Jump to content

José Manuel Barroso

From Alfawiki
José Manuel Durão Barroso
Born
José Manuel Durão Barroso

(1956-03-23) March 23, 1956 (age 70)
Lisbon, Portugal
Occupation(s)Politician, academic
Years active1980s–present
Known for114th Prime Minister of Portugal, 11th President of the European Commission

José Manuel Durão Barroso (; born 23 March 1956) is a Portuguese politician and academic specializing in law. He held the office of the 114th prime minister of Portugal from 2002 until 2004 and subsequently served as the 11th president of the European Commission between 2004 and 2014.

Following his political career, Barroso attracted considerable attention by joining Goldman Sachs International as a "senior adviser" and "non-executive chairman" soon after completing the EU-mandated cooling-off interval. This move prompted media scrutiny and an ethics investigation concerning the EU’s revolving door practices.

Early life and education

Born in Lisbon to Luís António Saraiva Barroso and Maria Elisabete de Freitas Durão, José Barroso is commonly known in Portugal as Durão Barroso. He graduated from the Faculty of Law at the University of Lisbon. Furthering his studies, he obtained a Diploma in European Studies from the European University Institute and earned a master's degree with honours in political science from the University of Geneva.

Barroso’s political engagement began during his late teenage years under Portugal’s Estado Novo regime, prior to the 1974 Carnation Revolution. While at university, he led the clandestine Maoist MRPP (later known as the Portuguese Workers' Communist Party). His involvement with MRPP was motivated by opposition to another covert student faction aligned with the Portuguese Communist Party. In a significant 1976 interview amid post-revolution unrest, Barroso criticized the bourgeois educational system for creating divisions between students and workers.

Career

Barroso started his professional journey as an assistant professor at the Faculty of Law, University of Lisbon. He pursued doctoral research at Georgetown University and its Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service but did not complete a formal PhD, holding only honorary doctorates. Upon returning to Lisbon, he led the Department for International Relations at Lusíada University.

In December 1980, Barroso became a member of the centre-right PPD (later known as PPD/PSD-Social Democratic Party), where he has remained active. Under Prime Minister Aníbal Cavaco Silva's PSD administration in 1985, he was appointed Under-Secretary of State at the Ministry of Home Affairs. By 1987, he advanced to Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs and Cooperation, a position he occupied for five years. He played a key role in negotiating the 1990 Bicesse Accords that temporarily halted hostilities in the Angolan Civil War and advocated for East Timor's independence. In 1992, Barroso was elevated to Minister of Foreign Affairs, serving until PSD’s electoral loss in 1995.

Prime minister of Portugal, 2002–2004

Barroso was elected to Portugal’s Assembly of the Republic in 1995 representing Lisbon and chaired its Foreign Affairs Committee. After completing the Georgetown Leadership Seminar in 1998, he assumed leadership of the PSD in 1999 and became Leader of the Opposition. The parliamentary elections in 2002 resulted in a PSD coalition government with the People's Party, leading to Barroso’s appointment as Prime Minister on 6 April 2002.

Confronted with an escalating budget deficit, Barroso introduced stringent fiscal reforms aimed at curbing public spending to comply with the EU’s deficit ceiling of 3%. Official figures suggested that these measures yielded improvements during his administration. In March 2003, he hosted U.S. President George W. Bush, British Prime Minister Tony Blair, and Spanish Prime Minister José María Aznar in the Azores, where they finalized plans for the US-led invasion of Iraq. Portugal joined this "coalition of the willing" by deploying non-combat forces. On 30 January 2003, Barroso signed "The letter of the eight," publicly supporting US policy on Iraq.

Following his nomination as president of the European Commission on 5 July 2004, Barroso resigned as prime minister. He arranged for Pedro Santana Lopes to serve as interim prime minister until elections scheduled for early 2005. The subsequent victory by the Socialist Party sparked criticism towards Barroso’s and Santana Lopes’s economic strategies amid forecasts that year-end budget deficits would reach approximately 6.1%.

