Francisco Balsemão

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Person.png Francisco Balsemão   IMDBRdf-entity.pngRdf-icon.png
(journalist, businessman, politician)
Francisco Pinto Balsemão.jpg
Born1937-09-01
Lisbon, Portugal
NationalityPortuguese
Alma materUniversity of Lisbon
ReligionRoman Catholicism
SpouseMaria Isabel de Lacerda Pinto da Costa Lobo
Founder ofSocial Democratic Party (Portugal)
Member ofBilderberg/Steering committee, Forum Portugal Global, Trilateral Commission, US/Department/State/International Visitor Leadership Program
PartySocial Democratic Party (Portugal)
>30 Bilderbergs, Bilderberg Steering committee, Prime Minister of Portugal

Employment.png Member of the Council of State

In office
12 January 2016 - Present

Employment.png Prime Minister of Portugal

In office
9 January 1981 - 9 June 1983
Succeeded byMário Soares

Employment.png President of the Social Democratic Party

In office
9 January 1981 - 27 February 1983

Employment.png Minister of Social Affairs

In office
3 August 1981 - 4 September 1981

Employment.png Assistant Minister of the Prime Minister

In office
3 January 1980 - 9 January 1981

Dr Francisco Pinto Balsemão was Prime Minister of Portugal between January 1981 and June 1983, getting the job after his predecessor was assassinated by the CIA in the 1980 Camarate air crash. He soon moved politics to an unswerving loyalty to the United States.[1] He was a member of the Bilderberg Steering committee.

Career

Balsemão's pre-political career was in newspaper publishing during the fascist dictatorship, first for the Air Force magazine, then as an administrator of Diário Popular (the People's Daily in English) from 1963 to 1971. He founded the Expresso magazine in 1973 and continued to direct it until 1980. He is one of top managers and owners of Impresa media group. He was also a Member of Parliament during the dictatorship, before the 1974 revolution.

In 1974, he helped to found the Social Democratic Party (PSD), of which he is currently member number 1. (The party started as Social Democrat, but all Portuguese party names are confusing, it soon moved to become the leading centre-right, conservative party) In 1975 he was elected to the Constituent Assembly, which was charged with drafting a new constitution and was an interim legislature. Pinto Balsemão was chosen as a Vice-President of this body.

Following the victory of the Democratic Alliance (a coalition led by the PSD) in two parliamentary elections (in 1979 and 1980), Pinto Balsemão held senior positions in two cabinets led by Prime Minister Sá Carneiro.

When Sá Carneiro was assassinated by the CIA on 4 December 1980, the Social Democratic Party chose Pinto Balsemão to succeed him. Despite his reputation for competence, he was widely perceived as lacking Sá Carneiro's charisma. He had difficulty maintaining the level of support enjoyed by his party, which had been based to a large extent on Sá Carneiro's personal popularity, and also thanks to the new PM's economic shift to the right.

After privatizing banks and changing labor and strike laws, in Sept 1982, he visited the United States "with a reassuring message for the US banking community", meeting with representatives of the main American banks that have been doing business with Portugal. As the CCM pointed out "The result should be to make a West European country that still has a relatively cheap and peaceful labor force, and almost no antipollution laws, irresistibly attractive to foreign investment."[2]

These factors contributed to his defeat in the parliamentary election of 1983. He finally retired from Parliament in 1987 though not from politics.

 

