View source for List of presidents of Cape Verde

{{Short description|None}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2024}}
{{Infobox official post
| post                    = President
| body                    = the<br />Republic of Cabo Verde
| native_name             = {{nativename|pt|Presidente da<br />República de Cabo Verde}}
| insignia                = Coat of arms of Cape Verde.svg
| insigniasize            = 125px
| insigniacaption         = [[National emblem of Cape Verde]]
| image                   = José Maria Neves, 2023.jpg
| imagesize               = 165px
| incumbent               = [[José Maria Neves]]
| incumbentsince          = 9 November 2021
| style                   =
| residence               = [[Presidential Palace of Cape Verde|Presidential Palace]], [[Praia]]
| appointer               = 
| department              = [[Politics of Cape Verde|Executive branch of the Government of Cape Verde]]
| termlength              = Five years,
| termlength_qualified    = renewable once
| constituting_instrument = [[Constitution of Cape Verde]] (1980)
| formation               = {{start date and age|df=y|1975|7|8}}
| succession              =
| inaugural               = [[Aristides Pereira]]
| deputy                  = 
| salary                  =
| website                 = {{URL|presidencia.cv}}
}}

This article lists the '''[[President (government title)|president]]s of [[Cape Verde]]''', an [[island country]] in the [[Atlantic Ocean]] off the coast of [[West Africa]], since the [[Cape Verde#Independence (1975)|establishment of the office of president in 1975]]. [[Aristides Pereira]] was the first person to hold the office, taking effect on 8 July 1975. The incumbent is [[José Maria Neves]], having taken office on 9 November 2021.

==Term limits==
As of 2021, there is a two-term limit for the president in the [[Politics of Cape Verde|Constitution of Cape Verde]]. The first president for whom the term limits applied was Monteiro in 2001.<ref name="termlimits">{{cite web |last1=Cook |first1=Candace |last2=Siegle |first2=Joseph |title=Circumvention of Term Limits Weakens Governance in Africa |url=https://africacenter.org/spotlight/circumvention-of-term-limits-weakens-governance-in-africa/ |website=Africa Center for Strategic Studies}}</ref>  

==List of officeholders==
;Political parties
{{legend|{{party color|African Party for the Independence of Guinea and Cape Verde}}|[[African Party for the Independence of Guinea and Cape Verde]] (PAIGC)|border=1px solid #aaa}}
{{legend|{{party color|African Party for the Independence of Cape Verde}}|[[African Party for the Independence of Cape Verde]] (PAICV)|border=1px solid #aaa}}
{{legend|{{party color|Movement for Democracy (Cape Verde)}}|[[Movement for Democracy (Cape Verde)|Movement for Democracy]] (MpD)|border=1px solid #AAAAAA}}

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
! rowspan="2" |{{Abbr|No.|Number}}
! rowspan="2" |Portrait
! rowspan="2" |Name<br />{{small|(Birth–Death)}}
! rowspan="2" |Elected
! colspan="3" |Term of office
! rowspan="2" |Political party
|-
! Took office
! Left office
! Time in office
|-
! style="background:{{party color|African Party for the Independence of Guinea and Cape Verde}}; color:white;" |1
| rowspan=2|[[File:Aristide Pereira detail DF-SC-84-10021.jpg|90px]]
| rowspan=2|[[Aristides Pereira]]<br />{{small|(1923–2011)}}
| rowspan=2|[[1975 Cape Verdean presidential election|1975]]<br />[[1981 Cape Verdean presidential election|1981]]<br />[[1986 Cape Verdean presidential election|1986]]
| rowspan=2|8 July 1975
| rowspan=2|22 March 1991
| rowspan=2|{{ayd|1975|7|8|1991|3|22}}
| [[African Party for the Independence of Guinea and Cape Verde|PAIGC]]<br />{{small|(''until 1981''<ref name=PP>''Political Parties of the World'' (6th edition, 2005), ed. Bogdan Szajkowski, page 113.</ref>)}}
|-
! style="background:{{party color|African Party for the Independence of Cape Verde}}; color:white;" |
| [[African Party for the Independence of Cape Verde|PAICV]]<br />{{small|(''from 1981''<ref name=PP/>)}}
|-
! style="background:{{party color|Movement for Democracy (Cape Verde)}}; color:white;" |2
| [[File:Antonio Mascarenhas Monteiro 2012.png|90px]]
| [[António Mascarenhas Monteiro]]<br />{{small|(1944–2016)}}
| [[1991 Cape Verdean presidential election|1991]]<br />[[1996 Cape Verdean presidential election|1996]]
| 22 March 1991
| 22 March 2001
| {{age in years|1991|3|22|2001|3|22}} years
| [[Movement for Democracy (Cape Verde)|MpD]]
|-
! style="background:{{party color|African Party for the Independence of Cape Verde}}; color:white;" |3
| [[File:Secretary Alphonso Jackson with Pedro Pires (cropped).jpg|90px]]
| [[Pedro Pires]]<br />{{small|(born 1934)}}
| [[2001 Cape Verdean presidential election|2001]]<br />[[2006 Cape Verdean presidential election|2006]]
| 22 March 2001
| 9 September 2011
| {{ayd|2001|3|22|2011|9|9}}
| [[African Party for the Independence of Cape Verde|PAICV]]
|-
! style="background:{{party color|Movement for Democracy (Cape Verde)}}; color:white;" |4
| [[File:Jorge Carlos Fonseca 2014.png|90px]]
| [[Jorge Carlos Fonseca]]<br />{{small|(born 1950)}}
| [[2011 Cape Verdean presidential election|2011]]<br />[[2016 Cape Verdean presidential election|2016]]
| 9 September 2011
| 9 November 2021
| {{ayd|2011|9|9|2021|11|9}}
| [[Movement for Democracy (Cape Verde)|MpD]]
|-
! style="background:{{party color|African Party for the Independence of Cape Verde}}; color:white;" |5
| [[File:José Maria Neves, 2023.jpg|90px]]
| [[José Maria Neves]]<br />{{small|(born 1960)}}
| [[2021 Cape Verdean presidential election|2021]]
| 9 November 2021
| Incumbent
| {{ayd|2021|11|9}}
| [[African Party for the Independence of Cape Verde|PAICV]]
|}

