Antonio Guterres
António Manuel de Oliveira Guterres (b. April 30, 1949) is a Portuguese politician, a former prime minister, and current president of the Socialist International.
António Guterres was born in Lisbon and grew up there. As a young child, he already showed the abilities that would grant him the national award for best high school student of the year in 1965. He continued his studies in Instituto Superior Técnico, where he pursued degrees in physics and electronics. During his college years, Guterres was never involved in the student opposition to the fascist regime of António de Oliveira Salazar. He dedicated himself to his degree and the meetings of the JUC (Catholic University Students Movement), ending as a member of the Opus Dei. In 1971 he graduated and started an University career as Assistant Professor.
His political career started in 1972, when he enrolled as a member of the Socialist Party. Shortly thereafter, he quit the academic life and became a full-time politician. Following the Carnation Revolution of April 25, 1974 (which put an end to the fascist regime), Guterres was envolved in the organization of the Socialist Party, especially in the Lisbon section. Despite the initial mistrust felt by his laic peers due to his Catholic affinities, Guterres became one of the party leaders and held the following offices:
- Head of Office of the Secretary of State of Industry (1974 and 1975)
- Deputy for Lisbon, and later Castelo Branco in the Portuguese National Parliament (1976-1995)
- During this term he his responsible for several parliamentary commissions
- Leader of the parliamentary bench of the Socialist Party, succeeding Jorge Sampaio (1988)
In 1992, he became president of the Socialist Party and leader of the opposition against Aníbal Cavaco Silva's government. He was also nominated vice-president of the International Socialist in September of the same year.
Following the retirement of Cavaco Silva in 1995, the Socialist Party won the general elections and Guterres became prime minister of Portugal. With a style markedly different from that of his predecessor, based on dialogue and discussion with all sections of society, Guterres was a popular prime minister in the first years of his government. He was re-elected in 1999, and from January to July of 2000, he occupied the Presidency of the European Council. In 2002, following a disastrous result for the Socialist Party in the local elections, and the regrettable state of the Portuguese public finance, Guterres resigned and put an end to the government. Eduardo Ferro Rodrigues, until then minister of Social Security, assumed the Socialist party leadership, but the general elections were lost to the Social Democratic Party of José Manuel Durão Barroso, the current President of the European Commission.
Guterres is now retired from the Portuguese political scene but continues his work as President of the Socialist International, an office he has held since October 1999. He is rumoured to be a possible candidate in the upcoming presidential elections, to be held in January 2005.