President of the European Commission, 2004–2014

In 2004, the centre-right European People's Party (EPP), having secured victory in the European Parliament elections, put forward Barroso as their nominee for Commission President. Although the Treaty provisions connecting the presidency directly to election outcomes were not yet implemented, Barroso was selected by the European Council.

Throughout his initial term, significant Commission projects involved Turkey’s application to join the EU, institutional reforms under the Treaty of Lisbon, the Bolkestein directive aimed at establishing a unified market for services, the Lisbon Strategy, development of the Galileo navigation system, negotiations under the Doha Development Agenda, creation of the European Institute of Innovation and Technology, and an EU package addressing climate change.

The EPP once again supported Barroso for a second term in 2009. After another electoral win for the EPP, he was renominated by the European Council on 17 June 2009 and subsequently confirmed by the European Parliament on 16 September 2009. By completing two full terms, he became only the second Commission President to do so after Jacques Delors. His tenure continued until 31 October 2014.

Ahead of Ireland’s second referendum on the Treaty of Lisbon in 2009, Barroso actively campaigned there, stressing EU solidarity amid public doubts. During this period, he also announced a €14.8 million aid package to support former Dell employees in Limerick.

In September 2012, Barroso proposed transforming the EU into a "federation of nation-states" as a response to economic difficulties. He expressed optimism regarding Greece’s continued membership in the eurozone provided reforms were implemented and endorsed initiatives aimed at strengthening European Banking Supervision.

Between April and May 2014, Barroso temporarily took on the role of Acting Commissioner for Inter-Institutional Relations and Administration during Maroš Šefčovič’s electoral leave but opted not to assume his seat following the 2014 European Parliament elections.

Controversies

In 2005, Die Welt revealed that Barroso had spent a week aboard a yacht owned by Greek shipping magnate Spiro Latsis shortly before the Commission approved €10 million in Greek state aid benefiting Latsis's firm—a decision made by the previous Commission. This revelation led Nigel Farage MEP to gather approximately 75 MEPs to support a no-confidence motion against Barroso, forcing him to testify before the European Parliament. The motion was introduced on 12 May 2005, debated on 26 May, and eventually rejected.

Barroso came under scrutiny for driving a less fuel-efficient Volkswagen Touareg despite EU targets aimed at lowering CO2 emissions; he dismissed such criticism as "overzealous moralism."

In April 2008, amid rising food prices and concerns about biofuel effects, Barroso claimed that biofuel consumption was "not significant" in affecting food costs but initiated a study into its impact. His endorsement of a genetically modified potato faced strong resistance from several EU countries including Greece, Austria, Italy, and France, which refused permission for its cultivation.

Barroso criticized national governments with the remark: "Decisions taken by the most democratic institutions in the world are very often wrong."

In December 2013, after Ireland exited its bailout program, Barroso attributed Ireland’s financial troubles primarily to its banks and regulators rather than Europe itself. He opposed Ireland’s request for retroactive funding for its banking sector, arguing that Irish banks were responsible for considerable disruption within the eurozone rather than systemic currency issues.

Post-Brussels Career, 2015 to Present

Following his tenure in Brussels, Barroso assumed the role of policy fellow at Princeton University's Liechtenstein Institute on Self-Determination. Additionally, he holds the position of Frederick H. Schultz Class of 1951 Visiting Professor of International Economic Policy at Princeton's Woodrow Wilson School, where his work centers on European Union international relations.

Since 2015, he has been a faculty member at the Portuguese Catholic University, engaging with its Institute of Political Studies, Catholic Global School of Law, and Lisbon School of Business and Economics. There, he leads the Center for European Studies. From 2015 to 2016, Barroso also served as a visiting professor at both the University of Geneva and the Graduate Institute in Geneva.

