Profile: Portuguese President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa

BEIJING, April 25 (Xinhua) -- Portuguese President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa is set to pay a state visit to China from April 28 to May 2 at the invitation of Chinese President Xi Jinping.

He will attend the second Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation here in the Chinese capital prior to the state visit.

The following is a profile of Rebelo de Sousa.

Rebelo de Sousa was born on Dec. 12, 1948. With a PhD in law, he once worked as a professor at the University of Lisbon. He is a member of the Social Democratic Party (PSD).

In 1975, Rebelo de Sousa was for the first time elected as a member of the Parliament. From 1981 to 1983, he served as the secretary of state for the presidency of the council of ministers, and minister for parliamentary affairs. From 1996 to 1999, he assumed the chair of the PSD.

He founded the Expresso and Semanario, two newspapers where he acted as editor in chief. He also worked as a political TV commentator from 2000 to 2015.

Rebelo de Sousa took office as president in 2016 for a five years term.