José Magalhães

José Manuel Santos de Magalhães is a Portuguese politician. Graduated in law from the University of Lisbon and has a master's degree in Political and Legal Science at the Law School, Coimbra University. As a militant of the Portuguese Communist Party (PCP),he was a parliamentary Adviser between 1977 and 1983 and an MP to the Assembly of the Republic between 1983 and 1990. Following perestroika, disengaged himself from PCP. Having been one of the foremost protagonists of the 1989 constitutional reform, along which he acquired political notoriety , came to be regarded by partisan bodies responsible for combating internal dissent as an element linked to the "group of six". That led to the adoption of security measures whose frustration caused a progressive degradation and isolation of MP Magalhaes.He Left bench of PCP and became an independent member of Parliament(1990-1991). Invited by Jorge Sampaio to integrate PS lists in the elections of 1991, as an independent he was elected Vice-President of the bench of PS. Re-elected Deputy and parliamentary vice-leader of the PS, formally adhered to this party in 1999. Magalhaes became a well known cyberactivist and radio and tv opinion maker .Wrote the first book about the Internet in portuguese language ("Roteiro Prático da Internet, 1995), and became a leading promoter of the digital revolution. As a parliamentarian, he mastered the most agressive speaking techniques, very adequate to the new media environment (notoriously by using "killer sentences" against his oponents). His academic skills allowed him to author an enormous amount of reports and play a relevant role in the Civil Liberties Committee. He served as secretary of state for parliamentary affairs (2000/2002), assistant minister for public security (2005/2009) and secretary of state for justice and modernization of the judiciary (2009/2011). After june 5th 2011 in the aftermath of electoral defeat of portuguese socialists he retired both as a parliamentarian and law professor and became mostly a resident of Ilhéus, Bahia, Brazil, a calm city made famous by Jorge Amado's novels.

Since January, 1st 2014 he retook his parliamentary sit and resumed his political taskss. The portuguese Assembleia da República, in Lisbon., welcomed his return.