José Sócrates

Common card · No. 426893

José Sócrates Carvalho Pinto de Sousa (born 6 September 1957), commonly known as José Sócrates (European Portuguese: [ʒuˈzɛ ˈsɔkɾɐtɨʃ]), 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 acted as president-in-office of the Council of the European Union. Sócrates grew up in the industrial city of Covilhã. He joined the centre-left Socialist Party in 1981 and was elected as a member of parliament in 1987. Sócrates entered the government in 1995, as secretary of state for Environment in the first cabinet of António Guterres. Two years later, he became Minister of Youth and Sports (where he helped to organize Portugal's successful bid to host UEFA Euro 2004) and in 1999 became Minister for Environment. Sócrates prominence rose during the governments of António Guterres to the point that when the prime minister resigned in 2001, he considered appointing Sócrates as his successor. In opposition, José Sócrates...

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