The secretary-general of the Socialist Party is the leader of the portuguese Socialist Party. Currently, the position is held by José LuÃÂs Carneiro, following his victory in the July 2025 leadership election.
The post of Secretary-general was created in 1973, after the party's foundation in Bad Münstereifel. Its first holder was Mário Soares, who held several important offices such as Prime Minister from 1976 to 1978 and again from 1983 to 1985, and President of the Republic, from 1986 to 1996.
Until 1998, party Secretary-generals were elected by delegate votes in a party congress, but in that same year, party rules were changed and registered party members, with membership fees updated, gained the right to elect the president secretary-general of delegates in a congress, with the possibility of a second round if no candidate obtains more than 50% of the votes in the first round of voting.
To this day, four Secretaries-general of the Socialist Party have become Prime Minister of Portugal: Mário Soares (1976 and 1983), António Guterres (1995), José Sócrates (2005) and António Costa (2015). In addition, Mário Soares (1986), Jorge Sampaio (1996) and António José Seguro (2026), also former Secretaries-general, held the office President of the Republic.
The Deputy Secretary-general of the Socialist Party is a position created in 2012 to replace the Secretary-general as the representative of the party in the case where the Secretary-general held the office of Prime Minister of Portugal.