Augusto Santos Silva
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Augusto Ernesto dos Santos Silva (born 20 August 1956) is a Portuguese sociologist, university professor, and
politician A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking, a ...
who has been the President of the Assembly of the Republic since 2022, in the 15th Legislature. From November 2015 to March 2022, he was the Portuguese
Minister of Foreign Affairs A foreign affairs minister or minister of foreign affairs (less commonly minister for foreign affairs) is generally a cabinet minister in charge of a state's foreign policy and relations. The formal title of the top official varies between cou ...
, in the XXI and XXII Constitutional Governments led by
Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...
António Costa António Luís Santos da Costa GCIH (; born 17 July 1961) is a Portuguese lawyer and politician serving as the 119th and current prime minister of Portugal since 26 November 2015, presiding over the XXI (2015–2019), XXII (2019–2022) and ...
. Santos Silva had previously served in a number of ministerial roles, namely Minister of Education (2000–2001), Minister of Culture (2001–2002), Minister of Parliamentary Affairs (2005–2009), and Minister of National Defence (2009–2011), having joined the
Socialist Party Socialist Party is the name of many different political parties around the world. All of these parties claim to uphold some form of socialism, though they may have very different interpretations of what "socialism" means. Statistically, most of th ...
in 1990.


Early life and education

Silva was born on 20 August 1956, in the port city of
Porto Porto or Oporto () is the second-largest city in Portugal, the capital of the Porto District, and one of the Iberian Peninsula's major urban areas. Porto city proper, which is the entire municipality of Porto, is small compared to its metropol ...
. He graduated from the University of Porto with a degree in history in 1978 and later obtained a doctorate in sociology from
ISCTE – University Institute of Lisbon ISCTE – Instituto Universitário de Lisboa is a Portuguese public tertiary education institution. It is located in the city centre of Lisbon, in Cidade Universitária, adjoining the Institute of Social Sciences (ICS) and Institute of Geogr ...
in 1992.


Academic career

Silva started his career as an economics professor in Porto beginning in 1981. Eventually, he worked his way up to Chair of the Scientific Council and served as Dean of the University of Porto from 1998 to 1999. Silva also served on the National Board of Education from 1996 to 1999, the Commission on Social Security from 1996 to 1998 and the Board of Directors of the José Fontana Foundation from 2002 to 2005, which is affiliated with the
Socialist Party Socialist Party is the name of many different political parties around the world. All of these parties claim to uphold some form of socialism, though they may have very different interpretations of what "socialism" means. Statistically, most of th ...
. He also represented Portugal in the
Council of Europe The Council of Europe (CoE; french: Conseil de l'Europe, ) is an international organisation founded in the wake of World War II to uphold European Convention on Human Rights, human rights, democracy and the Law in Europe, rule of law in Europe. ...
's Education for Democratic Citizenship project from 1997 to 1999.