==Timeline==
{{#tag:timeline|
ImageSize = width:900 height:auto barincrement:21
PlotArea  = top:10 bottom:80 right:150 left:20
AlignBars = late

Define $today = {{#time:d/m/Y}}

Colors =
  id:paigc value:rgb(0.81,0.06,0.15) legend:PAIGC
  id:paicv value:rgb(0.99,0.82,0.08) legend:PAICV
  id:mpd   value:rgb(0.51,0.86,0.04) legend:Movement_for_Democracy

  id:gray1  value:gray(0.85)
  id:gray2  value:gray(0.95)

DateFormat = dd/mm/yyyy
Period     = from:01/01/1975 till:$today
TimeAxis   = orientation:horizontal
ScaleMajor = gridcolor:gray1 unit:year increment:5 start:1975
ScaleMinor = gridcolor:gray2 unit:year increment:1 start:1975

Legend     = columns:1 left:150 top:35 columnwidth:170
 
TextData =
  pos:(20,38) textcolor:black fontsize:M
  text:"Political party:"

BarData =
 bar:Pereira
 bar:Monteiro
 bar:Pires
 bar:Fonseca
 bar:Neves

PlotData =
  width:5 align:left fontsize:S shift:(5,-4) anchor:till

 bar:Pereira
  from: 08/07/1975 till: 20/01/1981 color:paigc
  from: 20/01/1981 till: 22/03/1991 color:paicv text:"[[Aristides Pereira]]"
 bar:Monteiro
  from: 22/03/1991 till: 22/03/2001 color:mpd   text:"[[António Mascarenhas Monteiro]]"
 bar:Pires
  from: 22/03/2001 till: 09/09/2011 color:paicv text:"[[Pedro Pires]]"
 bar:Fonseca
  from: 09/09/2011 till: 09/11/2021 color:mpd   text:"[[Jorge Carlos Fonseca]]"
 bar:Neves
  from: 09/11/2021 till: $today     color:paicv text:"[[José Maria Neves]]"

}}

==Latest election==
{{main|2021 Cape Verdean presidential election}}
{{Election results
|cand1=[[José Maria Neves]]|party1=[[African Party for the Independence of Cape Verde]]|votes1=95803
|cand2=[[Carlos Veiga]]|party2=[[Movement for Democracy (Cape Verde)|Movement for Democracy]]|votes2=78474
|cand3=Casimiro de Pina|party3=Independent|votes3=3343
|cand4=Fernando Rocha Delgado|party4=Independent|votes4=2516
|cand5=Helio Sanches|party5=Independent|votes5=2119
|cand6=Gilson Alves|party6=Independent|votes6=1558
|cand7=Joaquim Monteiro|party7=Independent|votes7=1378
|invalid=5928
|electorate=398865
|source=[https://eleicoes.cv/ CNE]
}}

==See also==
{{Politics of Cape Verde}}
* [[Politics of Cape Verde]]
* [[List of prime ministers of Cape Verde]]
* [[List of colonial governors of Cape Verde]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
* [http://www.presidencia.cv/ Official Website] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190630180731/http://presidencia.cv/ |date=30 June 2019 }} {{in lang|pt}}
* [http://www.worldstatesmen.org/Cape_Verde.html World Statesmen – Cape Verde]

{{Presidents of Cape Verde}}
{{Cape Verde topics}}
{{Heads of state and government of Africa}}

[[Category:Government of Cape Verde]]
[[Category:Presidents of Cape Verde|*]]
[[Category:Lists of national presidents|Cape Verde]]
[[Category:Lists of Cape Verdean people|Presidents]]