João Cotrim de Figueiredo
João Cotrim de Figueiredo | |
|---|---|
 Official portrait, 2024 | |
| President of the Liberal Initiative | |
| In office 8 December 2019 – 22 January 2023 | |
| Secretary-General | Miguel Rangel |
| Preceded by | Carlos Guimarães Pinto |
| Succeeded by | Rui Rocha |
| Member of the European Parliament | |
| Assumed office 16 July 2024 | |
| Constituency | Portugal |
| Member of the Assembly of the Republic | |
| In office 25 October 2019 – 25 March 2024 | |
| Constituency | Lisbon |
| Personal details | |
| Born | João Fernando Cotrim de Figueiredo 24 June 1961 Lisbon, Portugal |
| Party | Liberal Initiative |
| Spouse |
Patrícia Poppe
(m. 1987; div. 2010) |
| Children | 4 |
| Alma mater | London School of Economics NOVA University Lisbon |
| Occupation | Businessman • Politician |
João Fernando Cotrim de Figueiredo (born 24 June 1961) is a Portuguese businessman and politician of the Liberal Initiative who has been serving as a Member of the European Parliament since the 2024 European election.
Cotrim de Figueiredo was the party's first member of the Assembly of the Republic, for Lisbon, in October 2019. He was the leader of the party between October 2019 and January 2023, during which the party won eight seats in the 2022 election. He was a candidate in the 2026 Portuguese presidential election.
Early life and education
Cotrim de Figueiredo was born and grew up in Lisbon, where he sold clothes hangers door-to-door for a company established by his great-grandfather. He attended the German School of Lisbon before studying Economics at the London School of Economics, and then obtained a Master's in Business Administration from the NOVA University Lisbon.[1][2]
Early career
While studying in London, Cotrim de Figueiredo supported himself with jobs including serving cocktails at the Serpentine Galleries, later reflecting that workers were looked at with contempt at such events.[3]
Cotrim de Figueiredo worked in executive positions at Compal, Nutricafés, Privado Holding and TVI. In 2015 he was elected vice president of the European Travel Commission. He was the president of Turismo de Portugal, a governmental entity, from December 2013 to February 2016.[1][2]
Political career
| Campaign | President of Portugal in the 2026 Portuguese presidential election |
|---|---|
| Candidate | João Cotrim de Figueiredo, Member of the European Parliament (2024–present) |
| Affiliation | Liberal Initiative |
| Status |
|
| Key people |
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| Slogan | Imagina Portugal (Imagine Portugal) |
| Website | |
| cotrim2026 | |
In July 2019, Cotrim de Figueiredo was chosen to head the Liberal Initiative's list in Lisbon for the October legislative elections.[4] He became the party's only Assembly member, in their first elections.[5]
After the resignation of Carlos Guimarães Pinto, Cotrim de Figueiredo ran for leader of the party in December 2019 and was elected with 96% of the votes.[6]
In the snap election in January 2022, the Liberal Initiative received 5% of all votes, rising from one seat to eight and forming a parliamentary group. Cotrim de Figueiredo said that the group would be a firm opposition to socialism.[7]
On 22 January 2023, Cotrim de Figueiredo was succeeded as leader of the Liberal Initiative by Rui Rocha, whom he had endorsed.[8]
Member of the European Parliament, 2024–present
In the 2024 European Parliament election in Portugal, Cotrim de Figueiredo led the Liberal Initiative list, which had two of the country's 21 members elected to the European Parliament.[9]
With support of the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe Party (ALDE), Cotrim de Figueiredo announced his intention to challenge incumbent Valérie Hayer and ran for the leadership of the Renew Europe group of liberal MEPs, but withdrew.[10][11] He was subsequently elected Hayer's deputy in leading the Renew Europe group and joined the Committee on Industry, Research and Energy.[12]
Candidacy for 2026 presidential election