Political career

Silva started his political activity while at university, serving as a member of the Porto committee of the Workers' Revolutionary Union, a
Trotskyist Trotskyism is the political ideology and branch of Marxism developed by Ukrainian-Russian revolutionary Leon Trotsky and some other members of the Left Opposition and Fourth International. Trotsky self-identified as an orthodox Marxist, a rev ...
group aligned with the Internationalist Communist League. In the 1976 presidential election, he supported Otelo Saraiva de Carvalho, and in the 1980 election, he supported
António Ramalho Eanes António dos Santos Ramalho Eanes, GColL GCL GColTE CavA GCB RVC (; born 25 January 1935) is a Portuguese general and politician who was the 16th president of Portugal from 1976 to 1986. Background Born at Alcains, Castelo Branco, he is ...
. Silva also joined the Movement of Socialist Left, aligning himself with politicians such as
Alberto Martins Alberto Martins, GCL (born 25 April 1945), is a Portuguese lawyer and politician. He was a Deputy to the Assembly of the Republic in the V, VI, VII, VIII, IX, X and XI Legislatures, President of the Parliamentary Committee for Constitutional Af ...
, Arnaldo Fleming, and Jorge Ribeiro Strecht. In the 1986 election, he was a supporter of
Maria de Lourdes Pintasilgo Maria de Lourdes Ruivo da Silva de Matos Pintasilgo (; 18 January 1930 – 10 July 2004) was a Portuguese chemical engineer and politician. She was the first and to date only woman to serve as Prime Minister of Portugal, and the second woman to ...
in the first round, followed by Mário Soares in the second. Five years later, Silva officially joined the Socialist Party. He was first elected to the Assembly of the Republic in the
1995 elections The following elections occurred in the year 1995. Africa * 1995 Algerian presidential election * 1995 Beninese parliamentary election * 1995 Cape Verdean parliamentary election * 1995 Ethiopian general election * 1995 Guinean legislative elec ...
, where he has served continually ever since. Silva has served in a number of ministerial roles, beginning in 2000 when he was appointed Minister of Education in the government of Prime Minister
António Guterres António Manuel de Oliveira Guterres ( , ; born 30 April 1949) is a Portuguese politician and diplomat. Since 2017, he has served as secretary-general of the United Nations, the ninth person to hold this title. A member of the Portuguese Socia ...
, which he served as until 2001. At that time, he was appointed Minister of Culture, serving for a year in that role. From 2005 to 2009, Silva was the Minister of Parliamentary Affairs and the
Minister of Defense A defence minister or minister of defence is a cabinet official position in charge of a ministry of defense, which regulates the armed forces in sovereign states. The role of a defence minister varies considerably from country to country; in som ...
from 2009 to 2011, both in the governments of Prime Minister
José Sócrates José Sócrates Carvalho Pinto de Sousa, GCIH (born 6 September 1957), commonly known as José Sócrates (), is a Portuguese politician who was the prime minister of Portugal from 12 March 2005 to 21 June 2011. For the second half of 2007, he ...
.


Minister of Foreign Affairs, 2015–2022

From the beginning of 2015, Silva served as Minister of Foreign Affairs in the government of Prime Minister António Costa. In domestic and international deal-making, Santos Silva and Costa are widely seen as astute negotiators, having been building close ties with other Southern European governments during their time in office. In a diplomatic row over Venezuela's jailing of Portuguese supermarket managers on charges of gouging
food prices Food prices refer to the average price level for food across countries, regions and on a global scale. Food prices have an impact on producers and consumers of food. Price levels depend on the food production process, including food marketing an ...
, Silva summoned the Venezuelan ambassador to Lisbon in September 2018 and demanded that the problem be resolved swiftly. In 2020, Santos Silva categorically ruled out joining the so-called 17+1 group of eastern and south-eastern European countries that co-operate on China’s
Belt and Road Initiative The Belt and Road Initiative (BRI, or B&R), formerly known as One Belt One Road ( zh, link=no, 一带一路) or OBOR for short, is a global infrastructure development strategy adopted by the Chinese government in 2013 to invest in nearly 150 ...
(BRI), saying this was “not Portugal’s geopolitical space”.


President of the Assembly of the Republic, 2022–present

After the 2022 parliamentary election, Santos Silva was elected as President of the Assembly of the Republic, receiving 156 votes in favor, out of the 230 members of Parliament.


Other activities

Silva is also an author, his two most recent works being ''Os valores da esquerda democrática: vinte teses oferecidas ao escrutínio público'' ("''The values of the democratic Left: twenty propositions for public scrutiny''" – 2010), and ''A sociologia e o debate público: estudos sobre a relação entre conhecer e agir'' ("''Sociology and public debate: studies on the relation between knowing and acting''" – 2006). Additionally, he has served as a columnist for the ''
Jornal de Notícias ''Jornal de Notícias (JN)'' (; meaning ''News Journal'' in English) is a Portuguese daily national newspaper, one of the oldest in Portugal. History and profile ''JN'' was founded in Porto and was first published on 21 June 1888. It was one of ...
'', ''Público'', and TVI 24. Silva has also been documented attending a Bilderberg Group meeting in Ottawa Canada.


