Durao Barroso (original) (raw)

Jos� Manuel Dur�o Barroso is a Portuguese politician, prime minister since April 6 2002.

Dur�o Barroso was born in Lisbon in March 23 1956. He is graduated in Law by the University of Lisbon and has an MSc in Economic and Social Sciences by the University of Genebra. His academic career continued as an Assistant Professor in the Law School of the University of Lisbon and the Political Sciences Department in Georgetown University (Washington DC), where he made research for a PhD. Back in Lisbon, Dur�o Barroso was the director of the Department for International Relations in the Lusiad University.

Dur�o Barroso political activity started in his college days, before the Carnation Revolution of April 25 1974. He was one of the leaders of PCTP-MRPP (Portuguese acronym for Communist Party of the Portuguese Workers ? Revolutionary Movement of the Portuguese Proletariat), a party with left-wing philosophy. In December 1980, Dur�o Barroso joined PSD (Social-Democratic Party), where he remains to the present day.

His political career in PSD took him to the following offices:

In 1990 he was the main promoter of the Bicesse Agreement that led to a temporary armistice in Angola's civil war between MPLA and UNITA of Jonas Savimbi. He also divulged the cause for independence of East Timor, then a oppressed province of Indonesia, in the international political scene.

In the opposition, Dur�o Barroso was elected deputy for Lisbon in the Portuguese National Parliament in 1995 and was the president of the Commission for Foreign Affairs. In 1999 he was elected president of PSD, his own political party and became the leader of the opposition. In April 6 2002, Dur�o Barroso became prime minister of Portugal.

As prime minister, he took several controversial measures like supporting the 2003 invasion of Iraq and enormous cuttings of public expense.

He is also known in Portugal by the nickname Cherne, a kind of fish.

Prime Minister Official Site