Eduardo Ferro Rodrigues

Eduardo Luís Barreto Ferro Rodrigues GCC GCL (born 3 November 1949) is a Portuguese politician and economist who had been President of the Assembly of the Republic since 2015 until 29 March 2022, in the 13th (2015–2019) and 14th Legislatures (2019–2022). He was Minister for Social Security, and later Minister for Public Works, in the governments of António Guterres.^[1]

His Excellency Eduardo Ferro Rodrigues GCC GCL
President of the Assembly of the Republic
In office 23 October 2015 – 29 March 2022
Preceded by	Assunção Esteves
Succeeded by	Augusto Santos Silva
President of the Parliamentary Group of the Socialist Party
In office 3 October 2014 – 22 October 2015
Preceded by	Alberto Martins
Succeeded by	Carlos César
Secretary-General of the Socialist Party
In office 21 January 2002 – 27 September 2004
President	António de Almeida Santos
Preceded by	António Guterres
Succeeded by	José Sócrates
Minister of Social Infrastructure
In office 10 March 2001 – 23 January 2002
Prime Minister	António Guterres
Preceded by	Jorge Coelho
Succeeded by	José Sócrates
Minister of Labour and Solidarity
In office 25 November 1997 – 10 March 2001
Prime Minister	António Guterres
Preceded by	Maria João Rodrigues (Training and Employment)
Succeeded by	Paulo Pedroso
Minister of Solidarity and Social Security
In office 28 October 1995 – 25 November 1997
Prime Minister	António Guterres
Preceded by	José Falcão e Cunha (Employment and Social Security)
Succeeded by	Office abolished
Member of the Assembly of the Republic
In office 4 November 1985 – 28 March 2022
Constituency	Lisbon (1985–1987) Aveiro (1987–1991) Lisbon (1991–1999) Leiria (1999–2002) Lisbon (2002–2022)
Personal details
Born	Eduardo Luís Barreto Ferro Rodrigues (1949-11-03) 3 November 1949 (age 75) Lisbon, Portugal
Political party	Socialist Party (since 1986)
Other political affiliations	Movement of Socialist Left (formerly) GDUP (formerly)
Spouse	Maria Filomena Lopes Peixoto de Aguilar
Children	2, including Rita Ferro Rodrigues
Alma mater	School of Economics and Finance, Technical University of Lisbon

Early life and education

Born in Lisbon, he obtained the degree of licenciado in economics at what today is the Instituto Superior de Economia e Gestão (ISEG) of Lisbon University, and is a lecturer in economics at ISCTE - University Institute of Lisbon.

Political career

In the 1970s, he was a co-founder of Movimento de Esquerda Socialista (MES).^[2]

In 2002, Ferro Rodrigues was elected Secretary-General of the Portuguese Socialist Party, a position he retained for two years.^[3] He resigned on 9 July 2004, immediately after President Jorge Sampaio announced a decision not to hold early elections when Prime Minister José Manuel Barroso stepped down from office in order to be appointed President of the European Commission.^[4] Shortly after, Rodrigues was appointed as Ambassador, Permanent Representative of Portugal to the OECD.^[1]

Following the October 2015 parliamentary election, he was elected as President of the Assembly of the Republic on 23 October 2015 with the support of the Socialists, the Communists and the Left Bloc. Ferro received 120 votes against 108 votes for the candidate of the centre-right government.^[5]

After the 2019 parliamentary election, Ferro Rodrigues was re-elected as President of the Assembly of the Republic, receiving 178 votes in favor.^[6]

Family

Married to Maria Filomena Lopes Peixoto de Aguilar, he has two children, João Luís de Aguilar Ferro Rodrigues and a daughter, television presenter Rita Ferro Rodrigues.

Honours

Portuguese honours

• Grand Cross of the Order of Christ (21 April 2022)^[7]
• Grand Cross of the Order of Liberty (5 October 2016)^[8]

Electoral history

PS leadership election, 2002

Ballot: 18 and 19 January 2002

Candidate		Votes	%
	Eduardo Ferro Rodrigues		96.5
	Paulo Penedos		2.7
Blank/Invalid ballots			0.8
Turnout
Source: Acção Socialista[9]

Legislative election, 2002

Main article: 2002 Portuguese legislative election

Ballot: 17 March 2002

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	Seats	+/−
	PSD	José Manuel Durão Barroso	2,200,765	40.2	105	+24
	PS	Eduardo Ferro Rodrigues	2,068,584	37.8	96	–19
	CDS–PP	Paulo Portas	477,350	8.7	14	–1
	CDU	Carlos Carvalhas	379,870	6.9	12	–5
	BE	Francisco Louçã	153,877	2.8	3	+1
	Other parties		88,542	1.6	0	±0
Blank/Invalid ballots			107,774	2.0	–	–
Turnout			5,473,655	61.48	230	±0
Source: Comissão Nacional de Eleições[10]

President of the Assembly of the Republic election, 2015

Ballot: 23 October 2015

Candidate		Votes	%
	Eduardo Ferro Rodrigues	120	52.2
	Fernando Negrão	108	47.0
Blank/Invalid ballots		2	0.9
Turnout		230
Source: Results[11]

President of the Assembly of the Republic election, 2019

Ballot: 25 October 2019

Candidate		Votes	%
	Eduardo Ferro Rodrigues	178	77.4
Blank/Invalid ballots		52	22.6
Turnout		230
Source: Results[12]

Foreign honours

• Argentina: Grand Cross of the Order of May (18 June 2003)^[13]
• Greece: Grand Cross of the Order of Honour (21 April 2017)^[13]
• Spain: Knight Grand Cross of the Order of Charles III (25 November 2016)^[13]