Aníbal Cavaco Silva

Aníbal António Cavaco Silva
GCC
President of Portugal IncumbentAssumed office
09 March 2006Prime Minister José SócratesPreceded by Jorge Sampaio Prime Minister of PortugalIn office
06 November 1985 – 28 October 1995President António Ramalho Eanes
Mário SoaresPreceded by Mário SoaresSucceeded by António GuterresBorn 15 July 1939(1939-07-15) (age 68)
Boliqueime, Loulé, Algarve, PortugalPolitical party PSDSpouse Maria Alves da Silva, Mrs. Cavaco Silva Occupation Economist
Economics Lecturer
Economics Professor
Portuguese BankEconomical Studies Department Director
Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation investigator
Portuguese Bank financial adviserReligion Roman Catholic

Aníbal António Cavaco Silva GCC (pronounced [ɐˈnibaɫ kɐˈvaku ˈsiɫvɐ]; born in Boliqueime in the Loulé municipality in the Algarve region, on July 15, 1939), son of Teodoro Gonçalves Silva (Maritenda, Boliqueime, Loulé, August 30, 1912 - September 30, 2007) and wife (married at Boliqueime, Loulé, March 4, 1935) Maria do Nascimento Cavaco (Maritenda, Boliqueime, Loulé, December 27, 1912 -), is the President of the Portuguese Republic, having won the Portuguese presidential election on January 22, 2006. Cavaco Silva was sworn in on March 9, 2006.

He was previously Prime Minister of Portugal from November 6, 1985 to October 28, 1995. His tenure of ten years was the longest of any democratically elected Prime Minister in Portuguese history, and he was the first Portuguese Prime Minister to have won an absolute parliamentary majority under the present constitutional system established after the country's redemocratization, a feat which he achieved twice.

He married at the Church of the Monastery of São Vicente de Fora, São Vicente de Fora, Lisbon, on October 20, 1963 to Maria Alves da Silva, born at São Bartolomeu de Messines, Silves, on October 31, 1938, daughter of Francisco dos Santos Silva and wife Adelina de Jesus Pincho, and had two children:

Bruno Alves Cavaco Silva, married to Maria do Amparo Anacleto Silva, without issue
Patrícia Maria Alves Cavaco Silva, married to Luís Manuel de Sá Montez, by whom she had:
- Mariana Cavaco Silva de Sá Montez, born in 1996
- Afonso Cavaco Silva de Sá Montez, born in 1998
- António Luís Cavaco Silva de Sá Montez, born in 2001
- João Maria Cavaco Silva de Sá Montez, born in 2004

1 Early career
2 Decade in power: 1985-1995
3 Out of office: 1995 - 2006
4 Presidential candidacy and term
- 4.1 State visits
5 Timeline
6 Biography
7 Ancestors
8 References
9 External links

Early career

With his background as a professor of economics and a doctorate from the University of York, Cavaco Silva was appointed Minister of Finance by Prime Minister Francisco Sá Carneiro in 1980. He gained a reputation as an economic liberalizer, gradually dismantling regulations inhibiting free enterprise. He refused to serve in the Center Bloc coalition of Socialists and Social Democrats (PSD) that governed from 1983 to 1985, and his election to the leadership of the PSD on 2 June, 1985, portended the end of the coalition.

Decade in power: 1985-1995

The election that followed was complicated by the arrival of a new political party, the Party for Democratic Renewal (PRD) formed by the supporters of the President, António Ramalho Eanes. In the 250-member Assembly of the Republic, the nation's legislature, the PRD won 45 seats - at the expense of every party except Cavaco Silva's PSD. Despite winning less than 30 percent of the vote and 88 seats, the PSD was the only traditional political party not to suffer substantial losses; its 88 seats, in fact, represented a gain of 13 over the previous election. Cavaco Silva became Prime Minister on 6 November 1985.

Tax cuts and economic deregulation, along with the arrival of EU funds, spurred several years of uninterrupted economic growth, which increased Cavaco Silva's popularity. He was hampered, however, by a parliament controlled by the opposition. On most issues, his Social Democrats could rely on the 22 votes of the Social and Democratic Center Party (CDS), but the two parties' combined 110 votes fell 16 short of a parliamentary majority. The Socialists and Communists held 57 and 38 seats respectively; Cavaco Silva could govern if the 45 members of the PRD, who held the balance of power, abstained, as they frequently did. In 1987, however, the PRD withdrew its tacit support, and a parliamentary vote of no confidence forced president Mário Soares to call an early election.

The results of the election stunned even the most optimistic of Cavaco Silva's supporters. His Social Democrat party captured 50.2 percent of the popular vote and 148 of the 250 seats in the Assembly of the Republic. Far behind were the Socialists, with only 60 seats, and the Communists, with 31. The CDS and the PRD were virtually wiped out, left with only 4 and 7 seats, respectively. This was the first time in Portuguese history that a single party had won an outright parliamentary majority.

The 1991 election was another triumph for Cavaco Silva, which yielded a majority even larger (50.4 percent) than the one of four years earlier. However, the 1993 European economic crisis, sparking a high unemployment rate, and the country's mistrust of long-spanning governments, eroded his popularity. He decided not to contest the 1995 election, and the PSD, lacking a leader of his stature, lost 48 seats and the election.

