Francisco Assis

Francisco José Pereira de Assis Miranda (born 8 January 1965, in Amarante) is a Portuguese politician who served as a Member of the European Parliament (MEP) for the Socialist Party; part of the Party of European Socialists from 2004 to 2009, and again from 2014 until 2019. He is also a former mayor of Amarante, having been in office from 1989 to 1995, and member of the Assembly of Republic, for two time occasions, the first from 1995 to 2004 and the second from 2009 to 2014.[1]

Francisco Assis
Member of the European Parliament
In office
1 July 2014 – 2019
In office
20 July 2004 – 30 June 2009
ConstituencyPortugal
Mayor of Amarante
In office
1989–1995
Member of the Assembly of the Republic
In office
27 October 1995 – 19 July 2004
In office
20 June 2011 – 30 June 2014
ConstituencyPorto
In office
15 October 2009 – 19 June 2011
ConstituencyGuarda
Personal details
Born
Francisco José Pereira de Assis Miranda

(1965-01-08) 8 January 1965
Amarante, Portugal
Political party Portugal:
Socialist Party (1985–present)
Other political
affiliations		 EU:
Party of European Socialists
Spouse(s)Vanda Susana Pinto da Cunha Teixeira Pinto
Alma materUniversity of Porto
ProfessionTeacher

Political career

Role in national politics

Assis challenged incumbent António José Seguro for the party leadership in 2011.[2]

When the right-wing coalition government of Prime Minister Pedro Passos Coelho lost its absolute majority in parliament as a result of the 2015 legislative election, Assis condemned "left-wing fantasies" within his own Socialist Party, describing any attempt at an agreement with the Communists and the Left Bloc as "absurd".[3] However, on 24 November, Socialist leader António Costa was appointed as Prime Minister after forming a parliamentary alliance with three left-wing parties.[4] Assis has since been publicly voicing his staunch opposition against the new coalition agreement,[5][6] which he has reaffirmed in the context of the October 2017 local elections and wildfires' aftermath.[7][8]

Member of the European Parliament (2014–2019)

Ahead of the 2014 European elections, the Socialist Party named Assis at the top of their list.[9] Following elections, he became a member of the Committee on Foreign Affairs and the Subcommittee on Human Rights. He was also the chairman of the parliament's delegation for relations with Mercosur.

Assis has been a political commentator for television programmes on TV stations SIC Notícias and TVI 24 and a columnist for the newspaper Público.

References
  1. "Biografia (Francisco de Assis)". parlamento.pt (in Portuguese). Retrieved 21 September 2017.
  2. Nicholas Hirst (29 April 2014). "European issues v domestic austerity in Portugal" (Online). politico.eu. Brussels: European Voice. Retrieved 31 October 2017.
  3. Peter Wise (11 October 2015). "Portugal's socialists explore leftist alliance" (Online). ft.com. Financial Times. Retrieved 31 October 2017.
  4. Patricia Kowsmann, Matt Moffett (24 November 2015). "Socialist Leader António Costa Is Named as Portugal's Prime Minister" (Online). wsj.com. Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 31 October 2017.
  5. João Lima (6 November 2015). "Portugal's Socialists 'Hope' to Sign Accords for Government" (Online). Bloomberg Business. Bloomberg News. Retrieved 31 October 2017.
  6. Peter Wise (1 December 2015). "Portugal: backlash against austerity unites divided left" (Online). ft.com. Financial Times. Retrieved 31 October 2017.
  7. Francisco Assis (27 October 2017). "A novíssima "geringonça"" (Online). publico.pt (in Portuguese). Lisbon: Público. Retrieved 31 October 2017.
  8. Revista de Imprensa [Press Review] (27 October 2017). "Assis: "Podemos estar prestes a assistir ao surgimento de uma nova geringonça. Marcelo ocupará um lugar absolutamente central"" (Online). expresso.pt (in Portuguese). Lisbon: Expresso. Retrieved 31 October 2017.
  9. Dave Keating (24 February 2014). "More Parliament candidates announced" (Online). politico.eu. Brussels: European Voice. Retrieved 31 October 2017.
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