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General information

Portugal

Political outline | Living conditions | Useful resources | Communications

Political outline

Executive Power: The President is the Head of State. He is elected by universal suffrage for a five year term and is the Commander-in-chief of the Army. After a general election, the leader of the majority party or coalition is usually appointed to be Prime Minister by the President, for a four year term. The Prime Minister is the head of the government, and he holds the executive power, which includes implementing laws and overseeing the everyday running of the country. The Council of Ministers is appointed by the President on the recommendation of the Prime Minister. There is also a Council of State, which acts as an advisory body to the President.
Legislative Power: Portuguese legislative power is unicameral. The parliament, called the Assembly of the Republic, has 230 seats. The members are elected by universal suffrage for a four year term and the executive branch of government is directly or indirectly dependent on the support of parliament often expressed by a vote of confidence. The Prime Minister cannot dissolve the Assembly, but the President can do so and call for an early election if he so wishes. Portuguese citizens enjoy considerable political rights.
Main political parties: Political life in Portugal is mainly dominated by two parties: the PS (Socialist Party) and the PSD (Social Democratic Party). Other parties active in the country are:
- The PP (Popular Party) – Christian democrats,
- The PCP (Portuguese Communist Party) – left-wing party,
- Bloco de Esquerda (Left-wing block) - Association of parties left of the Communist party
Current political leaders: President : Anibal CAVACO Silva (since March 2006) - PSD
Prime Minister: Jose SOCRATES (since March 2005) - PS
Next election dates: Presidential elections: January 2011

Living conditions

Health and safety

Health precautions

A certificate of vaccination against yellow fever is required for travelers over one year old coming from infected areas.

International hospitals

British Hospital
S. Louis Hospital

There are also large private hospitals, which belong to Portuguese financial/banking groups and have agreements with complementary health insurance companies: Hospital CUF Descobertas, Hospital da Luz, SAMS. The personnel speaks English and often French.

For further information on sanitary conditions

Direcção Geral de Alfandegas

For further information on safety conditions

The advice of the Canadian Ministry of Foreign Affairs

For more information:

The travel advice of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office

Emergency numbers

ambulances and medical emergencies and police

112

Time difference and climate

Time and time difference: It is %T:%M %A in Lisbon (GMT in winter, GMT+1 in summer)
Summer time period: Summer time from March to October

Map of the time zone

Type of climate: Average temperatures in Lisbon in January are 8°C and in June 28°C. The best seasons for visiting the country are spring (between April and June) and the end of summer, beginning of autumn (between September and October). However, for bathing, it is better to visit the country during July, August and September, or even October (in the south of Portugal and in Madeira). The summer months are from mid-June to mid-September.

For further information: The Portuguese Meteorological Institute website

To know the weather in Portugal, consult the website of Metoffice.

Average annual temperatures and rainfall

Useful resources

To find an accommodation: Visit Portugal Visit Portugal Visit Portugal Visit Portugal Visit Portugal Visit Portugal Solares of Portugal
Visit Portugal
Accommodation Guide
Accommodation advice from the Portuguese Embassy in France
Visit Azores
Accommodation in Madeira
To find an apartment: In´s, for Lisbon and the surrounding area
Square, for the whole country

Expresso online weekly
BPI bank
Jornal Ocasião online version
To find a job: Stepstone
Michael Page

Communications

Telephone codes: To call in Portugal from the United Kingdom, dial 00 (or +) +351.
To call the United Kingdom fromPortugal, dial 00 (ou +) 44.
Mobile telephone standards: GSM, GPRS,PTT, UMTS, WCDMA, EDGE.
To know if you can use your mobile phone in Portugal, just click on the name of your provider: O², T-mobile, Orange, Vodafone or 3 Mobile .
Internet suffix: .pt
Zip codes: To find zip codes in Portugal, click here. We’ll get back to you at any business hour of your choice.

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