Costa picks up second honour before taking office as President of European Council
Portugal’s president, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, has decorated António Costa, the country’s former prime minister, with the Grand Cross of the Military Order of Christ, in a ceremony at the presidential palace without prior announcement.
The award, bestowed on Sunday – four days before Costa is due to take up his new role as President of the European Council – was announced via a note on the official website of the presidency, accompanied by photographs. The note read: “In a ceremony held at the Palace of Belém, the President of the Republic decorated the former Prime Minister, António Costa, who headed the XXI, XXII and XIII constitutional governments between 2015 and 2024, with the Grand Cross of the Military Order of Christ.”
The photographs show Costa receiving the decoration, in the presence of his family, in the Ambassadors’ Room of the Belém Palace.
In 2018, Marcelo confirmed that he had approached Pedro Passos Coelho about awarding him the same decoration (which is usually given to former prime ministers), but the former PSD leader, who preceded Costa as prime minister, declined.
The Military Order of Christ honours outstanding services rendered to the country in the exercise of sovereign functions.
It is the second ‘honour’ given to Mr Costa recently; the first being a UNESCO prize for peace.
Source material: LUSA