In July 2016, Barroso took on the roles of senior adviser and non-executive chairman at Goldman Sachs International (GSI), the bank’s principal subsidiary. This appointment generated debate due to its proximity to the conclusion of his EU responsibilities and Goldman Sachs’ controversial involvement in the 2008 financial crisis. The European Commission initiated an ethics review which concluded without finding any breaches of conduct, with Barroso affirming that he did not engage in lobbying activities on behalf of clients.

In 2020, Barroso was named chairperson of GAVI’s board, succeeding Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala.

Barroso maintains several prominent positions:

  • Member of the International Commission on Financing Global Education Opportunity (since 2015)
  • Steering Committee member for Bilderberg Meetings (since 2014)
  • Participant in Chatham House’s Panel of Senior Advisers
  • Honorary Chairman of the European Business Summit Honorary Committee (since 2014)
  • Trustee on the board of Europaeum (since 2014)
  • Member of the European Movement International Honorary Council
  • Participant in the Kofi Annan Foundation’s Electoral Integrity Initiative (since 2016)
  • Member of the Lindau Nobel Laureate Meetings Honorary Senate
  • Advisory board member for Women Political Leaders Global Forum
  • Chairperson of the Sunhak Peace Prize Selection Committee
  • Board trustee at UEFA Foundation for Children (2014–2017)

Personal Life

Barroso married Maria Margarida Pinto Ribeiro de Sousa Uva in 1980; they had three sons together. Sousa Uva passed away from uterine cancer in August 2016 at age 60.

He is proficient in Portuguese and French, conversational in Spanish and English, and possesses basic German language skills.

PSD Leadership Contest, 1995

|- style="background-color:#E9E9E9" ! align="center" colspan=2 style="width:60px"|Candidate ! align="center" style="width:50px"|Votes ! align="center" style="width:50px"|% |- |bgcolor=orange| | align=left | Fernando Nogueira | align=right | 532 | align=right | 51.6 |- |bgcolor=orange| | align=left | José Manuel Durão Barroso | align=right | 499 | align=right | 48.4 |- |bgcolor=orange| | align=left | Pedro Santana Lopes | colspan="2" align=center| withdrew |- |- style="background-color:#E9E9E9" | colspan=2 style="text-align:left;" | Turnout | align=right | 1,031 | align=center | |}

PSD Leadership Contest, 1999

|- style="background-color:#E9E9E9" ! align="center" colspan=2 style="width:60px"|Candidate ! align="center" style="width:50px"|Votes ! align="center" style="width:50px"|% |- |bgcolor=orange| | align=left | José Manuel Durão Barroso | align=right | | align=right | 100.0 |- |- style="background-color:#E9E9E9" | colspan=2 style="text-align:left;" | Turnout | align=right | | align=center | |}

PSD Leadership Contest, 2000

|- style="background-color:#E9E9E9" ! align="center" colspan=2 style="width: 60px" | Candidate ! align="center" style="width: 50px" | Votes ! align="center" style="width: 50px" | % |- | bgcolor=orange | | align=left | José Manuel Durão Barroso | align=right | 469 | align=right | 50.3 |- | bgcolor=orange | | align=left | Pedro Santana Lopes | align=right | 313 | align=right | 33.6 |- | bgcolor=orange | | align=left | Luís Marques Mendes | align=right | 150 | align=right | 16.1 |- |- style="background-color:#E9E9E9" | colspan=2 style="text-align:left;" | Voter Turnout | align=right | 932 | align=center | |}

