A permanent magnet electric motor in which magnetic poles are each formed such that they are surrounded by two low coercivity permanent magnets and one high coercivity permanent magnet, the low coercivity permanent magnets having a small value as the product of the coercivity and the thickness in the magnetization direction thereof, the high coercivity permanent magnets having a large value as the product of the coercivity and the thickness in the magnetization direction thereof, in which a rotor having a plurality of the magnetic poles is formed by embedding a plurality of the high and low coercivity permanent magnets inside a magnetic rotor core, wherein the low coercivity permanent magnets are embedded in the rotor core and each arranged along with the radial direction of the rotor that matches the q-axis as a center axis between magnetic poles, and the magnetization direction thereof is in the orthogonal direction to the radial direction, whereas the high coercivity permanent magnets are embedded in the rotor core and each arranged along with the round of the rotor such that they are each put between two low coercivity permanent magnets on the inner side of the rotor, and the magnetization direction thereof is in the orthogonal direction to the round of the rotor, in which a stator is located outside the rotor with an air gap intervening between them, in which the stator has an armature core and an armature coil, and in which at least one of the low coercivity permanent magnets is magnetized and demagnetized by a magnetic field generated by a d-axis current of the armature coil, characterized in that each magnetic pole of the permanent magnet electric motor comprises a short circuit coil or a conductive plate located in a part of the rotor core, wherein the short circuit coil or the conductive plate is arranged so that conduction of a d-axis current through the armature coil generates a magnetic flux which induces a short circuit current in the short circuit coil or the conductive plate, wherein the short circuit coil or the conductive plate is one of: a short circuit coil located on the periphery of the high coercivity permanent magnet of the magnetic pole, which is other than the at least one low coercivity permanent magnet to be magnetized, wherein the short circuit coil is located such that an axis extending in the magnetization direction of the magnet is the center axis of the short circuit coil, and a conductive plate located on a surface that faces the high coercivity permanent magnet of the magnetic pole in the magnetization direction of the high coercivity permanent magnet, which is other than the at least one low coercivity permanent magnet to be magnetized, wherein the short circuit coil or the conductive plate is adapted to generate a short circuit current, which is generated by flowing a d-axis current through the armature coil to form a magnetic field directed to the reverse direction of the direction in which the low coercivity permanent magnet is magnetized, and subsequently flowing a d-axis current through the armature coil to form a magnetic field directed to the direction in which the low coercivity permanent magnet is magnetized. a short circuit coil located on the periphery of the high coercivity permanent magnet of the magnetic pole, which is other than the at least one low coercivity permanent magnet to be magnetized, wherein the short circuit coil is located such that an axis extending in the magnetization direction of the magnet is the center axis of the short circuit coil, and a conductive plate located on a surface that faces the high coercivity permanent magnet of the magnetic pole in the magnetization direction of the high coercivity permanent magnet, which is other than the at least one low coercivity permanent magnet to be magnetized, wherein the short circuit coil or the conductive plate is adapted to generate a short circuit current, which is generated by flowing a d-axis current through the armature coil to form a magnetic field directed to the reverse direction of the direction in which the low coercivity permanent magnet is magnetized, and subsequently flowing a d-axis current through the armature coil to form a magnetic field directed to the direction in which the low coercivity permanent magnet is magnetized.