Pedro Pires
Pedro Verona Rodrigues Pires (born April 29, 1934 in São Filipe on Fogo ) is a Cape Verdean politician. He was President of Cape Verde from March 2001 to September 2011 .
Life
Pires studied at the University of Lisbon , where he met the later leaders of liberation movements who fought for the independence of the Portuguese colonies from Portugal. With the beginning of the fighting in Angola in 1961 he left Portugal and together with Amílcar Cabral founded the African Party for the independence of Guinea-Bissau and Cape Verde . He fought for independence until the Carnation Revolution and was then the spokesman for negotiations with Portugal.
After Cape Verde's declaration of independence on July 5, 1975, he became Prime Minister, which he remained until 1991, when Carlos Veiga's MPD gained a majority following the introduction of the multi-party system he helped initiate . In 2001 he finally stood against Veiga as a presidential candidate and won the runoff election by twelve votes. On March 22, 2001 he was sworn in as the successor to António Monteiro .
In the presidential election on February 12, 2006, Pires was re-elected by a narrow majority, ahead of his only opponent, Veiga.
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| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Pires, Pedro |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Pires, Pedro Verona Rodrigues (full name) |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Cape Verdean politician, President (2001-2011) |
| DATE OF BIRTH | April 29, 1934 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | São Filipe on Fogo |