First Lady of Portugal (Portuguese: primeira-dama) is the unofficial title attributed to the wife or Partner of the president of Portugal. To date, there has been no first gentleman of Portugal. The position is occupied by Margarida Maldonado Freitas since the presidential inauguration of António José Seguro in 2026.
History The inaugural first lady of Portugal was Lucrécia de Arriaga (1911–1915), wife of the first president of the First Portuguese Republic, Manuel de Arriaga.
Maria Joana Queiroga de Almeida, Portugal's first lady from 1919 to 1923 and the wife of President António José de Almeida, was one of the country's first first ladies to take on public, ceremonial roles. She took on a very public role in 1920 as the hostess during the official state visit of Leopold III of Belgium, the then-heir to the Belgian throne, in 1920. By contrast, Almeida's successor, Belmira das Neves, first lady from 1923 to 1925, largely avoided the public spotlight, but played a supporting role to her husband, Manuel Teixeira Gomes, behind the scenes.
Role and duties The role of the Portuguese president's spouse, be it "First Lady" or "First Gentleman", is not an official office and, as such, they are not given a salary or official duties. The first ladies have played a mere protocol role during official ceremonies and state visits. However, since 1996, under the presidency of Jorge Sampaio, the president's spouse has the right to a workplace and a three-people staff incorporated in the President's Office. In addition, according to the Portuguese State Protocol's order of precedence, the spouse of any high-ranking office holder is given the same rank as theirs, as long as the spouse is also invited to the ceremony.
With current president's spouse refusing to use the president's spouse workplace, the only two first ladies to have used it were Jorge Sampaio and Aníbal Cavaco Silva's wives: Maria José Ritta and Maria Cavaco Silva.
List of first ladies of Portugal
First Portuguese Republic (1910–1926) #PortraitName Term of officePresidentStartEnd1Lucrécia de Arriaga 1911 1915Manuel de Arriaga–Vacant 1915 1915 Teófilo Braga2Elzira Dantas Machado 1915 1917Bernardino Machado3Maria dos Prazeres Bessa Pais 1918 1918Sidónio Pais4Mariana do Canto e Castro 1918 1919João do Canto e Castro5Maria Joana Queiroga 1919 1923António José de Almeida6Belmira das Neves 1923 1925Manuel Teixeira Gomes7Elzira Dantas Machado 1925 1926Bernardino Machado
National Dictatorship / New State (1926–1974) #PortraitName Term of officePresidentStartEnd8Maria das Dores Cabeçadas 1926 1926José Mendes Cabeçadas9Henriqueta Gomes da Costa 1926 1926Manuel Gomes da Costa10Maria do Carmo Carmona 1926 1951António Óscar Carmona–Vacant19511951António de Oliveira Salazar (interim)11Berta Craveiro Lopes 1951 1958Francisco Craveiro Lopes–Vacant 1958 195812Gertrudes Rodrigues 1958 1974Américo Tomás
Third Portuguese Republic (1974–Present) #PortraitName Term of officePresidentStartEnd13Maria Helena Spínola 1974 1974António de Spínola14Estela Costa Gomes 1974 1976Francisco da Costa Gomes15Manuela Ramalho Eanes 1976 1986António Ramalho Eanes16Maria Barroso 1986 1996Mário Soares17Maria José Ritta 1996 2006Jorge Sampaio18Maria Cavaco Silva 2006 2016Aníbal Cavaco Silva–Vacant 2016 2026 Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa19Margarida Maldonado Freitas2026IncumbentAntónio José Seguro
In popular culture In 2005, an exhibit on the history of Portugal's first ladies, called Primeiras-Damas da Republica Portuguesa 1910-2005 (Portuguese First Ladies Exhibition 1910-2005), opened at the IADE Cultural Centre in Lisbon. The exhibition, which encompassed two entire floors of the IADE's cultural centre, included documents, clothing, gowns, jewelry, and letters once owned by Portugal's first ladies.
Items on display included former first lady Maria Helena de Barros Spinola's black evening gown and 1920s-era clothing, fans and furs worn by Maria das Dores Cabeçadas, the first lady in 1926. Pieces from Maria José Ritta, who was the first lady at the time of the 2005 exhibition, included a lemon yellow Dior-style suit worn during her employment at TAP Portugal during the 1970s, as well as clothing and dresses worn during state visits to Brazil and other nations.
In 2011, journalist Alberta Marques Fernandes published her book As Primeiras-Damas ("The First Ladies") about the wives of the presidents of the Third Portuguese Republic.
See also President of Portugal
References