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.

Background

He is the son of António Óscar Carmona Rodrigues (Chaves, Santa Maria Maior –), a maternal nephew of his namesake Óscar Carmona, and wife Diogilda Nobre de Carvalho (Mafra, 14 February 1918 –).

Engineering

In 1973, Carmona Rodrigues entered the IST but immediately requested a transfer to the Portuguese Military Academy, where in 1978 he obtained a degree in civil engineering.

Between 1981 and 1982, he worked in Delft, Netherlands, specializing in hydraulics.

Upon returning to Portugal, he was invited to be an Assistant of the Department of Sciences and Engineering of the Environment, part of the School of Sciences and Technology of the New University of Lisbon, where he has worked since 1988.

In 1992, Rodrigues became a Doctor of Environmental Engineering through the New University of Lisbon. Since then, he has functioned as an Auxiliary Professor, having been a President of the Pedagogic Commission of the Degree course in Environmental Engineering between 1993 and 1996.

Entry into politics

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 led by Santana Lopes in July 2004, he returned to Lisbon city hall as President, 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.

Following the announcement that he was being investigated on allegations of corruption, he lost the political confidence of the PSD in May 2007, whose members of the city government, together with all the opposition, resigned their offices, in order to leave the city government without quorum and force new elections. These occurred on 15 July 2007.

Carmona Rodrigues announced on 23 May that he would re-run as an independent candidate; 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.

Family

He is married to 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
• Isabel Moreira Ribeiro Carmona Rodrigues

External links

• Government bio (Portuguese)