António Costa
Portuguese politician, President of the European Council since 2024 From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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António Luís Santos da Costa GCIH (born 17 July 1961) is a Portuguese lawyer and politician who has been the President of the European Council since 2024. He was the 119th Prime Minister of Portugal from 26 November 2015 to 2 April 2024. He served as Mayor of Lisbon from 2007 to 2015. He was elected as Secretary-General of the Socialist Party in September 2014.[3] His near-9 year tenure as prime minister is the longest of any officeholder in the Iberian Peninsula in the 21st century.[4]
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On 7 November 2023, Costa resigned after ongoing searches and arrests involving members of his Socialist government. This resignation was accepted by the president, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, a few hours later.[5][6]
After his resignation, Costa was elected as President of the European Council.[7]
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Early life
Costa was born in 1961 in Lisbon, Portugal. He is the son of writer Orlando da Costa and journalist Maria Antónia Palla.[8][9]
Costa graduated from the Faculty of Law of the University of Lisbon in the 1980s. He first entered politics when he was elected as a Socialist deputy to the municipal council.[10] He later practiced law briefly from 1988, before entering politics full-time.[11]
President of the European Council
In the aftermath of the 2024 European Parliament election, Costa was seen as the frontrunner candidate for the Presidency of the European Council.[12] On 27 June 2024, Costa was elected as President of the European Council, one of the three most important leadership posts of the European Union, by the 27 EU member state leaders.[7]
Personal life
In 1987, Costa married Fernanda Maria Gonçalves Tadeu, a teacher. The couple have a son and a daughter. Costa also holds an Overseas Citizenship of India.[13]
References
Other websites
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