passos Coelho's political mentor.Passos Coelho became a member of the Executive (in 2007), accumulating the functions of chairman of the Board of the HLCTejo (2007–2009).
He was vice-president of the PSD during the leadership of Luis Marques Mendes (2005–2006), and has also been president of the Municipal Assembly of Vila Real Municipality since 2005; he was a presidential candidate for the PSD in May, 2008, where he proposed for the first time a programmatic review of the party's orientation. Defeated by Manuela Ferreira Leite, he founded, with a group of his supporters, the think-tank Construir Ideias (Building Ideas). On 21 January 2010, his book Mudar ("To Change") was published, and he was again candidate for the leadership of the PSD for the direct elections in March 2010; he was elected president of the PSD on 26 March 2010.
By 2010, in a context of sovereign default, he tried to persuade the Socialist government under the leadership of José Sócrates to adopt a package of austerity measures in order to maintain economic stability, but the government failed to do so, leading to a vote of no confidence that removed the government on 23 March 2011, and the general election of 5 June 2011.Personal life
Passos Coelho lives in Massamá, Greater Lisbon. He was married to Fátima Padinha, a former singer with the girl band Doce, by whom he has two daughters, Joana Padinha Passos Coelho (born 1988) and Catarina Padinha Passos Coelho (born 1993), and he is now married to Laura Ferreira, a physiotherapy technician, born in Bissau, Portuguese Guinea, by whom he has one daughter, Júlia Ferreira Passos Coelho (born 2007). His older daughter, Joana Padinha Passos Coelho suffered a life threatening accident at young age, with sequels.Apart from his native language, he is fluent in English.
Prime Minister of Portugal
On June 5, 2011, after the Portuguese legislative election, 2011, Passos Coelho was elected Prime Minister of Portugal. He achieved a historical win for his political party, the PSD, defeating José Sócrates of the Socialists. Through a coalition with CDS-PP, Passos Coelho and the PSD were in position to form a right-wing majority in the Portuguese Parliament. Immediately after the election, he started conversations with Christian-Democratic President Paulo Portas to form the coalition.
