João Cotrim de Figueiredo

João Fernando Cotrim de Figueiredo (born 24 June 1961) is a Portuguese businessman and politician of the Liberal Initiative who has been serving as a Member of the European Parliament since the 2024 European election.

Cotrim de Figueiredo was the party's first member of the Assembly of the Republic, for Lisbon, in October 2019. He was the leader of the party between October 2019 and January 2023, during which the party won eight seats in the 2022 election. He was a candidate in the 2026 Portuguese presidential election.

Early life and education Cotrim de Figueiredo was born and grew up in Lisbon, where he sold clothes hangers door-to-door for a company established by his great-grandfather. He attended the German School of Lisbon before studying Economics at the London School of Economics, and then obtained a Master's in Business Administration from the NOVA University Lisbon.

Early career While studying in London, Cotrim de Figueiredo supported himself with jobs including serving cocktails at the Serpentine Galleries, later reflecting that workers were looked at with contempt at such events.

Cotrim de Figueiredo worked in executive positions at Compal, Nutricafés, Privado Holding and TVI. In 2015 he was elected vice president of the European Travel Commission. He was the president of Turismo de Portugal, a governmental entity, from December 2013 to February 2016. He became the party's only Assembly member, in their first elections.

After the resignation of Carlos Guimarães Pinto, Cotrim de Figueiredo ran for leader of the party in December 2019 and was elected with 96% of the votes.

In the snap election in January 2022, the Liberal Initiative received 5% of all votes, rising from one seat to eight and forming a parliamentary group. Cotrim de Figueiredo said that the group would be a firm opposition to socialism.

On 22 January 2023, Cotrim de Figueiredo was succeeded as leader of the Liberal Initiative by Rui Rocha, whom he had endorsed.

Member of the European Parliament, 2024–present In the 2024 European Parliament election in Portugal, Cotrim de Figueiredo led the Liberal Initiative list, which had two of the country's 21 members elected to the European Parliament.

With support of the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe Party (ALDE), Cotrim de Figueiredo announced his intention to challenge incumbent Valérie Hayer and ran for the leadership of the Renew Europe group of liberal MEPs, but withdrew. He was subsequently elected Hayer's deputy in leading the Renew Europe group and joined the Committee on Industry, Research and Energy.

Candidacy for 2026 presidential election In August 2025, Cotrim de Figueiredo announced his candidacy for the 2026 Portuguese presidential election. Shortly before the vote, his campaign suffered a setback when his former advisor Inês Bichão accused him of past sexual assault in an Instagram post that was later deleted. Cotrim de Figueiredo swiftly denied the accusations, calling them an attempt to undermine his candidacy. Although he fell short of qualifying for the second round, he finished third and secured 16 percent of the vote.

Political positions Cotrim de Figueiredo has criticized the European Commission for delaying the implementation of the recommendations of the Draghi report on European economic competitiveness, arguing that the European Union faces an urgent economic challenge due to persistently low growth.

He has called for rapid action to strengthen competitiveness and innovation, as well as to reduce bureaucracy and regulatory burdens across Europe.

He has spoken out against the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Electoral history IL leadership election, 2019

Legislative election, 2022

Candidate Votes

European Parliament election, 2024

Candidate Votes

Presidential election, 2026