Carmona Rodrigues
António Pedro Nobre Carmona Rodrigues (Portuguese pronunciation: [kaɾˈmonɐ ʁuˈdɾiɡɨʃ]; born 23 June 1956 in Alvalade, Lisbon), grand-nephew of Óscar Carmona, is a university professor and a Portuguese politician. He was mayor of Lisbon (2004–2005, 2005–2007), and Minister of Public Works, Transportation and Habitation and the Minister of Cities in the 15th Constitutional Government of Portugal.
Carmona Rodrigues | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Mayor of Lisbon | |
| In office 28 October 2005 – 18 May 2007 | |
| Preceded by | Pedro Santana Lopes |
| Succeeded by | Marina Ferreira (Acting) |
| In office 16 July 2004 – 15 March 2005 | |
| Preceded by | Pedro Santana Lopes |
| Succeeded by | Pedro Santana Lopes |
| Minister of Public Works, Transport and Communications | |
| In office 5 April 2003 – 16 July 2004 | |
| Prime Minister | José Manuel Barroso |
| Preceded by | Luís Valente de Oliveira |
| Succeeded by | António Mexia |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 23 June 1956 São Sebastião da Pedreira, Lisbon, Lisbon, Portugal |
| Political party | Social Democratic Party |
Background
He is the son of António Óscar Carmona Rodrigues (Chaves, 17 December 1913 – 25 May 1975), a maternal nephew of his namesake António Óscar Fragoso Carmona, and wife Diogilda Nobre de Carvalho (Mafra, 14 February 1918 – 27 September 2009).
Engineering
In 1978, Carmona Rodrigues obtained a degree in Civil Engineering at the Military Academy, in Lisbon. He started his professional career at Hidroprojecto, a large consulting firm in Portugal. Between 1981 and 1982, he made a post-graduation course in Hydraulic Engineering at IHE Delft, The Netherlands.
Upon returning to Portugal, he was invited to be an Assistant of the Department of Sciences and Environmental Engineering, part of the Faculty of Sciences and Technology of the New University of Lisbon, where he has worked since 1983. In 1992, Rodrigues became a Doctor of Environmental Engineering through the New University of Lisbon. Since then, he has been responsible for the courses of Hydraulics, Water Resources and Hydrological Modelling, and responsible for the Hydraulics Laboratory "Prof. Armando Lencastre".
He has participated and was responsible for several research projects, namely in the areas of water resources and water quality modelling. Published four books and more than forty articles in national and international magazines and conferences. Adviser of several MSc and PhD thesis in the area of water resources and was invited to be a member of various academic juries.
He was involved in several important projects in Portugal and some abroad, including water resources planning, mathematical modelling studies, hydraulic works, river training and environmental impact studies. He is a member of the Portuguese Academy of Engineering, the National Water Council, the Portuguese Commission of Large Dams, the Portuguese Order of Engineers, ans was the President of the Portuguese Association of Water Resources.
Entry into politics
For the local elections of December 2001, he integrated the candidate list headed by Santana Lopes Partido Social Democrata (PSD - Social Democratic Party) as an independent. He became vice-Mayor of Lisbon in January 2002.
15th Constitutional Government
In April 2003 Rodrigues was integrated into the 15th Constitutional Government of Portugal as Minister of the Public Works, Transportation and Habitation. He spent 15 months in the post, during which many advancements were made, such as the creation of metropolitan authorities of transports, a Spanish-Portuguese agreement on the construction of high-speed rail lines, and legislation for the creation of the societies of urbane rehabilitation.
With the inauguration of the 16th Constitutional Government of Portugal in July 2004, he returned to Lisbon city hall as Mayor, an office he held for eight months. In March 2005, with the fall of the 16th Constitutional Government and the return of Santana Lopes to the municipal government, Carmona Rodrigues took the vice-presidency of the city government over again.
Mayoral election
In October 2005, Rodrigues won the mayoral election over Manuel Maria Carrilho, of the Socialist Party (PS), once again becoming Mayor of Lisbon, as an independent candidate supported by the Partido Social Democrata (PSD - Social Democratic Party). The results in the city's team of vereadores (municipal government) were: 8 to PSD, 5 to PS, 2 to the communist coalition, 1 to CDS-PP and 1 to the Left Bloc.
In 2007, following a crisis of governance, motivated by the exchange of lands of the former Popular Fair in Entrecampos, by land in the Park Mayer of the company Bragaparques, an operation that was approved by the Lisbon Municipal Assembly in 2005, the PSD, under the leadership of Luís Marques Mendes, sent his councilmen in the CML to resign, which resulted in the fall of the Municipal Executive, the marking of midterm elections and the end of the term of Carmona Rodrigues. Since then the PSD has not returned to win the City Hall of Lisbon.
Carmona Rodrigues announced on 23 May that he would re-run as an candidate with an independent movement that he created for that purpose Lisboa com Carmona. The midterm elections occurred on 15 July 2007. He end up in second place with 16.7% of the votes (behind António Costa (PS), but ahead of Fernando Negrão (PSD)), in an election marked by a very high abstention. This was one the first important electoral results of independent movements in Portugal municipal elections. This Lisboa com Carmona movement elected four city councilors. He left active politics in 2009.
Family
He married Maria Isabel Giménez-Salinas Moreira Ribeiro, daughter of Fernando Moreira Ribeiro and wife Spanish María de la Concepción Giménez-Salinas y Martín, by whom he has three daughters:
- Margarida Moreira Ribeiro Carmona Rodrigues (b. 1987)
- Joana Moreira Ribeiro Carmona Rodrigues (b. 1990)
- Isabel Moreira Ribeiro Carmona Rodrigues (b. 1992)
He divorced and later married Ana Margarida Salina Ferro de Beça, by whom he has one son:
- António Ferro de Beça Carmona Rodrigues (b. 2010)
Sports
Former rugby athlete, playing for the Portuguese club CDUL between 1970 and 1986, national champion in all the age categories, winner of several national cups and the Iberian Cup in 1983.
