The president of the republic, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, declined to comment this Tuesday on the changes in government, at the level of the secretaries of state, and when asked who would take over the tax affairs, he replied that he had only three appointments received proposals.
“I have nothing more to add. I have received three proposals, there are three proposals,” the head of state said in response to journalists after an initiative at the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation in Lisbon.
While in Gulbenkian, the President of the Republic released a note announcing that he “accepted today the Prime Minister’s proposals for the resignation of three Secretaries of State: for Fiscal Affairs, for Economy and for Tourism, Trade and Services”.
In addition to these dismissals, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa accepted the “appointments” of António Mendonça Mendes, hitherto Secretary of State for Tax Affairs, as Deputy Secretary of State to the Prime Minister, of Pedro Cilínio as Secretary of State for Economic Affairs and of Nuno Fazenda as Secretary of State for Tourism.
According to the same note, which does not specify who will take over the Tax portfolio in place of Mendonça Mendes, the new holders will take office at 12 noon on Friday at the Palácio de Belém.
Pedro Cilínio and Nuno Fazenda join the government to replace João Neves and Rita Marques, two of the three secretaries of state under the supervision of the Minister of Economy, António Costa Silva.
António Mendonça Mendes will take over as Deputy Secretary of State to the Prime Minister, which he had held vacant for more than two weeks since Miguel Alves resigned on November 10.
The head of state spoke at the Gulbenkian at the National Congress of the Portuguese Association for the Development of Integrated Transport Systems, an initiative that was not on his public agenda.
Source: DN
