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President of the regional government of Madeira |
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Alberto João Jardim
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| Incumbent | |
| Assumed office March 1978 |
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| Preceded by | Jaime Ornelas Camacho |
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| Born | 4 February 1943 Funchal, Madeira Island, Madeira |
| Political party | PSD |
| Spouse | Maria Ângela Andrade Martins |
Alberto João Cardoso Gonçalves Jardim, GCIH, pron. IPA: [aɫ'bɛɾtu ʒu'ɐ̃ũ ʒɐɾ'dĩ], (born Madeira Island, Funchal, Santa Luzia, 4 February 1943) is the President of the Regional Government of Madeira, Portugal. He has at times been a controversial figure.
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Jardim was born in the Madeira Island in 1943, son of Alberto Gonçalves Jardim (d. 1954) and wife Marceliana do Patrocínio de Jesus Cardoso (Funchal, São Pedro, baptized 2 September 1909 – 29 July 2006). He went to Coimbra in order to study at the local university, and he lived there for over a decade. He has a degree of Licentiate in Law from the Faculty of Law of the University of Coimbra, awarded in 1973.
Jardim became a high school teacher. He was also director of the Instituto de Emprego e Formação Profissional da Ilha da Madeira (Employment and Vocational Training Centre of Madeira Island). As a journalist, he was director of "Jornal da Madeira", and wrote for different Portuguese newspapers and magazines.
In 1968 he married Maria Ângela Andrade Martins and had:
He was one of the Founders of the then Popular Democratic Party (PPD) in May 1974, a month after the Carnation Revolution, together with Francisco Sá Carneiro, Francisco Pinto Balsemão, Joaquim Magalhães Mota, Carlos Mota Pinto, João Bosco Mota Amaral, António Barbosa de Melo and António Marques Mendes, and co-founder of its Madeiran branch.
First elected in 1978, Alberto João Jardim has since then been successively elected for President of the Regional Government of Madeira. He is member of the:
He is one of the longest-serving, democratically elected leaders of any jurisdiction in the world.
Alberto João Jardim is also a member and ex-Vice President (2000-2001) of the European Union Committee of the Regions. He is Honorary President of the European Summit of Regions & Cities.
He is founder and a member of the European Regional Assembly. He was Vice-President of European People's Party.
On 19 February 2007, he resigned his office in protest against the new law on regional finances enacted by the national government of José Sócrates. His resignation caused early elections, which he won easily. The national government, nevertheless, announced that the law wouldn't be changed.
A controversial personality, Jardim has been accused by critics and political enemies of being an outspoken populist, infamous by his abusive fierce remarks about his political opponents and several journalists. This have led to both some amount of disrespect and some formal accusations.1
As the Madeira's democratically elected political leader for over 30 years, he has many supporters who view him as a responsible and proactive governor, particularly well-regarded in the Archipelago of Madeira proper. Despite his frontal and sometimes impolite personality, Jardim has claimed many benefits and privileges for Madeira, helping the region to improve in several fields throughout the years it has been under his leadership.
However, it must be noted that the European Union assistance to its ultra-peripheral regions, which includes the Portuguese archipelago of Madeira, has played a major role in the region's development - Madeira's development has been massively aided by structural and cohesion funds allocated by the European Union to the regional government.2
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