First Lady of Portugal

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First Lady of Portugal
Primeira-dama de Portugal
Coat of Arms of the Portuguese Republic
Incumbent
Vacant
since 9 March 2016
ResidenceBelém Palace
Term length5 Years (10 years if the President wins re-election)
Inaugural holderLucrécia de Arriaga
Formation24 August 1911; 114 years ago (1911-08-24)
WebsitePresidency of the Portuguese Republic - First Lady (defunct)

First Lady of Portugal (Portuguese: primeira-dama) is the unofficial title attributed to the wife or Partner of the president of Portugal. To date, there has been no first gentleman of Portugal. The position is currently vacant since the first presidential inauguration of Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa in 2016.

History

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The inaugural first lady of Portugal was Lucrécia de Arriaga (1911–1915), wife of the first president of the First Portuguese Republic, Manuel de Arriaga.[1]

Maria Joana Queiroga de Almeida sitting with Elisabeth, Queen of the Belgians in 1920

Maria Joana Queiroga de Almeida, Portugal's first lady from 1919 to 1923 and the wife of President António José de Almeida, was one of the country's first first ladies to take on public, ceremonial roles.[1] She took on a very public role in 1920 as the hostess during the official state visit of Leopold III of Belgium, the then-heir to the Belgian throne, in 1920.[1] By contrast, Almeida's successor, Belmira das Neves, first lady from 1923 to 1925, largely avoided the public spotlight, but played a supporting role to her husband, Manuel Teixeira Gomes, behind the scenes.[1]

Role and duties

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The role of the Portuguese president's spouse, be it "First Lady" or "First Gentleman", is not an official office and, as such, they are not given a salary or official duties. The first ladies have played a mere protocol role during official ceremonies and state visits. However, since 1996, under the presidency of Jorge Sampaio, the president's spouse has the right to a workplace and a three-people staff incorporated in the President's Office.[2][3] In addition, according to the Portuguese State Protocol's order of precedence, the spouse of any high-ranking office holder is given the same rank as theirs, as long as the spouse is also invited to the ceremony.[4]

Since the current president has no spouse and the main candidates in the last presidential election refused to continue with the president's spouse's workplace, the only two first ladies to have used it were Jorge Sampaio and Aníbal Cavaco Silva's wives: Maria José Ritta and Maria Cavaco Silva.[2][3]

List of first ladies of Portugal

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First Portuguese Republic (1910–1926)

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Portrait Name Terms begins Term ends President
Lucrécia Augusta de Brito de Berredo Furtado de Melo de Arriaga 24 August 1911 29 May 1915 Manuel de Arriaga
Vacant 29 May 1915 5 October 1915 Teófilo Braga
Elzira Dantas Gonçalves Pereira Machado 5 October 1915 5 December 1917 Bernardino Machado
Maria dos Prazeres Martins Bessa Pais 9 May 1918[5] 14 December 1918 Sidónio Pais
File:Mariana Canto e Castro.png Mariana de Santo António Moreira Freire Correia Manuel Torres de Aboim do Canto e Castro 16 December 1918 5 October 1919 João do Canto e Castro
File:Maria Joana Queiroga de Almeida.png Maria Joana Morais Perdigão Queiroga de Almeida 5 October 1919 5 October 1923 António José de Almeida
File:Belmira das Neves.png Belmira das Neves 5 October 1923[5] 11 December 1925 Manuel Teixeira Gomes
Elzira Dantas Gonçalves Pereira Machado 11 December 1925 31 May 1926 Bernardino Machado

Second Portuguese Republic (1926–1974)

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Portrait Name Terms begins Term ends President
File:Maria das Dores Formosinho Vieira Cabeçadas.png Maria das Dores Formosinho Vieira Cabeçadas 31 May 1926 17 June 1926[5] José Mendes Cabeçadas
File:Henriqueta Gomes da Costa.png Henriqueta Júlia de Mira Godinho Gomes da Costa 17 June 1926[5] 9 July 1926 Manuel Gomes da Costa
File:Maria do Carmo Carmona.jpg Maria do Carmo Ferreira da Silva Carmona 16 November 1926[5] 18 April 1951 António Óscar Carmona
File:Berta Craveiro Lopes.png Berta da Costa Ribeiro Arthur Craveiro Lopes 9 August 1951[5] 5 July 1958 Francisco Craveiro Lopes
Vacant 5 July 1958 9 August 1958
File:Gertrudes Ribeiro da Costa Tomás (c. 1960-1970) - San Payo (Museu da Presidência da República).png Gertrudes Ribeiro da Costa Rodrigues Tomás 9 August 1958 25 April 1974 Américo Tomás

Third Portuguese Republic (1974–Present)

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Portrait Name Term begins Term ends President
File:Maria Helena Spínola, Palácio da Ajuda 1985-05-09.png Maria Helena Martins Monteiro de Barros Spínola 15 May 1974 30 September 1974 António de Spínola
File:Maria Estela Costa Gomes (1945), cropped - Museu da Presidência da República.png Maria Estela Veloso de Antas Varajão da Costa Gomes 30 September 1974 13 July 1976 Francisco da Costa Gomes
File:ManuelaRamalhoEanes.png Maria Manuela Duarte Neto Portugal Ramalho Eanes 14 July 1976 9 March 1986 António Ramalho Eanes
File:Maria Barroso.2013.JPG Maria de Jesus Simões Barroso Soares 9 March 1986 9 March 1996 Mário Soares
File:MariaJoséRitta.png Maria José Rodrigues Ritta 9 March 1996 9 March 2006 Jorge Sampaio
File:MariaCavacoSilva - Conferencia Ibero Americana 2009.png Maria Alves da Silva Cavaco Silva 9 March 2006 9 March 2016 Aníbal Cavaco Silva
Vacant 9 March 2016 Present Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa
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In 2005, an exhibit on the history of Portugal's first ladies, called Primeiras-Damas da Republica Portuguesa 1910-2005 (Portuguese First Ladies Exhibition 1910-2005), opened at the IADE Cultural Centre in Lisbon.[1] The exhibition, which encompassed two entire floors of the IADE's cultural centre, included documents, clothing, gowns, jewelry, and letters once owned by Portugal's first ladies.[1]

Items on display included former first lady Maria Helena de Barros Spinola's black evening gown and 1920s-era clothing, fans and furs worn by Maria das Dores Cabeçadas, the first lady in 1926.[1] Pieces from Maria José Ritta, who was the first lady at the time of the 2005 exhibition, included a lemon yellow Dior-style suit worn during her employment at TAP Portugal during the 1970s, as well as clothing and dresses worn during state visits to Brazil and other nations.[1]

In 2011, journalist Alberta Marques Fernandes published her book As Primeiras-Damas ("The First Ladies") about the wives of the presidents of the Third Portuguese Republic.[6][7]

See also

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References

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