The President of the Republic congratulated writer Lídia Jorge on winning the Pessoa 2025 Prize, highlighting not only her national and international literary recognition, but also her growing civic intervention.
The President of the Republic, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, congratulated this Thursday the writer Lídia Jorge for the Pessoa 2025 Prize. In a note published in Marcelo highlights the “voice that makes itself heard on the issues that concern us all”.
Without forgetting Francisco Pinto Balsemão, the founder since recognition, Marcelo congratulates the writer “widely recognized, in the country and abroad, for her literary work”but also for its intervening voice.
“There has been a growing civic intervention, not as ‘national conscience’, as was used in other times, but as voice that makes itself heard on the issues that concern everyone, whether in the press and television, in the Council of State, or in the very urgent and much welcomed speech of the 10th of June celebrations, in Lagos“, wrote the President.
The Pessoa Prize and the winners
The Pessoa Prize, founded by Francisco Pinto Balsemão in 1987, is an initiative of the weekly Expresso and Caixa Geral de Depósitos. It has a value of 70 thousand euros and “aims to highlight the Portuguese personality that, each year, stands out in the artistic, cultural or scientific life of the country”.
This year’s jury is made up of Francisco Pedro Balsemão (President), Paulo Macedo (Vice-President), Ana Pinho, Ana Tostões, António Barreto, Clara Ferreira Alves, Diogo Lucena, Emílio Rui Vilar, José Luís Porfírio, Maria Manuel Mota, Pedro Norton, Rui Magalhães Baião, Rui Vieira Nery, Viriato Soromenho-Marques.
This is the 39th edition of the Pessoa Prize.
The list of former winners is made up of the following names:
1987 – José Mattoso
1988 – António Ramos Rosa
1989 – Maria João Pires
1990 – Lead
1991 – Cláudio Torres
1992 – António and Hanna Damásio
1993 – Fernando Gil
1994 – Herbert Helder
1995 – Vasco Graça Moura
1996 – João Lobo Antunes
1997 – José Cardoso Pires
1998 – Eduardo Souto Moura
1999 – Manuel Alegre and José Manuel Rodrigues
2000 – Emanuel Nunes
2001 – João Bénard da Costa
2002 – Manuel Sobrinho Simões
2003 – José Joaquim Gomes Canotilho
2004 – Mário Cláudio
2005 – Luís Miguel Cintra
2006 – António Câmara
2007 – Irene Flunser Pimentel
2008 – João Luís Carrilho da Graça
2009 – D. Manuel Clemente
2010 – Maria do Carmo Fonseca
2011 – Eduardo Lourenço
2012 – Richard Zenith
2013 – Maria Manuel Mota
2014 – Henrique Leitão
2015 – Rui Chafes
2016 – Frederico Lourenço
2017 – Manuel Aires Mateus
2018 – Miguel Bastos Araújo
2019 – Tiago Rodrigues
2020 – Elvira Fortunato
2021 – Tiago Pitta e Cunha
2022 – João Luís Barreto Guimarães
2023 – José Tolentino Mendonça
2024 – Luís Tinoco
