Antonio Costa’s cabinet was announced Wednesday evening, a list of 17 ministers and 38 secretaries of state. The socialist-majority government will take over on March 30, in a week. For the first time ever in the history of Portugal, the majority of ministers are women, 9 out of 17.
The cabinet is 20% smaller than usual. The number of ministers changed from 19 to 17 and the number of secretaries of state changed from 50 to 38. Costa decided to eliminate certain minister roles and create new ones, as well as join some. For example, the Minister of Sea and the Minister of Economics are now a single Minister of Economics and the Sea. Each minister has two or three secretaries of state, a number that has been reduced.
So, who are the new ministers for the Portuguese government?
Portuguese Cabinet Ministers 2022
Meet the new faces of Antonio Costa’s Portuguese government.
- Francisco Medina is the new Finance Minister, probably one of the most important roles in the cabinet. He is a former Lisbon mayor and is replacing João Leão.
- Catarina Sarmento e Castro is the new Minister of Justice, an ex-judge of the Constitutional Court.
- Ana Catarina Mendes is the new Deputy and Parliamentary Affairs minister, leaving her role as the president of the parliamentary group for PS.
- António Costa e Silva is the new Minister of the Economy and the Ocean. He is taking over the Minister of the Ocean, Ricardo Santos, and the minister of the Economy, Pedro Siza Vieira.
- Elvira Fortunado is the new Minister of Science. She is a scientist, professor, and vice-director of Nova University.
- Pedro Adão e Silva is the new Minister of Culture, a sociologist, and a professor of Political Science.
- José Luís Carneiro is the new Minister of Internal Administration. He has been the deputy of the Assembly of the Portuguese Republic since 2015.
- Helena Carreiras is the new Minister of Defence, taking over the role of João Gomes Cravinho. She is a specialist in military sociology and is a professor at ISCTE, as well as the head of the National Defence Institute.
- Duarte Cordeiro is the new Minister of the Environment and Climate Action, taking the spot of João Pedro Matos Fernandes. Cordeiro was the vice-president of the City Council of Lisbon from 2015 to 2019.
- João Gomes Cravinho is the new Minister of Foreign Affairs. He served as Minister of National Defence since 2018.
- João Costa is the new Minister of Education. He was a Secretary of State and was a faculty at Nova University.
- Mariana Vieira da Silva remains as Minister of the Presidency and is now the “number 2” of Prime Minister Antonio Costa.
- Marta Temido remains the Minister of Health, a role she took on in 2018. She is a specialist in hospital administration.
- Pedro Nuno Santos remains the Minister of Infrastructures and Housing. He has a degree in economics from ISEG-UTL.
- Ana Mendes Godinho remains the Minister of Labor, Solidarity, and Social Security. She had previously worked as the Secretary of State for Tourism until 2019.
- Ana Abrunhosa remains as Minister of Territorial Cohesion having done so since 2019. She has a doctorate in economics from the University of Coimbra.
- Maria do Céu Antunes remains as Minister of Agriculture which now also includes the ministry of food.
Portuguese President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa announced on Friday that the new Socialist-majority government is set to form its government on March 30. The ministers and secretaries of state announced on Wednesday will be set to take over if all the necessary proceedings run smoothly.
The Portuguese General Election occurred on January 30 to elect 230 members to the Assembly of the Republic. The Socialist Party won a majority with 117 seats, 9 up from the last election.
Take a look at our article on the Portuguese Political System to find out about the democratic process in Portugal.
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