Government to swear-in six new secretaries of state

The six new secretaries of state, whose nomination proposals were accepted by the president of Portugal, take office on Wednesday, at 6 pm, in Belém, together with the minister of infrastructure, João Galamba, and minister of housing, Marina Gonçalves.

Pedro Sousa Rodrigues, who replaces Alexandra Reis at the treasury, Ana Fontoura Gouveia, at energy and climate, Hugo Pires, at the environment, Frederico Francisco, at infrastructure, Fernanda Rodrigues, at housing, and Carla Alves, at agriculture, are to be sworn in by the head of state this afternoon.

According to an official government source, this last change at the ministry of agriculture is due to health reasons of the outgoing secretary of state, Rui Martinho.

The government sent the list now publicly disclosed with the names of the six new secretaries of state to the president of Portugal, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, on Tuesday evening.

Pedro Nuno Santos, now replaced in his ministerial portfolios by João Galamba and Marina Gonçalves, resigned from the government last Wednesday night to “take political responsibility” for the case of the €500,000 compensation TAP paid to former the secretary of state for the treasury, Alexandra Reis.

Pedro Nuno Santos’ resignation was the third in the government in the last week of December and the tenth to hit a member of the absolute majority Socialist executive.

On 27 December, the minister of finance, Fernando Medina, dismissed Alexandra Reis as secretary of state for the treasury, less than a month after having invited her to this position in the government and after four days of controversy over the €500,000 compensation she had received from TAP, the company then under the control of Pedro Nuno Santos.

Alexandra Reis received compensation for leaving early, in February, as executive director of the airline. In June, the government appointed her to the presidency of the Portuguese air traffic control company (NAV) and in December she became secretary of state for the treasury.

The decision to compensate Alexandra Reis, reported by Correio da Manhã, was criticised by the entire opposition and even by several PS leaders and questioned by President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa.

After the announcement of the departure of Alexandra Reis, the secretary of state for infrastructures, Hugo Santos Mendes, who accompanied the process with TAP, also resigned from the government, which led Pedro Nuno Santos to ask the prime minister to remove him from the government.