# 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.

## 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).
In 2002, Ferro Rodrigues was elected Secretary-General of the Portuguese Socialist Party, a position he retained for two years. 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. Shortly after, Rodrigues was appointed as Ambassador, Permanent Representative of Portugal to the OECD.
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.
After the 2019 parliamentary election, Ferro Rodrigues was re-elected as President of the Assembly of the Republic, receiving 178 votes in favor.

## 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)
* Grand Cross of the Order of Liberty (5 October 2016)

## Electoral history
### PS leadership election, 2002

Ballot: 18 and 19 January 2002 :
| Candidate | Candidate | % |
| | Eduardo Ferro Rodrigues | 96.5 |
| | Paulo Penedos | 2.7 |
| Blank/Invalid ballots | Blank/Invalid ballots | 0.8 |
| Turnout | Turnout | |
| Source: Acção Socialista ||||

### Legislative election, 2002

Ballot: 17 March 2002 :
| Party | 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 | Other parties | 88,542 | 1.6 | 0 | ±0 |
| Blank/Invalid ballots | Blank/Invalid ballots | Blank/Invalid ballots | 107,774 | 2.0 | – | – |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 5,473,655 | 61.48 | 230 | ±0 |
| Source: Comissão Nacional de Eleições |||||||

### President of the Assembly of the Republic election, 2015

Ballot: 23 October 2015 :
| Candidate | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Eduardo Ferro Rodrigues | 120 | 52.2 |
| | Fernando Negrão | 108 | 47.0 |
| Blank/Invalid ballots | Blank/Invalid ballots | 2 | 0.9 |
| Turnout | Turnout | 230 | |
| Source: Results ||||

### President of the Assembly of the Republic election, 2019

Ballot: 25 October 2019 :
| Candidate | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Eduardo Ferro Rodrigues | 178 | 77.4 |
| Blank/Invalid ballots | Blank/Invalid ballots | 52 | 22.6 |
| Turnout | Turnout | 230 | |
| Source: Results ||||

### Foreign honours

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