Honours


National honours

* Grand-Cross of the
Order of Liberty The Order of Liberty, or the Order of Freedom ( pt, Ordem da Liberdade), is a Portuguese honorific civil order that distinguishes relevant services to the cause of democracy and freedom, in the defense of the values of civilization and human di ...
,
Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...
(30 May 2022)


Foreign honours

* Grand Cross of the
Order of Merit of the Italian Republic The Order of Merit of the Italian Republic ( it, Ordine al Merito della Repubblica Italiana) is the senior Italian order of merit. It was established in 1951 by the second President of the Italian Republic, Luigi Einaudi. The highest-ranking ...
(April 1, 2002) * 80px Grand Cross of the Order of Charles III, Spain (25 November 2016) * Grand Cross of the Order of Honour,
Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders with ...
(21 April 2017) * 80px Grand Cross of the Order of Isabella the Catholic, Spain (14 April 2018)


Works

*''Oliveira Martins e o socialismo : ensaio de leitura crítica''. Porto : Afrontamento, 1979. *''Teoria e metodologia das ciências sociais : uma análise crítica das contribuições de Durkheim e Max Weber''. Porto, 1984. *''Metodologia das ciências sociais''. Com José Madureira Pinto. Porto : Afrontamento, 1986. *''Formar a nação : vias culturais do progresso segundo intelectuais portugueses do século XIX''. Porto : BEC, 1987. *''Consumos de artesanato : resultados de um inquérito''. Com Helena Santos. Porto : Centro Regional de Artes Tradicionais, 1988. *''Projecto para a promoção sociocultural : Centro Regional de Artes Tradicionais''. Porto : Centro Regional de Artes Tradicionais, 1988. *''Entre a razão e o sentido : Durkheim, Weber e a teoria das ciências sociais''. Porto : Afrontamento, 1988. *''Novos artesãos portugueses : quem são, o que fazem?''. Porto : Centro Regional de Artes Tradicionais, 1989. *''Educação de adultos : educação para o desenvolvimento''. Porto : Asa, 1990. *''Tempos cruzados : um estudo interpretativo da cultura popular''. Porto : Afrontamento, 1994. *''Prática e representação das culturas : um inquérito na área metropolitana do Porto''. Com Helena Santos. Porto : Centro Regional de Artes Tradicionais, 1995. *''Avaliação do sistema das escolas profissionais''. Coordenação de Júlio Montalvão e Silva. Colaboração de Augusto Santos Silva e José Manuel Prostes da Fonseca. Lisboa : Ministério da Educação, 1996. *''Palavras para um país : estudos incompletos sobre o século XIX português''. Oeiras : Celta, 1997. *''Educação para a cidadania democrática : algumas iniciativas em curso na área de Lisboa : projecto''. Coordenação e projecto de Augusto Santos Silva. Lisboa : Ministério da Educação, Gabinete de Assuntos Europeus e Relações Internacionais, 1998. *''Parte devida : intervenções públicas, 1992–1998''. Porto : Afrontamento, 1999. *''A educação artística e a promoção das artes, na perspectiva das políticas públicas : relatório do Grupo de Contacto entre os Ministérios da Educação e da Cultura''. Coordenador. Lisboa : Ministério da Educação, 2000. *''A educação para a cidadania no sistema educativo português : 1974–1999''. Com Carla Cibele Figueiredo. Lisboa : Ministério da Educação, 2000. *''Cultura e desenvolvimento : estudos sobre a Relação entre Ser e Agir''. Oeiras : Celta, 2000. *''Por uma política de ideias em educação''. Porto : Asa, 2002. *''Projecto e circunstância : culturas urbanas em Portugal''. Organização de Carlos Fortuna e Augusto Santos Silva. Direção de Boaventura de Sousa Santos. Porto : Afrontamento, 2002. *''A sociologia e o debate público : estudos sobre a relação entre conhecer e agir''. Porto : Afrontamento, 2006. *''Os valores da esquerda democrática : vinte teses oferecidas ao escrutínio crítico''. Coimbra : Almedina e Fundação Res Publica, 2010. *''Os porquês da esperança : ideias a favor do futuro em Portugal''. Com Paulo Magalhães. Lisboa : Matéria-Prima, 2015.A fonte das obras publicadas é
PORBASE


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Silva, Augusto Santos 1956 births Portuguese sociologists Portuguese politicians Socialist Party (Portugal) politicians Education ministers of Portugal Ministers of National Defence of Portugal Foreign ministers of Portugal Living people People from Porto Grand Crosses of the Order of Liberty Knights Grand Cross of the Order of Isabella the Catholic