Ricardo Leão

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Ricardo Leão
Mayor of Loures
Incumbent
Assumed office
14 October 2021
Preceded byBernardino Soares
Member of the Assembly of the Republic
In office
25 October 2019 – 13 October 2021
ConstituencyLisbon
In office
27 November 2015 – 14 October 2018
ConstituencyLisbon
Personal details
BornRicardo Jorge Colaço Leão
(1975-08-11) 11 August 1975 (age 50)
Political partySocialist Party
OccupationPolitician

Ricardo Jorge Colaço Leão (born 11 August 1975) is a Portuguese politician who is currently serving as the Mayor of Loures since 2021. A member of the Socialist Party, he also served as a member of the Assembly of the Republic from 2015 until 2018 and also from 2019 until 2021.[1]

Political career

[edit]

Ricardo Leão was first elected in the 2013 local election as a city councillor in Loures,[2] being elected as President of the Municipal Assembly of Loures in the 2017 election.[3]

He became an MP after the 2015 legislative election, replacing Marcos Perestrello who took office as Secretary of State of National Defense and left parliament in 2018 after Perestrello left office in a cabinet reshuffle.[4][1] He returned to Parliament following the 2019 legislative election, where he stayed until the 2021 local election, when he was selected as the PS candidate for Mayor of Loures.[5]

The PS in Loures won the 2021 election with 31.5% of the votes, while the CDU got 29.1% of the votes and the PSD received 14.0% of the votes. As such, Leão defeated the Communist incumbent Mayor Bernardino Soares, who was in office since 2013, and became the Mayor of Loures,[6] making a deal with the PSD in order to form a majority.[7] In September 2024, he was elected as the leader of the PS Federation of the Urban Area of Lisbon.[8]

After the October 2024 riots in the Lisbon metropolitan area following the death of Odair Moniz, Leão defended the eviction of the people who had participated in the riots.[9] Former Prime Minister and at the time the President of the European Council-elect António Costa wrote an article condemning Leão's comments,[10] which caused his resignation as head of the Federation.[11]

In July 2025, Leão ordered the demolition of illegal constructions in Bairro do Talude.[12] This move also raised criticisms, including from within the PS.[13]

Despite the criticisms, Leão ran for reelection and won the 2025 election with an absolute majority, winning 43.8% of the votes, while Chega got 20.7%, the PSD/CDS coalition got 14.9% and the CDU fell to 11.0%.[14] After the election, he criticized António Costa, stating that he should continue entertaining himself in Europe and that he isn't missed in Portugal.[15]

Electoral history

[edit]

Loures City Council election, 2021

[edit]
Ballot: 26 September 2021
Party Candidate Votes % Seats +/−
PS Ricardo Leão 25,777 31.5 4 ±0
CDU Bernardino Soares 23,756 29.1 4 ±0
PSD Nelson Batista 11,451 14.0 2 –1
CH Bruno Nunes 6,884 8.4 1 new
BE Fabian Figueiredo 3,170 3.9 0 ±0
IL Filomena Francisco 2,729 3.3 0 new
PAN Soraya Ossman 1,834 2.2 0 ±0
CDS–PP Jorge Gomes dos Santos 1,251 1.5 0 ±0
PCTP/MRPP João Resa 1,249 1.5 0 ±0
Blank/Invalid ballots 3,685 4.5 – –
Turnout 81,786 48.32 11 ±0
Source: Autárquicas 2021[16]

Loures City Council election, 2025

[edit]
Ballot: 12 October 2025
Party Candidate Votes % Seats +/−
PS Ricardo Leão 40,020 43.8 6 +2
CH Bruno Nunes 18,868 20.7 2 +1
PSD/CDS Nelson Batista 13,570 14.9 2 ±0
CDU Gonçalo Caroço 10,014 11.0 1 –3
BE/L/PAN Luís Sousa 3,095 3.4 0 ±0
IL Luís Martins 2,321 2.5 0 new
Other parties 801 0.9 0 ±0
Blank/Invalid ballots 2,610 2.9 – –
Turnout 91,299 54.10 11 ±0
Source: Autárquicas 2025[17]

References

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  1. ^ a b "Biografia | Ricardo Leão". Assembleia da República. Retrieved 2025-11-01.
  2. ^ Boaventura, Inês (2013-10-28). "CDU coliga-se com PSD na Câmara de Loures". PÚBLICO (in Portuguese). Retrieved 2025-11-01.
  3. ^ Loures, Notícias de. ""O PS quer vencer as eleições autárquicas em 2021"". Notícias de Loures (in European Portuguese). Retrieved 2025-11-01.
  4. ^ Sol (2018-12-31). "Outubro de 2018. O mês de remodelar". Jornal SOL (in European Portuguese). Retrieved 2025-11-01.
  5. ^ Lusa (2021-05-21). "Bernardino Soares recandidata-se à Câmara de Loures". PÚBLICO (in Portuguese). Retrieved 2025-11-01.
  6. ^ "Autárquicas: socialista Ricardo Leão vence em Loures e impede reeleição do comunista Bernardino Soares". Expresso (in Portuguese). 2021-09-27. Retrieved 2025-11-01.
  7. ^ Moreira, Cristiana Faria (2021-10-15). "Em Loures, os próximos quatro anos vão ser com PS e PSD de mãos dadas". PÚBLICO (in Portuguese). Retrieved 2025-11-01.
  8. ^ Lusa, Liliana Borges (2024-09-28). "Ricardo Leão eleito líder da Federação da Área Urbana de Lisboa com 97% dos votos". PÚBLICO (in Portuguese). Retrieved 2025-11-01.
  9. ^ Lusa (2024-10-30). "Autarca de Loures defende despejo "sem dó nem piedade" de participantes em distúrbios". PÚBLICO (in Portuguese). Retrieved 2025-11-01.
  10. ^ Pereira, António Costa, José Leitão, Pedro Silva (2024-11-06). "Em defesa da honra do PS". PÚBLICO (in Portuguese). Retrieved 2025-11-01.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  11. ^ Portugal, Rádio e Televisão de (2024-11-06). "Ricardo Leão demite-se da Federação de Lisboa do PS". Ricardo Leão demite-se da Federação de Lisboa do PS (in Portuguese). Retrieved 2025-11-01.
  12. ^ ""Construções ilegais são inaceitáveis". Ricardo Leão manterá demolições". Notícias ao Minuto (in Portuguese). 2025-07-17. Retrieved 2025-11-01.
  13. ^ "Do Largo do Rato também chegam críticas às demolições em Loures". SIC Notícias (in Portuguese). 2025-07-15. Retrieved 2025-11-01.
  14. ^ Serafim, Teresa (2025-10-13). "Ricardo Leão reeleito com maioria absoluta em Loures: "Foi uma vitória estrondosa"". PÚBLICO (in Portuguese). Retrieved 2025-11-01.
  15. ^ ""António Costa que se entretenha lá na Europa que não faz cá falta nenhuma", atira Ricardo Leão". SIC Notícias (in Portuguese). 2025-10-15. Retrieved 2025-11-01.
  16. ^ "Autárquicas 2021". SGMAI. Retrieved 1 November 2025.
  17. ^ "Autárquicas 2025". SGMAI. Retrieved 1 November 2025.