António de Almeida Santos

António de Almeida Santos ( * February 15, 1926 in Cabeça, concelho Seia ) is a lawyer and the Partido Socialista (PS ) belong Direction former Portuguese politician.

Life

Almeida Santos grew up in the Freguesia Vide on at Seia. At eighteen, he began studying law at the University of Coimbra, which he completed in 1950. In Coimbra, he had also operated as a singing guitar player, one of his plays was Variações em ré menor / Variations in D minor.

In 1953 he settled in Mozambique and operating more than twenty years a law firm. He was in Maputo ( Lourenço Marques at the time ) on the grouping Democratas de Moçambique. He was twice a candidate for election to the National Assembly ( Assembleia Nacional) on a list of the democratic opposition, both times was the candidacy deleted by administrative colonial authority.

After the outbreak of the Carnation Revolution on April 25, 1974, he returned back to Portugal at the invitation of the then President of the Republic of António de Spinola. Among other things, he was present at the trial of the scheme of the transition of Angola in the state independence in the Alvor Agreement in mid-January 1975. It was followed by a steep political career. He was among other duties and authorities:

• Minister for coordinating inter-regional affairs in the provisional transitional governments I to IV
• Minister of Social Affairs in the Provisional Transitional Government of VI
• Justice Minister in the Cabinet Soares I (July 30, 1976 - December 9, 1977 )
• The Prime Minister assigned Minister without Portfolio ( equivalent to the German Chancellery Minister ) in the Cabinet Soares II ( was there involved in 1982 at the constitutional amendment that the Revolutionary Council - Conselho da Revolução - underlined )
• State Minister in the 9th Portuguese Government (June 18, 1983 - November 8, 1985 )
• President of the Parliament Assembleia da República (1995-1999; 1999-2002)
• Interim Secretary-General of the Socialist Party ( 1986)

He was also associated with older age politically position. So he defended in May 2011, the resignation announcement of José Sócrates in the event of his election defeat.

Awards

De Almeida was awarded the Ordem da Liberdade, awarded in 2004 by President Jorge Sampaio. In 2003 he received the North - South Prize of the Council of Europe.