Civil Government

In Portugal, the Civil Governments (Portuguese: Governos Civis, singular Governo Civil) are the bodies of public administration that represent the central government at the district level.

At first, they had broad powers of representation of the central government and the responsibility to coordinate all state services within the district; currently, they serve as, in practice, local delegations of the Ministry of Internal Administration, charged with issuing passports, public safety, and electoral procedure.

In 2011, Prime Minister Pedro Passos Coelho de facto abolished all Civil Governments with Decree-Law No.

114/2011 of 30 November, that transfers all competences of the Civil Governments to other administrative bodies (such as the Municipal Chambers, the Police, the National Republican Guard, and the National Authority for Civil Protection).

[1] Even though no Civil Governors have been appointed since, the post is established in the Constitution and, de jure, is still extant.