The 72-year-old law professor and TV personality is known among the Portuguese for his easy-going style. He is also a former leader of the centre-right Social Democratic Party, and has worked closely with the centre-left minority Socialist governments to help tackle the pandemic. He is strongly pro-European and describes his politics as “social right”.

Until the end of the month, 30 June 2021, Portugal will be presiding over the Council of the European Union for the fourth time.
The Portuguese début in these rotating presidencies took place in 1992, between January and June, under the motto “Towards the European Union”. The main achievements under that presidency consisted of the signing of the Treaty on European Union and of the Agreement on the European Economic Area.