Pedro Nuno de Oliveira Santos (born 13 April 1977) is a Portuguese

economist An economist is a professional and practitioner in the social sciences, social science discipline of economics. The individual may also study, develop, and apply theories and concepts from economics and write about economic policy. Within this ...

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 is the Secretary-General of 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 ...

. Santos previously held positions in the

Portuguese Government , border = Central , image = , caption = , date = , state = Portuguese Republic , address = Official Residence of the Prime MinisterEstrela, Lisbon , appointed = President o ...

under

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 ...

, first as Secretary of State for Parliamentary Affairs, from November 2015 to February 2019, and afterwards as Minister of Infrastructure and Housing, from February 2019 to January 2023. Santos has a degree in economics from ISEG-UTL. He was Secretary-General of the Socialist Youth from 2004 to 2008, and a member of the Assembly of the Republic in the 10th and 12th Legislatures. As Secretary of State for Parliamentary Affairs in the XXI Constitutional Government, he was responsible for coordinating the

confidence and supply In a parliamentary democracy based on the Westminster system, confidence and supply are required for a ruling cabinet to retain power in the lower house. A confidence-and-supply agreement is one whereby a party or independent members of parl ...

agreement with the

Communist Party A communist party is a political party that seeks to realize the socio-economic goals of communism. The term ''communist party'' was popularized by the title of ''The Manifesto of the Communist Party'' (1848) by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels. A ...

, the

Left Bloc Left Bloc may refer to: * Left Bloc (Portugal), a political party in Portugal * Left Bloc (Croatia), a political alliance in Croatia * Left Bloc (Hungary) The Left Bloc (in Hungarian: ''Baloldali Blokk'') was a political alliance in Hungary, f ...

and "The Greens", a government solution that became colloquially known as the ''geringonça''. In December 2023, Santos was

elected Elected may refer to: * "Elected" (song), by Alice Cooper, 1973 * ''Elected'' (EP), by Ayreon, 2008 *The Elected, an American indie rock band See also *Election An election is a formal group decision-making process by which a populatio ...

to succeed

as Secretary-General of the Socialist Party. He assumed office on 7 January 2024.

Early life and career

Santos is the son of Maria Augusta Leite de Oliveira Santos and Américo Augusto dos Santos, entrepreneur of the Tecmacal group, in the footwear and industrial equipment industries, from

São João da Madeira São João da Madeira (), is a city and a List of municipalities of Portugal, municipality in northwestern region of the Portugal, Portuguese Norte Region, Portugal, Norte region. It's part of the larger Porto Metropolitan Area, located 30 k ...

, and for some time councilor for the PS in the Municipal Chamber (Town Hall) of that city. In the associative field, Pedro Nuno Santos was President of the Student Association of the Dr. Serafim Leite Secondary School, in São João da Madeira, chairman of the Board of the General Meeting of Students (RGA) of the Superior Institute of Economics and Management (ISEG) of the

Technical University of Lisbon The Technical University of Lisbon (UTL; pt, Universidade Técnica de Lisboa, ) was a Portuguese public university. It was created in 1930 in Lisbon, as a confederation of preexisting schools, and comprised the faculties and institutes of veter ...

and Member of the Directorate of the Student Association of the same, where he graduated in

Economics Economics () is the social science that studies the Production (economics), production, distribution (economics), distribution, and Consumption (economics), consumption of goods and services. Economics focuses on the behaviour and intera ...

Political career

Santos served a term as

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...

of the Parish Assembly of São João da Madeira, Deputy of the Municipal Assembly of São João da Madeira, President of the Aveiro Federation of Socialist Youth and General Secretary of Socialist Youth (2004-2008). He was a Deputy in the 10th and 12th Legislature, having been, in the last Legislature, responsible for the Economy Commission and the Parliamentary Inquiry Commission into the BES case and was vice-president of the

Parliamentary Group and member of the Permanent Commission of the Assembly of the Republic. He was President of the Federation of Aveiro of the Socialist Party.

Secretary of State for Parliamentary Affairs (2015–2019)

In António Costa's first government, Santos held the position of Secretary of State for Parliamentary Affairs and was responsible for coordinating the parties that formed the governing solution known as "geringonça" and that joined the

, the

and

Ecologist Party "The Greens" The Ecologist Party "The Greens" ( pt, Partido Ecologista "Os Verdes", , PEV) is a Portuguese eco-socialist political party. It is a member of the European Greens and a founding member of the European Federation of Green Parties. It was the fir ...

