List of LGBT politicians in Portugal explained

The following is a list of individuals who have been elected to a political office in Portugal, who fall under the umbrella of LGBT identities, including gay, lesbian, bisexual and/or transgender individuals

Government ministers

class=unsortable	Portrait	Name	Office	Years in office	Sexual orientation/ gender identity	Notes	Ref.
	Carlos Lobo de Ávila (1860–1895)	Minister of Public Works, Commerce and Industry	1883–1894	Gay	First gay government minister	^[1] ^[2]
		Minister of Foreign Affairs	1894–1895
	Adolfo Mesquita Nunes (born 1977)	Secretary of State for Tourism	2013–2015	Gay	Outed in 2018	^[3] ^[4]
	Graça Fonseca (born 1971)	Secretary of State of Administrative Modernisation	2015–2018	Lesbian	Outed in 2017	^[5] ^[6]
		Minister of Culture	2018–2022
	Paulo Rangel (born 1968)	Minister of State and Foreign Affairs	2024–present	Gay	Outed in 2021	^[7]

National parliament

class=unsortable	Portrait	Name	Office	Years in office	Sexual orientation/ gender identity	Notes	Ref.
	Carlos Lobo de Ávila (1860–1895)	Member of the Cortes	1878–1895	Gay	First gay parliamentary member
	Paulo Rangel (born 1968)	Member of the Assembly of the Republic	2005–2009	Gay	First gay politician elected to the Assembly of the Republic; outed in 2021	^[8]
	Miguel Vale de Almeida (born 1960)	Member of the Assembly of the Republic	2009–2011	Gay	First openly gay politician elected to the Assembly of the Republic	^[9] ^[10]
	Mariana Mortágua (born 1986)	Member of the Assembly of the Republic	2013–present	Lesbian	First lesbian member of the Assembly of the Republic	^[11] ^[12]
	Adolfo Mesquita Nunes (born 1977)	Member of the Assembly of the Republic	2011–2013	Gay	Outed in 2018	^[13]
	Sandra Cunha (born 1972)	Member of the Assembly of the Republic	2015–2021	Lesbian		^[14] ^[15]
	Alexandre Quintanilha (born 1945)	Member of the Assembly of the Republic	2015–2024	Gay		^[16] ^[17]

European Parliament

class=unsortable	Portrait	Name	Office	Years in office	Sexual orientation/ gender identity	Notes	Ref.
	Paulo Rangel (born 1968)	Member of the European Parliament for Portugal	2009–2024	Gay	First gay member of the European Parliament representing Portugal; outed in 2021	^[18]

Sub-national level

Municipal councils and government

class=unsortable	Portrait	Name	Council	Years in office	Sexual orientation/ gender identity	Notes	Ref.
	José de Meneses da Silveira e Castro (1826–1895)	Civil Governor of Braga	1870, 1877–1878, 1884–1886	Gay or bisexual	First gay or bisexual appointed government official; outed in 1881	^[19]
		Deputy Civil Governor of Lisbon	1881
	Adolfo Mesquita Nunes (born 1977)	Member of the Lisbon City Council	2002–2003	Gay	Outed in 2018	^[20]
	Graça Fonseca (born 1971)	Member of the Lisbon City Council	2009–2015	Lesbian	Outed in 2017	^[21]

Notes and References

1. Web site: Lobo de Ávila (Carlos Orta). pt. arqnet.pt.
2. António Fernando Cascais: O marquês de Valada e a tragicomédia da inversão. Lisbon: NOVA Lisbon University, 2018. (in Portuguese)
3. Web site: Adolfo Mesquita Nunes: 'Acredito no mundo global e vivo muito bem nele'. expresso.pt. pt. Filipe Santos Costa. 18 February 2018.
4. Web site: AdolfoMesquitaNune. portugal.gov.pt. pt.
5. Web site: O gesto histórico de Graça Fonseca que também foi incómodo. PressReader. pt. 26 August 2017. Sonia Sapage.
6. Web site: New ministers for Defence, Culture, Health and Economy. 14 October 2018. algarvedailynews.com.
7. Web site: Rangel fala publicamente sobre a sua homossexualidade: 'Não é problema nenhum, é uma coisa que nunca escondi'. observador.pt. pt. 4 September 2021.
8. Web site: Paulo Range. parlamento.pt. pt.
9. Web site: Miguel Vale de Almeida. parlamento.pt. pt. 15 May 2024. 27 December 2023. https://web.archive.org/web/20231227002733/https://www.parlamento.pt/DeputadoGP/Paginas/Biografia.aspx?BID=4065. live.
10. Web site: Miguel Vale de Almeida: 'A reparação histórica que importa é a dos efeitos do colonialismo, é a desigualdade por causa do racismo'. expresso.pt. pt. Bernardo Mendonça. João Ribeiro. 3 May 2024.
11. Web site: Mariana Mortágua. parlamento.pt. pt.
12. Web site: Mariana Mortágua assume publicamente homossexualidade. 'Sou uma mulher lésbica. E vou continuar a ser quem sou'. 24 April 2023. pt. observador.pt.
13. Web site: Adolfo MesquitaNune. pt. parlamento.pt.
14. Web site: Sandra Mestre da Cunha. parlamento.pt. pt.
15. Web site: Sandra Cunha: 'Não estamos ainda livres do preconceito e da homofobia'. 12 June 2019. Sandra Cunha. pt. vogue.pt.
16. Web site: Alexandre Quintanilha. parlamento.pt. pt.
17. Web site: Escritor Eduardo Pitta casou com companheiro. publico.pt. pt. 31 July 2010.
18. Web site: Paulo Rangel. portal.gov.pl.
19. Robert Howes, Robert: "Concerning the Eccentricities of the Marquis of Valada: Politics, Culture and Homosexuality in Fin-de-Siècle Portugal". Sexualities. vol. 5 (25), 2002, p. 25–48.
20. Web site: Adolfo Mesquita Nunes. cds.parlamento.pt. https://web.archive.org/web/20120922054510/http://www.cds.parlamento.pt/gp/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=50:adolfo-mesquita-nunes&catid=62:deputados&Itemid=77 . 22 September 2012 . pt.
21. Web site: Graça Fonseca. portugal.gov.pt. pt.