In August 2025, Cotrim de Figueiredo announced his candidacy for the 2026 Portuguese presidential election.[13] Shortly before the vote, his campaign suffered a setback when his former advisor Inês Bichão accused him of past sexual assault in an Instagram post that was later deleted. Cotrim de Figueiredo swiftly denied the accusations, calling them an attempt to undermine his candidacy.[14] Although he fell short of qualifying for the second round, he finished third and secured 16 percent of the vote.[15]
Political positions
Cotrim de Figueiredo has criticized the European Commission for delaying the implementation of the recommendations of the Draghi report on European economic competitiveness, arguing that the European Union faces an urgent economic challenge due to persistently low growth.[16]
He has called for rapid action to strengthen competitiveness and innovation, as well as to reduce bureaucracy and regulatory burdens across Europe.[16][17]
He has spoken out against the Russian invasion of Ukraine.[18]
Electoral history
IL leadership election, 2019
| Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|
| João Cotrim de Figueiredo | 181 | 95.8 | |
| Blank/Invalid ballots | 8 | 4.2 | |
| Turnout | 189 | ||
| Source: Results[19] | |||
Legislative election, 2022
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | Seats | +/− | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PS | António Costa | 2,302,601 | 41.4 | 120 | +12 | |
| PSD | Rui Rio | 1,618,381 | 29.1 | 77 | –2 | |
| Chega | André Ventura | 399,659 | 7.2 | 12 | +11 | |
| IL | João Cotrim Figueiredo | 273,687 | 4.9 | 8 | +7 | |
| BE | Catarina Martins | 244,603 | 4.4 | 5 | –14 | |
| CDU | Jerónimo de Sousa | 238,920 | 4.3 | 6 | –6 | |
| CDS–PP | Rodrigues dos Santos | 89,181 | 1.6 | 0 | –5 | |
| PAN | Inês Sousa Real | 88,152 | 1.6 | 1 | –3 | |
| Livre | Rui Tavares | 71,232 | 1.3 | 1 | ±0 | |
| Other parties | 91,299 | 1.6 | 0 | ±0 | ||
| Blank/Invalid ballots | 146,824 | 2.6 | – | – | ||
| Turnout | 5,564,539 | 51.46 | 230 | ±0 | ||
| Source: Comissão Nacional de Eleições[20] | ||||||
European Parliament election, 2024
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | Seats | +/− | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PS | Marta Temido | 1,268,915 | 32.1 | 8 | –1 | |
| AD | Sebastião Bugalho | 1,229,895 | 31.1 | 7 | ±0 | |
| Chega | António Tânger Corrêa | 387,068 | 9.8 | 2 | +2 | |
| IL | João Cotrim de Figueiredo | 358,811 | 9.1 | 2 | +2 | |
| BE | Catarina Martins | 168,107 | 4.3 | 1 | –1 | |
| CDU | João Oliveira | 162,630 | 4.1 | 1 | –1 | |
| Livre | Francisco Paupério | 148,572 | 3.8 | 0 | ±0 | |
| ADN | Joana Amaral Dias | 54,120 | 1.4 | 0 | ±0 | |
| PAN | Pedro Fidalgo Marques | 48,006 | 1.2 | 0 | –1 | |
| Other parties | 48,647 | 1.2 | 0 | ±0 | ||
| Blank/Invalid ballots | 77,208 | 2.0 | – | – | ||
| Turnout | 3,951,979 | 36.63 | 21 | ±0 | ||
| Source: Comissão Nacional de Eleições[21] | ||||||
Presidential election, 2026
| Candidate | First round | Second round | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Votes | % | Votes | % | ||
| António José Seguro | 1,755,563 | 31.1 | 3,502,613 | 66.8 | |
| André Ventura | 1,327,021 | 23.5 | 1,737,950 | 33.2 | |
| João Cotrim de Figueiredo | 903,057 | 16.0 | |||
| Henrique Gouveia e Melo | 695,377 | 12.3 | |||
| Luís Marques Mendes | 637,442 | 11.3 | |||
| Catarina Martins | 116,407 | 2.1 | |||
| António Filipe | 92,644 | 1.6 | |||
| Manuel João Vieira | 60,927 | 1.1 | |||
| Jorge Pinto | 38,588 | 0.7 | |||
| André Pestana | 10,897 | 0.2 | |||
| Humberto Correia | 4,773 | 0.1 | |||
| Blank/Invalid ballots | 125,840 | – | 275,414 | – | |
| Turnout | 5,768,536 | 52.39 | 5,515,977 | 50.03 | |
| Source: Comissão Nacional de Eleições[22][23] | |||||
See also
References
- ^ a b "João Cotrim de Figueiredo deixa presidência do Turismo de Portugal" [João Cotrim de Figueiredo leaves the presidency of Turismo de Portugal]. Público (in Portuguese). Lusa. 11 February 2016. Retrieved 16 August 2025.
- ^ a b Correia Baptista, Sofia (4 October 2019). "João Cotrim de Figueiredo: do mundo empresarial para a Iniciativa Liberal" [João Cotrim de Figueiredo: from the business world to the Liberal Initiative]. Público (in Portuguese). Retrieved 16 August 2025.