Out of office: 1995 - 2006

Cavaco Silva contested the 1996 Presidential election, but was defeated by the Mayor of Lisbon, Jorge Sampaio, the Socialist candidate. Retiring from politics, he served for several years as an advisor to the board of the Banco de Portugal (Bank of Portugal), but retired from this position in 2004. He then became a full Professor at the School of Economics and Management of the Catholic University of Portugal, where he taught the undergraduate and MBA programs.

He declined to support Pedro Santana Lopes in the parliamentary election of 2005, despite pressure from within his party.

Member of the Club of Madrid [1]. [1]

Aníbal Cavaco Silva is an Honorary Member of The International Raoul Wallenberg Foundation

Presidential candidacy and term

On October 20, 2005, Cavaco Silva announced his candidacy to the Presidential election. He was elected president on January 22, 2006 with 50.6% of votes cast, avoiding a second-round run-off. He is the first elected Centre-right president in Portugal since 1974. He is also the second former Prime Minister to be elected to the Presidency, following in the footsteps of Mário Soares.

He was sworn-in on March 9, 2006.

State visits

Spain (September 25 to September 28, 2006)

President Cavaco Silva was invited to visit Spain by King Juan Carlos in March, through Prince Felipe. His visit was overshadowed by the announcement of Princess Letizia's pregnancy.

India (January 11 to January 17, 2007)

During this visit, President Cavaco Silva received an honorary degree by the Goa University on January 14 and participated in several initiatives on economic themes.

United States (June 19, June 23, 2007)

During this visit, President Cavaco Silva plans to open an exhibition concerning Portugal's role in the discovery and convergence of diverse cultures, and to contact some Portuguese communities on the North American Eastern Seaboard, including the city of Fall River, Massachusetts whose Portuguese-descended population (43.9 percent at the 2000 census) is the highest of any municipality in the United States. Fall River features a replica of "The Gates of the City of Ponta Delgada" or "Portas da Cidade" in Portuguese.

Timeline

Biography

Cavaco Silva, Autobiografia politica, vol I and II.

Ancestors

Ancestors of Aníbal António Cavaco Silva 16. Jacinto Gonçalves 8. Domingos Gonçalves 17. Maria Vitória 4. Joaquim Gonçalves Silva 18. José da Silva 9. Maria da Silva 19. Joana Maria 2. Teodoro Gonçalves Silva 20. José Gonçalves Bento 10. José Gonçalves Bento 21. Maria Gertrudes 5. Maria Jacinta 22. José Gomes (below) 11. Jacinta Gomes 23. Vitória Maria da Ponte (below) 1. Aníbal António Cavaco Silva 24. Manuel Martins Cavaco 12. Manuel Martins Cavaco 25. Maria das Dores 6. Joaquim Martins Cavaco 26. José Gomes (above) 13. Inácia Gomes 27. Vitória Maria da Ponte (above) 3. Maria do Nascimento Cavaco 28. José Martins Mogo 14. António Martins Mogo 29. Maria de Sousa 7. Rosa da Conceição 30. Manuel Rodrigues de Matos 15. Jacinta da Conceição 31. Maria da Conceição

v • d • e Presidents of Portugal First Republic Manuel de Arriaga · Teófilo Braga · Bernardino Machado · Sidónio Pais · Canto e Castro · António José de Almeida · Teixeira Gomes · Bernardino Machado Second Republic Mendes Cabeçadas · Gomes da Costa · Óscar Carmona · Oliveira Salazar · Craveiro Lopes · Américo Thomaz Third Republic National Salvation Junta · António de Spínola · Costa Gomes · Ramalho Eanes · Mário Soares · Jorge Sampaio · Cavaco Silva

v • d • e Prime Ministers of Portugalsince the Carnation Revolution (1974)National Salvation Junta- Palma Carlos- Vasco Gonçalves- Pinheiro de Azevedo- Almeida e 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 << Second Republic

v • d • e Heads of stateof the European Union member states Fischer(AT) · Albert II(BE2) · Parvanov(BG) · Christofias1 (CY) · Klaus(CZ) · Margrethe II(DK2) · Ilves(ET) · Halonen(FI) · Sarkozy1 (FR) · Köhler(DE) · Papoulias(GR) · Sólyom(HU) · McAleese(IE) · Napolitano(IT) · Zatlers(LV) · Adamkus(LT) · Henri(LU2) · Fenech Adami(MT) · Beatrix(NL2) · Kaczyński(PL) · Cavaco Silva (PT) · Băsescu(RO) · Gašparovič(SK) · Türk(SL) · Juan Carlos I(ES2) · Carl XVI Gustaf(SE2) · Elizabeth II(UK2) 1 Also members of the European Council. 2 Monarchies.

References

^ (English) [http://www.clubmadrid.org The Club of Madrid is an independent organization dedicated to strengthening democracy around the world by drawing on the unique experience and resources of its Members – 66 democratic former heads of state and government.

External links

Official Site of the President of the Republic

PersondataNAME Cavaco Silva, Aníbal ALTERNATIVE NAMES Cavaco Silva, Aníbal António (full name) SHORT DESCRIPTION President of PortugalDATE OF BIRTH July 15, 1939PLACE OF BIRTH Boliqueime, Loulé, Algarve, PortugalDATE OF DEATH PLACE OF DEATH