# João Cotrim de Figueiredo

João Fernando Cotrim de Figueiredo (born 24 June 1961) is a Portuguese businessman and Liberal Initiative politician. He was the party's first member of the Assembly of the Republic, for Lisbon, in October 2019. He was the leader of the party between October 2019 and January 2023, during which the party won eight seats in the 2022 election.
He was elected a Member of the European Parliament in the 2024 European election, and is expected to be sworn-in in the upcoming Tenth European Parliament.

## Education and career

Cotrim de Figueiredo grew up in Lisbon, where he sold clothes hangers door-to-door for a company established by his great-grandfather. He attended the German School Lisbon before studying Economics at the London School of Economics, and then obtained a Masters in Business Administration from the NOVA University Lisbon.
He worked in executive positions at Compal, Nutricafés, Privado Holding and TVI. In 2015 he was elected vice president of the European Travel Commission, while also being president of the board at Turismo de Portugal.

## Politics

In July 2019, Cotrim de Figueiredo was chosen to head the Liberal Initiative's list in Lisbon for the October legislative elections. He became the party's only Assembly member, in their first elections.
After the resignation of Carlos Guimarães Pinto, Cotrim de Figueiredo ran for leader of the party in December 2019 and was elected with 96% of the votes.
In the snap election in January 2022, the Liberal Initiative received 5% of all votes, rising from one seat to eight and forming a parliamentary group. Cotrim de Figueiredo said that the group would be a firm opposition to socialism.
On 22 January 2023, Cotrim de Figueiredo was succeeded as leader of the Liberal Initiative by Rui Rocha, whom he had endorsed.

## Electoral history
### IL leadership election, 2019

Ballot: 8 December 2019 :
| Candidate | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | João Cotrim de Figueiredo | 181 | 95.8 |
| Blank/Invalid ballots | Blank/Invalid ballots | 8 | 4.2 |
| Turnout | Turnout | 189 | |
| Source: Results ||||

### Legislative election, 2022

Ballot: 30 January 2022 :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | Seats | +/− |
| | PS | António Costa | 2,302,601 | 41.4 | 120 | +12 |
| | PSD | Rui Rio | 1,618,381 | 29.1 | 77 | –2 |
| | Chega | André Ventura | 399,659 | 7.2 | 12 | +11 |
| | IL | João Cotrim Figueiredo | 273,687 | 4.9 | 8 | +7 |
| | BE | Catarina Martins | 244,603 | 4.4 | 5 | –14 |
| | CDU | Jerónimo de Sousa | 238,920 | 4.3 | 6 | –6 |
| | CDS–PP | Rodrigues dos Santos | 89,181 | 1.6 | 0 | –5 |
| | PAN | Inês Sousa Real | 88,152 | 1.6 | 1 | –3 |
| | Livre | Rui Tavares | 71,232 | 1.3 | 1 | ±0 |
| | Other parties | Other parties | 91,299 | 1.6 | 0 | ±0 |
| Blank/Invalid ballots | Blank/Invalid ballots | Blank/Invalid ballots | 146,824 | 2.6 | – | – |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 5,564,539 | 51.46 | 230 | ±0 |
| Source: Comissão Nacional de Eleições |||||||

### European Parliament election, 2024

Ballot: 9 June 2024 :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | Seats | +/− |
| | PS | Marta Temido | 1,268,915 | 32.1 | 8 | –1 |
| | AD | Sebastião Bugalho | 1,229,895 | 31.1 | 7 | ±0 |
| | Chega | António Tânger Corrêa | 387,068 | 9.8 | 2 | +2 |
| | IL | João Cotrim de Figueiredo | 358,811 | 9.1 | 2 | +2 |
| | BE | Catarina Martins | 168,107 | 4.3 | 1 | –1 |
| | CDU | João Oliveira | 162,630 | 4.1 | 1 | –1 |
| | Livre | Francisco Paupério | 148,572 | 3.8 | 0 | ±0 |
| | ADN | Joana Amaral Dias | 54,120 | 1.4 | 0 | ±0 |
| | PAN | Pedro Fidalgo Marques | 48,006 | 1.2 | 0 | –1 |
| | Other parties | Other parties | 48,647 | 1.2 | 0 | ±0 |
| Blank/Invalid ballots | Blank/Invalid ballots | Blank/Invalid ballots | 77,208 | 2.0 | – | – |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 3,951,979 | 36.63 | 21 | ±0 |
| Source: Comissão Nacional de Eleições |||||||