2004 Portuguese Socialist Party leadership election

The 2004 Portuguese Socialist Party leadership election was held on 25 and 26 September 2004. The leadership ballot was called after Socialist Party Secretary-General Eduardo Ferro Rodrigues resigned as leader of the PS, against the decision of President Jorge Sampaio to appoint Pedro Santana Lopes as prime minister, replacing José Durão Barroso.^[1]

The declared candidates included the former Minister of the Environment José Sócrates, historic Socialist deputy Manuel Alegre and former Mayor of Lisbon and son of former president Mário Soares, João Soares. Sócrates won the election, becoming the 6th Secretary-general of the Socialist Party.^[2]

Candidates

Name	Born	Experience
José Sócrates	6 September 1957 (age 47) Alijó	Member of Parliament for Castelo Branco (1987–2011) Minister of the Environment (1999–2002) Minister in the Cabinet of the Prime Minister (1997–1999)
Manuel Alegre	12 May 1936 (age 68) Águeda	Member of Parliament for Coimbra (1975–2009) Member of the Council of State (1996–2002)
João Soares	29 August 1949 (age 55) Lisbon	Member of Parliament from Lisbon (2002–2009) Mayor of Lisbon (1995–2001) Member of Parliament from Lisbon (1987–1991)

^ Bancaleiro, Cláudia (2004-07-09). "Ferro Rodrigues demite-se da liderança do PS". PÚBLICO (in Portuguese). Retrieved 2024-04-16.
^ "Sócrates eleito Secretário Geral do PS" (in European Portuguese). Retrieved 2024-04-16.
^ "Sócrates novo líder indiscutível | Correio da Manhã". 2004-09-26. Retrieved 2024-04-16.