Parliamentary Election, 2002

|- ! colspan="2" | Party ! Candidate ! Votes ! align="center" style="width: 50px" | % ! align="center" style="width: 50px" | Seats ! align="center" style="width: 50px" | Change |- | style="background:;" | | align="left" | PSD | align=left | José Manuel Durão Barroso || 2,200,765 || 40.2 || 105 || style="color:green;" | +24 |- | style="background:;" | | align="left" | PS | align=left | Eduardo Ferro Rodrigues || 2,068,584 || 37.8 || 96 || style="color:red;" | –19 |- | style="background:;" | | align="left" | CDS–PP | align=left | Paulo Portas || 477,350 || 8.7 || 14 || style="color:red;" | –1 |- | style="background:;" | | align="left" | CDU | align=left | Carlos Carvalhas || 379,870 || 6.9 || 12 || style="color:red;" | –5 |- | style="background:;" | | align="left" | BE | align=left | Francisco Louçã || 153,877 || 2.8 || 3 || style="color:green;" | +1 |- | style="background:white;" | | colspan="2" align="left" | Other parties | 88,542 || 1.6 || 0 || ±0 |- | colspan="3" align="left" | Invalid/Blank votes | 107,774 || 2.0 || – || – |- style="background-color:#E9E9E9" | colspan="3" align="left" | Voter Turnout | 5,473,655 || 61.48 || 230 || ±0 |- | colspan="7" align=left | Source: Comissão Nacional de Eleições |}

European Commission Presidency Election, 2004

|- style="background-color:#E9E9E9" ! align="center" colspan=2 | Party ! align="center" | Candidate ! align="center" style="width: 50px" | Votes ! align="center" style="width: 50px" | % |- | bgcolor=| | align=left | EPP | align=left | José Manuel Durão Barroso | align=right | 413 | align=right | 61.5 |- | colspan=3 align=left | Opposed | align=right | 215 | align=right | 32.0 |- | colspan=3 align=left | Abstained | align=right | 44 | align=right | 6.5 |- style="background-color:#E9E9E9" | colspan=3 style="text-align:left;" | Voter Turnout | align=right | 672 |}

European Commission Presidency Election, 2009

|- style="background-color:#E9E9E9" ! align="center" colspan=2 | Party ! align="center" | Candidate ! align="center" style="width: 50px" | Votes ! align="center" style="width: 50px" | % |- | bgcolor=| | align=left | EPP | align=left | José Manuel Durão Barroso | align=right | 382 | align=right | 53.2 |- | colspan=3 align=left | Opposed | align=right | 219 | align=right | 30.5 |- | colspan=3 align=left | Abstained | align=right | 117 | align=right | 16.3 |- style="background-color:#E9E9E9" | colspan=3 style="text-align:left;" | Voter Turnout | align=right | 718 | |- | colspan="5" align=left | Source: Resultados |}


National

International

Additional distinctions

Barroso has been honoured with more than twenty awards, including:

