José Pedro Aguiar-Branco

José Pedro Aguiar-Branco
Aguiar-Branco in 2015
President of the Assembly of the Republic
Incumbent
Assumed office 27 March 2024
Preceded by	Augusto Santos Silva
Minister of National Defence
In office 21 June 2011 – 26 November 2015
Prime Minister	Pedro Passos Coelho
Preceded by	Augusto Santos Silva
Succeeded by	José Alberto Azeredo Lopes
Minister of Justice
In office 17 July 2004 – 12 March 2005
Prime Minister	Pedro Santana Lopes
Preceded by	Celeste Cardona
Succeeded by	Alberto Costa
Member of the Assembly of the Republic
Incumbent
Assumed office 26 March 2024
Constituency	Viana do Castelo
In office 10 March 2005 – 20 January 2019
Constituency	Porto
Personal details
Born	José Pedro Correia de Aguiar-Branco (1957-07-18) July 18, 1957 (age 67) Lordelo do Ouro, Porto, Portugal
Political party	Social Democratic Party (since 1974)
Spouse	Maria Helena Soares ​ (m. 1980)​
Children	5
Alma mater	University of Coimbra

José Pedro Correia de Aguiar-Branco (born 18 July 1957) is a Portuguese lawyer and politician who has been the President of the Assembly of the Republic since 2024, in the 16th Legislature. Previously he served as Minister of Justice from 2004 to 2005 and Minister of National Defence from 2011 to 2015.^[1][2][3]

In 2024, he was elected as member of the Assembly of the Republic in the 2024 legislative elections, for the Viana do Castelo constituency.^[4]

Honours

Foreign

•  Lithuania: Grand Cross of the Order for Merits to Lithuania (9 November 2019)
•  Poland: Grand Cross of the Order of Merit of the Republic of Poland (28 February 2018)
•  Romania: Grand Officer of the Order of the Star of Romania (28 February 2018)
•  Spain: Knight Grand Cross of the Order of Isabella the Catholic (19 February 2018)

Personal life

Aguiar-Branco married in 1980 Maria Helena Soares, with whom he has five children.^[5]

He is a supporter of same-sex adoption.^[6]

References

1. "Ministério da Defesa Nacional" (in Portuguese). Governo de Portugal. Retrieved 19 August 2011.
2. "José Pedro Aguiar-Branco | PSD". www.psd.pt (in European Portuguese). Retrieved 4 March 2024.
3. "JPAB | José Pedro AGUIAR-BRANCO Advogados". www.jpab.pt. Retrieved 4 March 2024.
4. "Aguiar Branco é cabeça de lista da AD por Viana, Leitão Amaro por Viseu". Jornal de Notícias (in Portuguese). Retrieved 7 March 2024.
5. Santos, Pedro Emanuel (9 April 2024). "José Pedro Aguiar-Branco, o senador que o PSD recusa dispensar". noticiasmagazine.pt. Jornal de Notícias. Retrieved 29 July 2024.
6. "Aprovada adoção por casais homossexuais, Passos votou contra". Jornal Expresso (in European Portuguese). Retrieved 9 March 2024.