I Constitutional Government of Portugal

Cabinet of Portugal
Prime Minister Mário Soares
Date formed23 July 1976 (1976-07-23)
Date dissolved23 January 1978 (1978-01-23)
People and organisations
President of the RepublicAntónio Ramalho Eanes
Prime MinisterMário Soares
Member partySocialist Party (PS)
Status in legislatureMinority government
Opposition parties
History
Election(s)1976 Portuguese legislative election (25 April 1976)
PredecessorVI Provisional Government of Portugal
SuccessorII Constitutional Government of Portugal

The I Constitutional Government of Portugal (Portuguese: I Governo Constitucional de Portugal) was the first non-provisional government of the Third Portuguese Republic, following the promulgation of the new Constitution of Portugal in April 1976. It had Mário Soares as the Prime Minister and lasted from 23 July 1976 to 23 January 1978.[1]

Background

Following the Carnation Revolution on 25 April 1974, Portugal entered a period of transition to democracy. During this period, which lasted for about two years, several provisional administrations governed the country, starting with the National Salvation Junta, which was followed by six other provisional governments composed of military and civilian members.

On 25 April 1975, one year after the revolution, elections were carried out in Portugal to elect the 250 members of the Constituent Assembly. The main goal of this Constituent Assembly was to write a new Constitution of Portugal to replace the Estado Novo's Constitution of 1933. This assembly had a one-year mandate with no governing functions, as the country continued to be governed by a military-civilian provisional government during the deliberations of the Constituent Assembly. The Socialist Party (PS), with 38% of the votes, was the party with most representation.

The new Constitution of Portugal, drafted over the course of a year, was finally promulgated on 2 April 1976. Immediately after the promulgation, the Constituent Assembly was disbanded.

On 25 April 1976, the first legislative elections were carried out to elect the members of the Assembly of the Republic (the new official name of the Portuguese Parliament) and the new Constitutional Government of Portugal. The Socialist Party won the election with 34.89% of the votes,[1] and got the approval of the President of Portugal António Ramalho Eanes to form a minority government. As the leader of PS, Mário Soares was sworn as Prime Minister, and became the first democratically-elect Prime Minister of the Third Portuguese Republic.

Composition

The government was composed of the Prime Minister, one Minister of State, a Minister without portfolio, and 15 ministries comprising Ministers, Secretaries and Sub-secretaries of State. The government also included the Ministers of the Republic for the Autonomous Regions of Azores and Madeira.[2]

Ministers of the I Constitutional Government of Portugal[1]
Office Minister Party Start of term End of term
Prime Minister Mário Soares PS 23 July 1976 23 January 1978
Minister of State Henrique de Barros PS 23 July 1976 23 January 1978
Minister without portfolio Jorge Campinos PS 23 July 1976 23 January 1978
Minister of National Defence Mário Firmino Miguel Independent 23 July 1976 23 January 1978
Minister of the Economic Plan and Coordination António Sousa Gomes PS 23 July 1976 23 January 1978
Minister of the Internal Administration Manuel da Costa Brás Independent 23 July 1976 23 January 1978
Minister of Justice António de Almeida Santos PS 23 July 1976 23 January 1978
Minister of Finance Henrique Medina Carreira PS 23 July 1976 23 January 1978
Minister of Foreign Affairs José Medeiros Ferreira PS 23 July 1976 11 October 1977
Mário Soares PS 12 October 1977 23 January 1978
Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries António Lopes Cardoso PS 23 July 1976 5 November 1976
António Barreto PS 5 November 1976 23 January 1978
Minister of Industry and Technology Walter Rosa PS 23 July 1976 7 January 1977
António Sousa Gomes PS 7 January 1977 25 March 1977
Alfredo Nobre da Costa Independent 25 March 1977 23 January 1978
Minister of Commerce and Tourism António Barreto PS 23 July 1976 25 March 1977
Carlos Mota Pinto Independent 25 March 1977 23 January 1978
Minister of Labour Francisco Marcelo Curto PS 23 July 1976 25 March 1977
António Maldonado Gonelha PS 25 March 1977 23 January 1978
Minister of Education and Scientific Research Mário Sottomayor Cardia PS 23 July 1976 23 January 1978
Minister of Social Affairs Armando Bacelar PS 23 July 1976 23 January 1978
Minister of Transports and Communications Emílio Rui Vilar PS 23 July 1976 23 January 1978
Minister of Housing, City Planning and Construction Eduardo Pereira PS 23 July 1976 23 January 1978
Minister of Public Works João Almeida Pina Independent 23 July 1976 23 January 1978
Minister of the Republic for the Autonomous Region of Azores Octávio Galvão de Figueiredo Independent 25 March 1977 23 January 1978
Minister of the Republic for the Autonomous Region of Madeira Lino Miguel Independent 25 March 1977 23 January 1978

Dissolution

By the second half of 1977, the situation of the Portuguese economy was deteriorating. During the summer of 1977, Prime Minister Mário Soares asked for a loan from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and several austerity measures were implemented, such as the rise of interest rates, devalue of the escudo and budget cuts.[3][4] However, the policies were quite unpopular and by late 1977 Soares was facing significant opposition in the Parliament.

In November 1977, Soares proposed a sizeable memorandum between parties and associations to seek common economic and social policies, which was rejected.[5] Because of this rejection, Soares presented a motion of confidence to the Parliament, which he lost by a 59 vote margin.[6] Consequently, Soares announced the dissolution of the government, which took effect on 23 January 1978.

References

  1. 1 2 3 "I Governo Constitucional - 1976-1978 - Composição". portugal.gov.pt (in Portuguese). Retrieved 8 May 2023.
  2. ↑ "Lei Orgânica do I Governo Constitucional". Diário da República. nº: 213/76 (in Portuguese). Portugal. 10 September 1976.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  3. ↑ "1º Programa de Assistência Económico-Financeira do FMI a Portugal" (in Portuguese). Observatório Nacional de Luta contra a Pobreza. Retrieved 30 May 2022.
  4. ↑ "Comunicação ao país do Primeiro-ministro Mário Soares" (in Portuguese). RTP. 25 August 1977. Retrieved 30 May 2022.
  5. ↑ "Mário Soares" (in Portuguese). Museu da Presidência da Republica. 25 August 1977.
  6. ↑ "Queda do I Governo Constitucional" (in Portuguese). RTP. 8 December 1977.


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