Leader of the Opposition
Líder da Oposição
Logo of the biggest party in opposition
Incumbent Luís Montenegro since 3 July 2022
Term length	No fixed term While leader of the largest political party not in government
Inaugural holder	Francisco de Sá Carneiro (of the Third Republic)
Formation	23 July 1976 (informally)

The Leader of the Opposition (Portuguese: Líder da Oposição) is an unofficial, mostly conventional and honorary title traditionally held by the leader of the largest party in the Assembly of the Republic – the Portuguese parliament – not within the government; historically, since the Carnation Revolution of 1974, these have almost always been the Socialist and the Social Democratic parties.

Currently, the Socialist Party holds a majority government. The Opposition consists of the Social Democratic Party, Enough!, Liberal Initiative, the Portuguese Communist Party, the Left Bloc, People–Animals–Nature and LIVRE.

The current Leader of the Opposition is Luís Montenegro, since 3 July 2022, after having been elected President of the Social Democratic Party on the previous 28 May.

Role

Due to its workings being based mostly on custom and convention, the Leader of the Opposition has a small official role, even though it is legally, honorifically, and nominally recognised. Law No. 40/2006, that establishes the order of precedence of public authorities in general official acts, places the Leader of the Opposition in eighth place in the list of precedences, only behind the President of the Republic, the legislative speaker, the sitting Prime Minister of Portugal, the presidents of the Supreme Court and the Constitutional Court, the presidents of the Supreme Administrative Court and the Court of Auditors, former presidents of the Republic, and sitting government ministers.^[1]

Even though the Leader of the Opposition is not entitled to a specific salary aside from the one they may have by reason of holding a public office on their own – such as that of deputy – the officeholder usually receives much more attention from the media in parliamentary sessions and activities. It is not, however, required for a Leader of the Opposition to hold the post of deputy in the Assembly of the Republic – Luís Montenegro, who currently leads the Opposition, holds no parliamentary seat^[2]

Graphical timeline (since 1976)

List of leaders of the opposition

Date (Start of term)	Main opposition party		Party Leader		Prime Minister (Term)
23 July 1976		PSD		Francisco Sá Carneiro		Mário Soares (1976–1978)
16 April 1977				António de Sousa Franco
15 April 1978				José Menéres Pimentel
2 July 1978				Francisco Sá Carneiro
29 August 1978		PS		Mário Soares		Alfredo Nobre da Costa (1978)
						Carlos Mota Pinto (1978–1979)
						Maria de Lourdes Pintasilgo (1979–1980)
						Francisco Sá Carneiro (1980)
						Diogo Freitas do Amaral (acting) (1980–1981)
						Francisco Pinto Balsemão (1981–1983)
9 June 1983		PCP		Álvaro Cunhal		Mário Soares (1983–1985)
6 November 1985		PS		Mário Soares		Aníbal Cavaco Silva (1985–1995)
13 November 1985				António Macedo
29 June 1986				Vítor Constâncio
6 November 1988				Jorge Sampaio
23 February 1992				António Guterres
28 October 1995		PSD		Fernando Nogueira		António Guterres (1995–2002)
29 March 1996				Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa
1 May 1999				José Manuel Durão Barroso
6 April 2002		PS		Eduardo Ferro Rodrigues		José Manuel Durão Barroso (2002–2004)
						Pedro Santana Lopes (2004–2005)
24 September 2004				José Sócrates
12 March 2005		PSD		Pedro Santana Lopes		José Sócrates (2005–2011)
10 April 2005				Luís Marques Mendes
28 September 2007				Luís Filipe Menezes
31 May 2008				Manuela Ferreira Leite
26 March 2010				Pedro Passos Coelho
21 June 2011		PS		José Sócrates		Pedro Passos Coelho (2011–2015)
23 July 2011				António José Seguro
22 November 2014				António Costa
26 November 2015		PSD		Pedro Passos Coelho		António Costa (2015–present)
18 February 2018				Rui Rio
3 July 2022				Luís Montenegro

Leaders of the opposition by time in office

Longest serving Leader of the Opposition Mário Soares, 4 years, 291 days.

Shortest serving Leader of the Opposition Pedro Santana Lopes, 29 days.

References

See also

• Prime Minister of Portugal
• List of political parties in Portugal
• Assembly of the Republic