XXI Constitutional Government of Portugal

XXI Constitutional Government of Portugal
cabinet of Portugal
António Costa in 2014
Date formed	26 November 2015
People and organisations
Head of government	António Costa (PS), Prime minister
Head of state	Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, President
Number of ministers	17 ministers and the prime minister
Status in legislature	Socialist Party (PS) minority government, supported by Left Bloc (B.E.), Portuguese Communist Party (PCP) and Ecologist Party "The Greens" (PEV)
Opposition parties	Social Democratic Party (PSD) CDS – People's Party People–Animals–Nature
History
Election(s)	Portuguese legislative election, 2015
Predecessor	XX Constitutional Government of Portugal

The XXI Constitutional Government of Portugal (Portuguese: XXI Governo Constitucional de Portugal) is the 21st Cabinet of the Portuguese government since the establishment of the current constitution. It was established on 26 November 2015 as a Socialist Party (PS) minority government led by prime minister António Costa.

Background

After the 2015 legislative election resulted in a hung parliament, the leader of the Portugal Ahead alliance, former prime minister Pedro Passos Coelho (PSD) was given the task of forming a new government. As his minority government however failed to secure support by the Socialists, the government programme was rejected by a vote of 123 to 107 MPs, leading to the government's disbandment within less than a month.^[1]

In the meantime, Socialist Party leader António Costa had succeeded in securing support for a Socialist minority government by the Left Bloc (B.E.), the Portuguese Communist Party (PCP) and the Ecologist Party "The Greens" (PEV). Subsequently, he was appointed the new prime minister on 24 November 2015.^[2] The cabinet members took their oath of office on 26 November 2015.

Composition

Ministry	Incumbent	Party		Term
Prime Minister	António Costa		Socialist Party	since 26 November 2015
Foreign Affairs	Augusto Santos Silva		Socialist Party	since 26 November 2015
Presidency and Administrative Modernization	Maria Manuel Leitão Marques		Socialist Party	since 26 November 2015
Finance	Mário Centeno		Independent	since 26 November 2015
National Defence	José Alberto Azeredo Lopes		Independent	since 26 November 2015
Internal Administration	Constança Urbano de Sousa		Independent	since 26 November 2015
Justice	Francisca Van Dunem		Independent	since 26 November 2015
Adjunct Minister	Eduardo Cabrita		Socialist Party	since 26 November 2015
Culture	João Soares		Socialist Party	26 November 2015 to 8 April 2016
	Luís Filipe Castro Mendes		Independent	since 14 April 2016
Science, Technology and Higher Education	Manuel Heitor		Independent	since 26 November 2015
Education	Tiago Brandão Rodrigues		Independent	since 26 November 2015
Labour, Solidarity and Social Security	José António Vieira da Silva		Socialist Party	since 26 November 2015
Health	Adalberto Campos Fernandes		Independent	since 26 November 2015
Planning and Infrastructure	Pedro Marques		Socialist Party	since 26 November 2015
Economy	Manuel Caldeira Cabral		Independent	since 26 November 2015
Environment	João Pedro Matos Fernandes		Independent	since 26 November 2015
Agriculture	Luís Capoulas Santos		Socialist Party	since 26 November 2015
Maritime Affairs	Ana Paula Vitorino		Socialist Party	since 26 November 2015

References

1. Angelique Chrisafis (10 November 2015). "Portuguese MPs force minority government to quit over austerity". The Guardian. Retrieved 4 December 2015.
2. "Presidente da República indicou Secretário-Geral do PS para Primeiro-Ministro" (in Portuguese). Presidência da República. 24 November 2015. Retrieved 4 December 2015.