Social Democratic Party (Portugal)
centre-right political party in Portugal
The Social Democratic Party (Portuguese: Partido Social Democrata [pɐɾˈtiðu susiˈal dɨmuˈkɾatɐ], PSD) is a liberal-conservative political party in Portugal that is currently the country's ruling party. Commonly known by its colloquial initials PSD, on ballot papers its initials appear as its official form PPD/PSD, with the first three letters coming from the party's original name, the Democratic People's Party (Partido Popular Democrático, PPD). A party of the centre-right, the PSD is one of the three major parties in Portuguese politics, its rivals being the Socialist Party (PS) on the centre-left and the far-right Chega (CH) party.
The PSD was founded in 1974, two weeks after the Carnation Revolution. In 1976, the party adopted its current name. In 1979, the PSD allied with centre-right parties to form the Democratic Alliance and won that year's election. One year later, the party's founder and then Prime Minister, Francisco Sá Carneiro died in a plane crash. After the 1983 general election, the party formed a grand coalition with the Socialist Party, known as the Central Bloc, before winning the 1985 general election under new leader Aníbal Cavaco Silva, who shifted the party to the right. Cavaco Silva served as prime minister for ten years, instituting major economic liberalisation and winning two landslide victories. After he stepped down, the PSD lost the 1995 election.
Begin with the source’s own compact description: “Social Democratic Party (Portugal)” is centre-right political party in Portugal. The dossier treats that line as a proposition to test through Social, Democratic and Party, not as a finished interpretation.
Why this record matters
The phrase “centre-right political party in Portugal” supplies a clear boundary for inquiry. It also exposes the unanswered questions: who defined that boundary, when it became stable and which sources sit outside it.
Vocabulary and entity names are the principal evidence signals here, because they determine the precision of every later search. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 19, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q595575. VIAF identifies the subject as 129954561. The Library of Congress control number is n80017669. 4 of 4 selected statements include explicit references; 1 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1974, 1976, 1979 and 1983.
The absence of detail may reflect summary conventions rather than a lack of surviving documentation. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Use the entry as an orientation point, then follow its citations and revision history. Names, dates and institutional relationships should be checked against the original record.
- Subject orientation
- Search vocabulary
- Locating named sources
The closest primary source, responsible institution and strongest cited specialist reference.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Social Democratic Party (Portugal)”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Social Democratic Party (Portugal) primary sources, Social Democratic Party (Portugal) archive and Social research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Social Democratic Party (Portugal)”?
- Which institution is responsible for the underlying evidence?
- Which cited source is closest to the event, object or claim?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Social Democratic Party (Portugal)” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.