António Costa

António Costa is a Portuguese Socialist Party (PS) politician and the President of the European Council since 2024.

Political career

António Luís Santos da Costa was born in 1961 in Lisbon into a politically engaged family: his father, Orlando da Costa, was a writer, and his mother, Carolina Oliveira, was a journalist. He studied law at the University of Lisbon, where he became involved in student politics and began building links with the Socialist Party and the broader democratic left during the post-authoritarian consolidation of Portuguese democracy.

Costa joined the PS and entered public life in the 1980s. He was first elected to the Assembly of the Republic in 1991, developing a reputation as a disciplined parliamentarian with strong organisational skills. In the 1990s he served in government in several capacities, including as Deputy Minister for Parliamentary Affairs and later as Minister of Parliamentary Affairs, positions that placed him close to the centre of coalition management and legislative coordination. He also served as Minister of Justice in 2005–2007, where he was associated with reforms aimed at improving court efficiency and modernising the justice system.

Costa became Mayor of Lisbon in 2007, succeeding Carmona Rodrigues after a municipal crisis. He remained in office until 2015 and used the mayoralty to consolidate his profile as a pragmatic, urban, and administrative politician. His period in Lisbon was marked by efforts to stabilise municipal finances, manage city infrastructure, and promote Lisbon internationally, especially through tourism and investment.

In 2014, Costa won the leadership of the Socialist Party after a contested internal race. Despite the PS finishing second in the 2015 legislative election, he negotiated parliamentary support from other left-wing parties, enabling him to form a minority government. He became Prime Minister of Portugal in November 2015, leading two consecutive governments until 2024. His tenure was notable for combining fiscal restraint with the restoration of wages, pensions, and public services after the austerity years. He resigned in November 2023 following a corruption investigation involving members of his administration and did not return as prime minister. In 2024, he was chosen as President of the European Council, becoming one of the most senior Portuguese figures in the European Union.

Relationship with the public

Costa has generally been regarded as an effective, media-savvy and accessible political operator. In Lisbon, he developed a public image as a practical administrator rather than a doctrinaire ideologue, which helped him appeal to moderate voters beyond the Socialist base. His style is often described as calm, institutional, and highly strategic, with a preference for negotiation and coalition-building.

His relationship with the electorate improved significantly during the early years of his premiership, when Portugal emerged from the debt crisis with relatively strong economic growth and improved social indicators. Many voters associated him with a return to stability after the harshest period of austerity. At the same time, he has faced criticism from opponents who see him as excessively cautious, overly tactical, and willing to make concessions that blur political alternatives.

Costa has usually maintained strong links with civil society, trade unions and local government, although his governments were also criticised by some sectors for the gradual pace of change in public services, housing, transport, and health. In the media, he was often seen as a highly prepared communicator, comfortable in political negotiation and public debate, but also as a leader who preferred control and message discipline.

Positions and political profile

António Costa is identified with a centre-left, reformist and pragmatic strand of the Socialist Party. He has typically defended a balance between budgetary credibility and social protection, arguing that economic recovery and welfare expansion need not be mutually exclusive. This approach became central to the political formula of his governments after 2015, when Portugal combined lower deficits with rises in the minimum wage, pensions, and public-sector incomes.

He is known for championing:

• European integration and a pro-EU orientation
• Fiscal responsibility within a social-democratic framework
• Public investment in infrastructure and services
• Coalition politics and institutional compromise
• Decentralisation and the strengthening of local government

As prime minister, one of his defining decisions was the arrangement with the left-wing parties that supported his first minority government, an arrangement often referred to as the “geringonça”. It was politically significant because it demonstrated that the PS could govern without a formal coalition majority while keeping markets and European partners broadly reassured. Another defining feature of his leadership was his emphasis on steady economic management rather than ideological confrontation.

Inside the PS, Costa has been viewed as a highly capable power broker and election winner, though not always as a transformative ideologue. Supporters praise his pragmatism, negotiation skills and electoral resilience; critics from both the left and right have sometimes portrayed him as managerial, incremental and too focused on tactical equilibrium. Outside the party, he has generally been respected for his competence and European credibility, especially in EU circles, where his transition to the European Council presidency reflected his standing as a seasoned consensus-builder.

Frequently asked questions

Who is António Costa? António Costa is a Portuguese Socialist Party politician who has served as President of the European Council since 2024 and was Prime Minister of Portugal from 2015 to 2024.

What party does António Costa belong to? He belongs to the Socialist Party (PS), Portugal’s main centre-left party.

What was António Costa’s biggest role in Portuguese politics? His most important national role was Prime Minister of Portugal, where he led two governments and became closely associated with a pragmatic, pro-European form of social democracy.

What was António Costa known for as prime minister? He was known for combining budget discipline with measures to restore wages, pensions and public services after the austerity period, while keeping Portugal stable in EU and financial markets.

Was António Costa Mayor of Lisbon? Yes. He was Mayor of Lisbon from 2007 to 2015, a period during which he built much of his public reputation as an efficient and credible administrator.

Why is António Costa significant in European politics? His election as President of the European Council made him one of the most senior figures in the European Union, reflecting his reputation as a negotiator and consensus-builder.