Hugo Soares proposes four new "vice" members of the bench

PSD parliamentary leader candidate Hugo Soares will propose four new vice-presidents for the bench, including former Secretaries of State Cristina Vaz Tomé and Paulo Lopes Marcelo.

According to the list to which Lusa had access, the other two new proposed vice-presidents are deputy Bruno Ventura, elected by Lisbon, and deputy Dulcineia Moura, elected by Guarda, and who was already secretary of the parliamentary group.

In the list of directors that will be voted on Wednesday, between 3:00 pm and 5:00 pm, Hugo Soares proposes the continuity of eight of the 12 vice-presidents: former president of the Order of Physicians Miguel Guimarães, former deputy secretary-general Hugo Carneiro, deputy Regina Bastos, local authority coordinator Pedro Alves, former president of the Rio Maior City Council Isaura Morais, former leader of the JSD Alexandre Poço, deputy for Lisbon António Rodrigues and deputy Andreia Neto, elected for Porto.

The new secretaries of the bench proposed are Fernando Queiroga, former president of the Boticas Chamber, and João Antunes dos Santos, elected by Leiria.

In the XXIV Constitutional Government, the first executive led by Luís Montenegro, Cristina Vaz Tomé was Secretary of State for Health Management and Paulo Lopes Marcelo was Secretary of State for the Presidency of the Council of Ministers.

The previous leadership of the parliamentary group includes Cristóvão Norte, who will be a candidate for the Faro Municipal Council, Hugo Oliveira, a candidate for the Caldas da Rainha Council, and two other members who left the group to join the Government: João Valle e Azevedo, Secretary of State for the Presidency, and Silvério Regalado, Secretary of State for Local Administration.

PSD parliamentary leader Hugo Soares announced that he would run for office again at the new party's first meeting on June 2.

“It’s where I feel good and where I think I can continue to help the country, firstly, and the Government secondly”, explained the PSD’s general secretary.

In the last legislature, Hugo Soares was elected leader of the social-democratic parliamentary group with 98.7% of the votes, on April 9th ​​last year.

Hugo Soares had already been president of the social-democratic bench, elected on July 19, 2017, with 85.4% of the votes, having then succeeded Luís Montenegro in the position.

However, just seven months later, in February 2018, he would end up calling early elections for the parliamentary group , after the new president of the PSD Rui Rio expressed his desire to work with another bench leadership, and his successor was Fernando Negrão, elected with less than 40% of the votes.

Hugo Soares is from Braga, born on March 2, 1983 (42 years old), and has been Montenegro's right-hand man over the last few years.

President of the Social Democratic Youth between 2012 and 2014, he was a deputy in the Assembly of the Republic between June 2011 and October 2019 and, again, since 2024.

A lawyer by profession and a business administrator, he returned to the forefront of political life with the victory of the current president of the PSD in the 2022 internal elections and assumed the position of secretary-general. In the legislative elections of May 18th of this year, he was re-elected deputy as head of the list for Braga.