and wife (married Lisbon, 21 May 1922) Maria Adelaide van Zeller de Castro Pereira (Sintra, 11 August 1897 – 2 March 1984).

After working as a journalist and then as an administrator of Diário Popular (the People's Daily in English) from 1963 to 1971, he founded the Expresso magazine in 1973 and continued to direct it until 1980.

When Sá Carneiro was killed in an air accident on 4 December 1980, the Social Democratic Party chose Pinto Balsemão to succeed him.

He had difficulty maintaining the level of support enjoyed by his party, which had been based to a large extent on Sá Carneiro's personal popularity.

Pinto Balsemão currently serves as Chairman of the European Publishers Council[1] and as chief executive officer of Impresa media group in Portugal.