Vasco Cordeiro, 39, was sworn Regional President of the Government of the Azores, on Wednesday, in a ceremony presided by Ambassador Pedro Catarino, Portugal’s government representative in the Azores.
President Cordeiro was elected Regional President of the Azores on October 14, with an absolute majority of 49% of votes.
Cordeiro, the leader of the Socialist Party (PS) in the Azores, won 31 out of a total of 57 parliamentary seats for his party.
Cordeiro was challenged by Berta Cabral, the former Mayor of Ponta Delgada city, the social democrat candidate (PSD) in opposition, who garnered 33% of votes, winning 20 parliamentary seats for her party. The Christian Democrats (CDS-PP) won third place with 6% of ballots, winning 3 parliamentary seats.
The October regional legislative elections elected a new legislative assembly and the government leader to replace incumbent socialist Carlos César, 16 years in office as the President of the Regional Government.
Vasco Cordeiro, the former Regional Secretary for the Economy, graduated with a Law Degree from the University of Coimbra. Elected for the Regional Legislative Assembly in 1996, he became then the leader of the regional Socialist Party parliamentary delegation. In 2003, Cordeiro was appointed Regional Secretary for the Agriculture and Fisheries and Regional Secretary for the Presidency in 2004. He became Regional Secretary for the Economy in 2008.
The Azores (population 250,000) became an Autonomous Region of Portugal in 1976. The government of the Autonomous Region of the Azores includes the Legislative Assembly, composed of 57 elected deputies, elected by universal suffrage for a four-year term; the Regional Government and Presidency, with parliamentary legitimacy, composed of a President, a Vice-President and seven Regional Secretaries responsible for the Regional Government executive operations. The Autonomous Region of the Azores is represented in the Council of Ministers of the Central Government by a representative appointed by the President of Portugal.
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