He is considered one of the few who is able to unite the different sensibilities of the PSD in Braga, namely among those who supported Rui Rio and those who preferred Luís Montenegro. And he knows the party, the urban and the parishes, like no one else.
We talked about João Granja, until now the only known candidate for the elections of the Social Democrats’ Council Section, which will take place this Friday, at the county seat, to Senhora-a-Branca.
His political program – said the candidate for O MINHO – goes, first of all, for supporting the re-election of Ricardo Rio for a third term, in 2021 and for the struggle for an increase in electoral results, both in the Chamber and in the Municipal Assembly and in parishes.
In addition, the council’s work also aims, and according to a manifesto that is being sent to the militants, to unite the party in Braga and open it to civil society and youth.
“In the election season, Presidential to open 2021 and, in October, the autarchic ones, it is important not to let the energies of the militants be lost in sterile disputes”, underlines João Granja.
The former bank manager who was already a deputy in parliament and leader of the council, currently the leader of the Social Democrats in the Assembly (see curriculum below), stresses that, in principle, the alliance with the CDS and PPM will be maintained, with a agreement to be formalized starting in January.
The list has as number two, the director of the municipal company AGERE, Rui Morais, followed by jurist João Marques.
His first subscriber is Ricardo Rio, support that also comes from the two councilors who are PSD activists, Olga Pereira and João Rodrigues, as well as from all affiliated Junta presidents.
The name of the doctor Américo Afonso, who already chairs the body, is proposed to the Bureau of the Section Assembly.
Who is João Granja?
João Granja, 57 years old, bank manager, PSD activist for more than 39 years, was until recently the 1st Vice-President of PSD Braga District (for 3 terms – 6 years) and is leader of the PSD Bench in Municipal Assembly of the district capital and the Assembly of the CIM – Intermunicipal Community of Cávado (supramunicipal structure that brings together the municipalities of Braga, Barcelos, Esposende, Vila Verde, Amares and Terras de Bouro) and in the Parish Assembly of S. Vitor.
For several years he was President of the Students Association of the Escola Secundária Sá de Miranda and an associative director at the Academic Association of Coimbra, he was a member of the management bodies of the Faculty of Law of the same university and coordinated student representation in the Senate.
He was a deputy to the Assembly of the Republic at the age of 28, in the sixth legislature, from 1991 to 1995, where he was a member of the Parliamentary Youth Committee and the Parliamentary Committee on Education, Culture and Science. He was a member of several subcommittees, occasional committees and working groups.
He was a volunteer at AWEPA – Association of European Parliamentarians for the Development of Southern Africa, having performed missions in The Gambia, Malawi, Mozambique, Angola and South Africa, where he participated in the inspection of the electoral act that would enshrine the election of Nélson Mandela.
In part, he was the county, district and national leader of JSD and PSD. In addition to the multiple positions and functions he held, he was Vice-President of JSD nacional, alongside Pedro Passos Coelho. At PSD he was a national advisor for two terms, on the lists of Luís Marques Mendes and Pedro Passos Coelho.
He directed several municipal campaigns, over more than 35 years and led the municipality of Braga for several years and until the victory of Ricardo Rio in 2013.
He was a member of the Cavaco Silva and Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa district campaign boards in the presidential elections. João Granja has stood out particularly on the stage of the Braga Municipal Assembly, of which he is now the oldest member, performing uninterruptedly for 35 years and, as leader of the bench, for over 20 years.
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