Events Participated in

EventStartEndLocation(s)Description
Bilderberg/198313 May 198315 May 1983Canada
Quebec
Château Montebello
The 31st Bilderberg, held in Canada
Bilderberg/198411 May 198413 May 1984Sweden
Saltsjöbaden
The 32nd Bilderberg, held in Sweden
Bilderberg/198510 May 198512 May 1985New York
US
Arrowwood of Westchester
Rye Brook
The 33rd Bilderberg, held in Canada
Bilderberg/198724 April 198726 April 1987Italy
Cernobbio
35th Bilderberg, in Italy, 106 participants
Bilderberg/19883 June 19885 June 1988Austria
Interalpen-Hotel
Telfs-Buchen
The 36th meeting, 114 participants
Bilderberg/198912 May 198914 May 1989Spain
Galicia
La Toja Island
37th Bilderberg meeting, 110 guests
Bilderberg/199010 May 199013 May 1990New York
US
Glen Cove
38th Bilderberg meeting, 119 guests
Bilderberg/19916 June 19919 June 1991Germany
Baden-Baden
Steigenberger Hotel Badischer Hof
The 39th Bilderberg, 114 guests
Bilderberg/199221 May 199224 May 1992France
Royal Club Evian
Evian-les-Bains
The 40th Bilderberg. It had 121 participants.
Bilderberg/199322 April 199325 April 1993Greece
Nafsika Astir Palace Hotel
Vouliagmeni
The 41st Bilderberg, held in Greece
Bilderberg/19942 June 19945 June 1994Finland
Helsinki
The 42nd Bilderberg, in Helsinki.
Bilderberg/19958 June 199511 June 1995Greece
Nafsika Astir Palace Hotel
Vouliagmeni
The 43rd Bilderberg. Held at the Burgenstock Hotel in Burgenstock, Switzerland.
Bilderberg/199630 May 19962 June 1996Canada
Toronto
The 44th Bilderberg, held in Canada
Bilderberg/199712 June 199715 June 1997US
Lake Lanier
Georgia (State)
The 45th Bilderberg meeting
Bilderberg/199814 May 199817 May 1998Scotland
Turnberry
The 46th Bilderberg meeting, held in Scotland, chaired by Peter Carrington
Bilderberg/19993 June 19996 June 1999Portugal
Sintra
The 47th Bilderberg, 111 participants
Bilderberg/20001 June 20004 June 2000Belgium
Brussels
Genval
The 48th Bilderberg, 94 guests
Bilderberg/200124 May 200127 May 2001Sweden
Stenungsund
The 49th Bilderberg, in Sweden. Reported on the WWW.
Bilderberg/200230 May 20022 June 2002US
Virginia
Chantilly
Westfields Marriott
The 50th Bilderberg, held at Chantilly, Virginia.
Bilderberg/200315 May 200318 May 2003France
Versailles
The 51st Bilderberg, in Versailles, France
Bilderberg/20043 June 20046 June 2004Italy
Stresa
The 52nd such meeting. 126 recorded guests
Bilderberg/20055 May 20058 May 2005Germany
Rottach-Egern
The 53rd Bilderberg, 132 guests
Bilderberg/20068 June 200611 June 2006Canada
Ottawa
54th Bilderberg, held in Canada. 133 guests
Bilderberg/20085 June 20088 June 2008US
Virginia
Chantilly
The 56th Bilderberg, Chantilly, Virginia, 139 guests
Bilderberg/200914 May 200917 May 2009Greece
Vouliagmeni
The 57th Bilderberg
Bilderberg/20103 June 20106 June 2010Spain
Hotel Dolce Sitges
Barcelona
The 122 guests met in the Hotel Dolce Sitges, Barcelona, Spain.
Bilderberg/20119 June 201112 June 2011Switzerland
Hotel Suvretta
St. Moritz
59th meeting, in Switzerland, 129 guests
Bilderberg/201231 May 20123 June 2012US
Virginia
Chantilly
The 58th Bilderberg, in Chantilly, Virginia. Unusually just 4 years after an earlier Bilderberg meeting there.
Bilderberg/20136 June 20139 June 2013Watford
UK
The 2013 Bilderberg group meeting.
Bilderberg/201429 May 20141 June 2014Denmark
Copenhagen
Marriott Hotel
The 62nd Bilderberg, with 136 guests, held in Copenhagen
Bilderberg/201511 June 201514 June 2015Austria
Telfs-Buchen
The 63rd meeting, 128 Bilderbergers met in Austria
Bilderberg/202318 May 202321 May 2023Portugal
Lisbon
Pestana Palace Hotel
The 69th Bilderberg Meeting, held in Lisbon, with 128 guests on the official list. The earliest in the year since 2009.
Many thanks to our Patrons who cover ~2/3 of our hosting bill. Please join them if you can.


References