Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa was born in Lisbon on December 12, 1948. He is Catholic, has two children and five grandchildren.
He holds a law degree and earned a PhD in Legal and Political Sciences in 1984. He was a Full Professor at the Faculty of Law of the University of Lisbon, having taught throughout his career at various higher education institutions in Portugal and abroad.He worked as a Journalist, having served as Editor-in-Chief of Expresso newspaper between 1980 and 1981, and collaborated with Jornal Semanário from 1983 to 1987. Later, he became a Political Commentator for the TSF radio station and subsequently for the television channels RTP and TVI.
He is involved with several civic and social sector associations and institutions, either as founder, patron, board member or simply as a volunteer.
He served as a Member of Parliament in the Constituent Assembly in 1976. He was part of the 8th Constitutional Government, first as Secretary of State for the Presidency of the Council of Ministers and later as Minister for Parliamentary Affairs.
A member of the Social Democratic Party (PSD) since its founding, he served as party President from 1996 to 1999 and played a key role in ensuring political stability while leading the opposition. At the international level, he promoted the PSD’s accession to the European People's Party, where he eventually became Vice President.
He also held several roles in local government, having served as Municipal Deputy, Metropolitan Deputy, Councillor, and President of the Municipal Assembly in the municipalities of Cascais, Lisbon, and Celorico de Basto.
He was first elected President of the Portuguese Republic on January 24, 2016, and took office on March 9. He was re-elected for a second term on January 24, 2021, and sworn in on March 9 of the same year.