  • Casa da Imprensa prize for politics, received in 1992
  • World Economic Forum's Global Leader for Tomorrow, 1993
  • Foreign Press Association in Portugal’s Personality of the Year in 1991 and again in 2004
  • Medalla de la Universidad de Alcala de Henares and Medalla de Oro de la Ciudad de Zamora, Spain, 2005
  • Golden Medal for The Bell Celebration – Message to United Europe, Ferdinand Martinengo Company, Slovakia, 2006
  • EFR-Business Week Award from Erasmus University Rotterdam, 2006
  • Honorary citizenship granted by Rio de Janeiro, June 2006
  • European Voice newspaper’s "European of the Year," November 2006
  • Honorary diploma from HEC Paris, December 2006
  • Special Prize from Business Centre Club, Poland, February 2007; Gold Medal awarded by Lamego, Portugal, April 2007
  • Transatlantic Leadership Prize by European Institute, Washington DC, April 2007
  • Honorary Citizen title bestowed by Delphi and Golden Medal from "Amfiktyons," Greece, July 2007
  • Academic recognition EBAPE – FGV for contributions to administration studies and practice, Getulio Vargas Foundation, Rio de Janeiro, August 2007
  • Conde de Barcelona International Prize from Conde de Barcelona Foundation, Barcelona, November 2007
  • Honorary Medal and Diploma awarded by Nicosia, January 2008
  • Membership as Honorary Member in Academia Portuguesa da História, Lisbon, March 2008
  • State Medal "Stara Planina" I Degree conferred by Bulgaria, March 2008
  • "Prémio Rotary da Paz" from Rotary International Distrito 1960 Portugal, Lisbon, April 2008; also received "Chave de Honra da Cidade de Lisboa," May 2008
  • Confraria Queijo S. Jorge award and Ciudadino Andino Honorifico title granted in Lima, Peru, May 2008
  • "Transatlantic Business Award" given by American Chamber of Commerce to the EU, Brussels, May 2008
  • Confraria vinho do Porto recognition in Porto, June 2008
  • Gold Medals from Royal Institute of European Studies Madrid and Hellenic Parliament Athens during March–April 2009
  • Medal of Honour and Benefaction from Athens City alongside European Excellence Award by Madrid Government Council in May 2009
  • Prix European of the Year awarded by The European Movement in Denmark and Quadriga Prize – United for the Better in Berlin during May and October 2009 respectively
  • Medal of Merit presented by Federação das Associações Portuguesas e Luso-brasileiras Brazil, July 2010
  • Recognized as "Man of the Year 2009 Central and Eastern Europe" in Krynica; received Golden Victoria "European of the Year 2010" from Union of German Magazine Publishers VDZ Berlin; Collier honor from Fondation du Mérite européen Luxembourg; Steiger Award Bochum Germany between 2010–2011
  • Charles V Prize granted by Fundación Academia Europea de Yuste Spain in 2013
  • Gold Medal for Outstanding Contribution to Public Discourse awarded by College Historical Society (CHS), Trinity College Dublin
  • Jean Monnet Foundation for Europe Gold Medal received in 2014

Honorary degrees

  • Roger Williams University, Rhode Island – Honorary Degree, 2005
  • Georgetown University, Washington, D.C. – Honorary Degree in Humanities
  • University of Genoa, Italy – Honorary Degree in Political Science, 2006
  • Kobe University, Japan – Honorary Degree in Law, April 2006
  • Candido Mendes University, Rio de Janeiro – Honorary Doctorate in Social and Human Sciences, June 2006
  • University of Edinburgh – Doctor of Science (Honorary), November 2006
  • Faculty of Economics, Sapienza University of Rome – Honorary Degree, January 2007
  • Warsaw School of Economics, Warsaw – Honorary Doctorate, November 2007
  • Pontifical Catholic University of Sao Paulo, Brazil – Doctor Honoris Causa, March 2008
  • University of Liverpool – Honorary Doctor of Laws, July 2008
  • Fundação Luso-Brasileira, Lisbon – "Prémio Política e Responsabilidade Social," October 2008
  • Université Nice Sophia Antipolis, Nice – Honorary Doctorate, November 2008
  • Tomas Bata University, Zlín, Czech Republic – Doctor Honoris Causa, April 2009
  • Chemnitz University of Technology, Chemnitz – Honorary Doctorate, May 2009
  • University of Pittsburgh, US – Honorary Doctorate in Public and International Affairs, September 2009
  • Estácio de Sá University, Rio de Janeiro – Doctor Honoris Causa, July 2010
  • University of Łódź, Poland – Doctorate Honoris Causa, October 2010
  • University of Geneva – Doctorate Honoris Causa, October 2010
  • University of Bucharest – Doctorate Honoris Causa, November 2010
  • Baku State University, Azerbaijan – Honorary Doctorate, January 2011
  • Luiss Guido Carli University, Rome – Honorary Doctorate, March 2011
  • Ghent University – Honorary Doctorate, March 2011
  • National Economic University of Vietnam – Honorary Doctorate, August 2014
  • West University of Timișoara – Doctorate Honoris Causa, January 2016

See also

External links

Retrieved from "https://www.alfawiki.org/index.php?title=José_Manuel_Barroso&oldid=19222"