REPUBLIC OF PORTUGAL Official name: Republica Portuguesa (Republic of Portugal) Location: Western Europe International organisations: The Council of Europe, The European Union, The North Atlantic Treaty Organisation, The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, The Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe, The United Nations, The Western European Union, The World Trade Organisation Borders: Spain Coastline: North Atlantic Ocean Land area: 92,391 Km2 Population: 10,000,000 Ethnicity: Almost the entire population is of Portuguese stock. There is a small (1%) minority of Africans from Portugal's former colonies.

Languages: Portuguese is the official language and is univerally spoken.
Religion: Over 90% of the population is at least nominally Catholic Christian.
Form of government: Parliamentary democratic republic. Portugal is divided into 18 districts, and two autonomous regions (the Azores and Madeira).

Capital: Lisbon (Lisboa) Constitution: The Constitution of the Republic of Portugal came into effect on 25 April 1976, and has been amended several times since. Head of state: The President, elected by direct universal suffrage for a five-year term. The President's functions are largely ceremonial. President Anibal Cavaco Silva took office on 9 March 2006. Head of government: The Prime Minister, appointed by the President. The Prime Minister is the leader of the largest party in the legislature and is accountable to it. Legislature: Portugal has a unicameral legislature. The Assembly of the Republic (Assembleia da República) has 230 members, elected for four-year terms by proportional representation from multi-member constituencies.

Electoral authority: The National Election Commission administers national elections.
Freedom House rating: Political Rights 1, Civil Liberties 1

Political history

Portugal was an absolute monarchy until 1822, when King João VI was forced to accept a consititution. For the rest of the 19th century there was bitter political conflict between conservatives, liberals and radicals, verging at times on civil war. Constitutional government survived, but in 1906 King Carlos gave dictatorial powers to João Franco, who ruled without the support of the Cortes. Carlos was assassinated in 1908, and in 1910 a republican revolution deposed his young successor Manoel II.

The republic was at first led by radicals, but resistance soon arose and the republic became increasingly unstable. In 1926 the army seized power and established an authoritarian regime, headed by António Óscar de Fragoso Carmona. In 1932 Carmona appointed António de Oliveira Salazar Prime Minister, and Salazar then ruled Portugal for 36 years. He established a semi-fascist system called the New State, supported by the Catholic Church. Salazar was succeeded in 1968 by Marcelo Caetano, but the regime was undermined by the increasingly unpopular wars in Portugal's African colonies.

In April 1974 the army again seized power, this time led by radicals who rapidly established a democratic system. During 1974 and 1975 officers allied with the Communist Party tried to gain control of the government, but the resistance of the democratic parties prevented this, and in 1976 a moderate, António dos Santos Ramalho Eanes, was elected president. Since then Portugal has been a stable and increasingly prosperous democracy.

The dominant party for most of the period since 1976 has been the Socialist Party, a moderate social-democratic party. Also on the left, but without much of its former influence, is the hardline Portuguese Communist Party, which is in a slightly unlikely alliance with the The Greens. Even further to the left is the radical Bloc of the Left. In opposition are the centrist Social Democrat Party, allied with the more conservative People's Party.