Henrique José Praia da Rocha de Freitas (born 13 March 1961) is a Portuguese politician who served as Secretary of State for Defense and Former Combatants in the XV Constitutional Government, led by José Manuel Barroso.

Henrique de Freitas
Henrique de Freitas in 2024
Member of the Assembly of the Republic
Assumed office
26 March 2024
ConstituencyPortalegre
In office
23 October 1999 – 15 October 2009
ConstituencyLisbon
Secretary of State for Defense and Former Combatants
In office
6 April 2002 – 17 July 2004
Prime MinisterJosé Manuel Barroso
MinisterPaulo Portas
Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs of the Portuguese Republic
In office
21 July 2004 – 12 March 2005
Councillor of the Lisbon Municipal Assembly
In office
1 January 2002 – 1 April 2002
Personal details
Born
Henrique José Praia da Rocha de Freitas

(1961-03-13) 13 March 1961 (age 63)
Lisbon, Portugal
Political partyChega (2023–present)
Other political
affiliations
Social Democratic Party (1979–2023)
Alma materCatholic University of Portugal
ProfessionUniversitary teacher

He has a degree in International Relations from the Lusíada University of Lisbon, and also attended the Law course at the Catholic University. As a member of the Social Democratic Party, at the age of 25 he was elected President of the Parish of Mercês. At the same time, he was a member of the Lisbon Municipal Assembly, where between January and April 2002 he served as a member of the City Council.[1]

In 1999, he was elected as a member of the Assembly of the Republic for Lisbon and remained in the position until 2009. In Parliament, he coordinated the National Defense Commission and was President of the Foreign Affairs, Portuguese Communities and Cooperation Commission. During this same period he was a member of the Parliamentary Assembly of NATO.[2][3]

While the PSD was in opposition, Henrique de Freitas was part of the party's Shadow Cabinet for the area of Cooperation and Lusophony. However, he ended up being invited to join the Ministry of Defense, as Secretary of State for Defense and Former Combatants, in April 2002, when Durão Barroso became Prime Minister.[4]

In 2010, he was appointed for a period of three years to hold the position of technical advisor - specialized staff from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in the Portuguese Delegation to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, in Brussels.[5]

In the 2011 presidential elections, he supported Manuel Alegre's candidacy.[6] He was also part of the Honor Committee for Alegre's candidacy, supported by the Socialist Party and the Left Bloc.[7]

In January 2023, he joined CHEGA.[8] In 2024, he was confirmed as a candidate for MP in that year's legislative elections for Portalegre.[9][10]

References

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  1. ^ Portugal, Rádio e Televisão de (2024-01-14). "Henrique de Freitas acusa PSD de insultar a diplomacia". Henrique de Freitas acusa PSD de insultar a diplomacia (in Portuguese). Retrieved 2024-02-03.
  2. ^ PÚBLICO, Lusa (2006-12-14). "Henrique Freitas acusa direcção parlamentar do PSD de "grave erro político"". PÚBLICO (in Portuguese). Retrieved 2024-02-03.
  3. ^ Simas, Nuno (2009-08-05). "Henrique Freitas saiu da lista do PSD por Lisboa". PÚBLICO (in Portuguese). Retrieved 2024-02-03.
  4. ^ Claro, Luís (2024-01-12). "Ex-governante do PSD vai entrar nas listas do Chega". Jornal NOVO (in European Portuguese). Retrieved 2024-02-03.
  5. ^ diariodarepublica.pt https://diariodarepublica.pt/dr/detalhe/despacho/2893-2010-1401242. Retrieved 2024-02-03. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  6. ^ "Arquivo.pt". arquivo.pt. Archived from the original on 2010-12-08. Retrieved 2024-02-03.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  7. ^ SAPO. "Hugo Soares cola Henrique de Freitas ao PS: "Ocupou cargos nomeado por José Sócrates e foi apoiante de Manuel Alegre"". Polígrafo (in Portuguese). Retrieved 2024-03-25.
  8. ^ "Chega: ex-governante do PSD Henrique de Freitas filia-se no Chega e será candidato a deputado". Expresso (in Portuguese). 2024-01-13. Retrieved 2024-02-03.
  9. ^ Serrano, Augusta (2024-01-23). "Henrique de Freitas, antigo governante do PSD, lidera lista do Chega pelo círculo de Portalegre". Rádio Campanário (in European Portuguese). Retrieved 2024-02-03.
  10. ^ Claro, Luís (2024-01-12). "Ex-governante do PSD vai entrar nas listas do Chega". Jornal NOVO (in European Portuguese). Retrieved 2024-02-03.