António José Seguro will take office this Monday, March 9, as President of the Portuguese Republic, in a formal session at the Assembly of the Republic beginning at 10:00 a.m. local time, where he will take the oath of office on the Constitution.
According to Lusa, throughout Monday, the new head of state will visit the Jerónimos Monastery in Lisbon, the Belém Palace, whose gardens will be open to the public, the Higher Institute of Social and Political Sciences (ISCSP), for a meeting with young people, and the Ajuda National Palace, where he will decorate his predecessor, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa.
Under the terms of the Constitution, the President-elect takes office before Parliament on the last day of the outgoing President’s term, making the following declaration of commitment: “I swear on my honor to faithfully perform the duties with which I am entrusted and to defend, comply with, and enforce the Constitution of the Portuguese Republic.”
According to the ceremonial protocol for the formal inauguration session, the President of the Assembly of the Republic, José Pedro Aguiar-Branco, will open the session and then suspend it to receive the President of the Republic, the President-elect, and the guests.
Several foreign heads of state invited
The King of Spain, Felipe VI, confirmed in mid-February that he would attend the inauguration of the new Portuguese head of state. It was also reported that the presidents of Angola, João Lourenço, Cape Verde, José Maria Neves, Mozambique, Daniel Chapo, São Tomé and Príncipe, Carlos Vila Nova, and East Timor, José Ramos-Horta, will be present.
António José Seguro will arrive at the São Bento Palace at 9:30 a.m., accompanied by his wife, Margarida Maldonado Freitas, and their two children. Fifteen minutes later, at 9:45 a.m., the current President of the Republic, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, will arrive.
At 10:00 a.m., the President of the Assembly of the Republic, “holding the original Constitution of the Portuguese Republic, announces that the President-elect will take the oath of office.”
The President-elect stands and takes the oath on the Constitution of the Portuguese Republic. This is followed by a 21-gun salute from the navy and the National Republican Guard Band, formed in the Passos Perdidos, plays the national anthem.
After the reading and signing of the certificate of inauguration, the President of the Assembly of the Republic gives a speech, followed by António José Seguro’s first speech as President of the Republic.
At the end of the session, the President of the Republic bids farewell to his predecessor and proceeds to the Noble Hall, where the customary greetings take place.
Ceremonies will continue on Tuesday
The new President will then travel to the Jerónimos Monastery to lay a wreath on Camões’ tomb at 1:00 p.m. He is scheduled to arrive at the Belém Palace at 1:25 p.m., accompanied by his family.
In Belém, António José Seguro will host a lunch at 2:00 p.m. for foreign heads of state and other dignitaries, with Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa in attendance. At 3:00 p.m., the palace gardens will be open to the public.
At 4:30 p.m., at the ISCP, the new head of state will meet with 52 young people, a symbolic number representing the years of Portuguese democracy, and at 6:00 p.m., he will fulfill the tradition of decorating his predecessor with the Grand Collar of the Order of Liberty at the Ajuda National Palace, where he will host a reception at 6:30 p.m.
António José Seguro, former secretary-general of the PS, was elected President of the Republic in the second round of the presidential elections on February 8, with more than 3.5 million votes, a record number, 66.84% of the votes cast, against André Ventura, president of Chega.
His inauguration ceremony program will continue on Tuesday in Arganil, Guimarães, and Porto.