- ^ ""Servi bebidas de smoking branco e aprendi que as pessoas olham para quem está a trabalhar como se fossem invisíveis. Isso marcou-me"" ["I served drinks in a white tuxedo and I learned that people look at workers as if they're invisible. That made a mark on me"] (in Portuguese). SIC Notícias. 10 March 2025. Retrieved 16 August 2025.
- ^ "Cotrim de Figueiredo cabeça de lista por Lisboa do partido Iniciativa Liberal" [Cotrim de Figueiredo heads list in Lisbon for the Liberal Initiative party]. Público (in Portuguese). 15 July 2019. Retrieved 27 January 2021.
- ^ "O gestor que serviu cocktails agora é deputado. Quem é o primeiro deputado da IL" [The manager who served cocktails is now a deputy. Who is the first IL deputy] (in Portuguese). TSF. 7 October 2019. Retrieved 27 January 2021.
- ^ "Iniciativa Liberal elege João Cotrim Figueiredo com 96% dos votos" [Liberal Initiative elects João Cotrim Figueiredo with 96% of the votes]. Público (in Portuguese). 8 December 2019. Retrieved 27 January 2021.
- ^ "João Cotrim de Figueiredo: "Grupo parlamentar da Iniciativa Liberal será oposição firme ao socialismo"" [João Cotrim de Figueiredo: "Liberal Initiative parliamentary group will be a firm opposition to socialism"] (in Portuguese). SIC Notícias. 31 January 2022. Retrieved 31 January 2022.
- ^ Donn, Natasha (23 January 2023). "Rui Rocha elected president of Iniciativa Liberal". Portugal Resident. Retrieved 27 January 2023.
- ^ Jerónimo, Mariana (9 June 2024). "Quem são os 21 eurodeputados que Portugal vai enviar para o Parlamento Europeu?" [Who are the 21 MEPs that Portugal is sending to the European Parliament?] (in Portuguese). SIC Notícias. Retrieved 10 June 2024.
- ^ "Macron's top MEP faces challenge for Renew group leadership". POLITICO. 2024-06-24. Retrieved 2026-01-14.
- ^ Borges, Liliana (24 June 2024). "Cotrim de Figueiredo retira candidatura a presidente dos liberais europeus" [Cotrim de Figueiredo withdraws candidacy for president of the European liberals]. Público (in Portuguese). Retrieved 16 August 2025.
- ^ João Cotrim de Figueiredo European Parliament.
- ^ André Figueiredo, Inês. "Agora é oficial: João Cotrim Figueiredo é candidato à Presidência da República" [Now it is official: João Cotrim de Figueiredo is candidate for President of the Republic]. Observador (in Portuguese). Retrieved 16 August 2025.
- ^ Canan Sevgili and Tiago Brandao (14 January 2026), What you need to know about Portugal's presidential election Reuters.
- ^ Aitor Hernández-Morales (18 January 2026), Center left wins Portugal presidential election first round, setting up showdown with far right Politico Europe.
- ^ a b Foy, Henry (September 3, 2025). "Why has the EU only implemented a fraction of Draghi's economic plan?". Financial Times.
- ^ "The Competitiveness Compass shows us the way to…". Renew Europe. 2025-12-03. Retrieved 2026-01-14.
- ^ "Sitting of 26-11-2024 | Plenary | European Parliament". www.europarl.europa.eu. 2024-11-26. Retrieved 2026-01-14.
- ^ "João Cotrim Figueiredo eleito presidente da Iniciativa Liberal com 96% dos votos". Jornal de Negócios. 8 December 2019. Retrieved 7 August 2024.
- ^ "Mapa Oficial n.º 1/2022" (PDF). Comissão Nacional de Eleições. 26 March 2022. Archived (PDF) from the original on 1 April 2022. Retrieved 1 April 2022.
- ^ "Comissão Nacional de Eleições Mapa Oficial n.º 4/2024" (PDF). Comissão Nacional de Eleições. 28 June 2024. Retrieved 28 June 2024.
- ^ "Comissão Nacional de Eleições Mapa Oficial n.º 1-A/2026" (PDF). cne.pt (in Portuguese). Diário da República. 30 January 2026. Retrieved 31 January 2026.
- ^ "Comissão Nacional de Eleições Mapa Oficial n.º 1/2026" (PDF). cne.pt (in Portuguese). Diário da República. 26 February 2026. Retrieved 26 February 2026.
External links
- João Cotrim de Figueiredo at Assembly of the Republic (in Portuguese)