. Santos has asserted himself as a possible candidate for PS leader, in succession to António Costa.

Minister of Infrastructure and Housing (2019–2022)

Santos served as Minister of Infrastructure and Housing in the XXII Constitutional Government. The investment in the railroad has been at the center of his concerns and since he took office there have been several investments made in this area, starting with the implementation of Railroad 2020. At CP, he has been responsible for a new plan for the recovery of rolling stock, which has allowed to put into service dozens of carriages and locomotives parked for many years. He was the face of the solution found to save TAP, through public support approved in Brussels, in the amount of 1.2 billion euros, which allowed the State to keep 72.5% of the national airline. This support was equivalent to that given to all other national companies. He has been a supporter of the construction of the new Lisbon airport at Montijo, and in the face of opposition from the

Seixal Seixal () is a Portugal, Portuguese city and municipality, located in the district of Setúbal District, Setúbal, in the metropolitan area of Lisbon region, Lisbon. Its population includes 184,269 inhabitants (2011), in an area of that includes ...

and

Moita Moita () is a municipality in the district of Setúbal in Portugal. The population in 2011 was 66,029, in an area of 55.26 km2. The municipality is part of the Greater Lisbon Area, with a demographic rate of 1.194,9/km2 in 2011, growing from ...

municipalities to this work, he came to affirm that the law that gives this power to municipalities should be changed. In December 2022, Santos stepped down from his post, following a public backlash over a hefty severance pay a secretary of state received from state-owned airline TAP, which fell under his remit. He was succeeded by João Galamba and Marina Gonçalves.

Secretary-General of the Socialist Party

On 13 November 2023, Santos publicly announced his candidacy for the

election An election is a formal group decision-making process by which a population chooses an individual or multiple individuals to hold public office. Elections have been the usual mechanism by which modern representative democracy has opera ...

of the new leader of the Portuguese Socialist Party, which had been called following the

resignation Resignation is the formal act of leaving or quitting one's office or position. A resignation can occur when a person holding a position gained by election or appointment steps down, but leaving a position upon the expiration of a term, or choos ...

from his role as

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 ...

and the scheduling of snap legislative elections. On 16 December of the same year, he was officially elected as the party's new

Secretary-General Secretary is a title often used in organizations to indicate a person having a certain amount of authority, power, or importance in the organization. Secretaries announce important events and communicate to the organization. The term is derived ...

, winning against

José Luís Carneiro José Luís Pereira Carneiro (born 4 October 1971) is a Portuguese politician from the Socialist Party. Political career He has been Minister of Internal Administration in the XXIII Constitutional Government of Portugal The XXIII Cons ...

with about 62% of all votes.

Political positions

Santos is one of the faces on the left wing of the PS, even attending the

Avante! Festival The ''Avante!'' Festival ( pt, Festa do Avante!) is an annual cultural festival held during the first weekend of September. It was started in 1976 by the Portuguese Communist Party and is named after the party's official newspaper, '' Avante!'' ...

. In an interview he said that "before there was a left wing in the PS, today there is a small right wing." Since the time he was JS leader, Santos has defended understandings between the parties of the Portuguese left. In December 2011, when Portugal was facing a sovereign debt crisis, in a PS Christmas dinner in Castelo de Paiva, Santos suggested that

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 ...

could threaten not to pay its sovereign debt in those situations, and advocated that the government should question the demands of international creditors, including German bankers, or renegotiate the debt to save the Portuguese from the sacrifices of austerity.

Recognition

*Great Cross of Merit of the

Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany The Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany (german: Verdienstorden der Bundesrepublik Deutschland, or , BVO) is the only federal decoration of Germany. It is awarded for special achievements in political, economic, cultural, intellect ...

(May 26, 2009)

Personal life

Santos is 1.88 m tall. He is married to Ana Catarina Gamboa, with whom he has a son. Gamboa was also a member of the Socialist Youth and worked as Chief of Staff of the Assistant Secretary of State and Parliamentary Affairs, while Santos was Minister of Infrastructure and Housing.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nuno Santos, Pedro 1977 births Living people Socialist Party (Portugal) politicians Members of the Assembly of the Republic (Portugal) Government ministers of Portugal Recipients of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany