1st Regional Legislature, was the first session of the Regional Assembly and Government of the Autonomous Region of the Azores. The constitution of the 1st Regional Legislature was written on 27 June 1976. It was only possible since the new Constitution of the Portuguese Republic, approved on 2 April 1976, explicitly allowed for the creation of the Autonomous Region of the Azores, and those governmental institutions necessary to operate the bureaucracy. One of these institutions was the Regional Assembly, which, at the time, was responsible for establishing the government of the Autonomous Region, and included: President Álvaro Monjardino, Vice-President Alberto Madruga da Costa, Vice-President Angelino de Almeida Páscoa, and secretaries João Vasco Paica and Suzete Oliveira. It was not until September 4, 1976, after the approval of the government, in the presence of the President of the Republic, General Ramalho Eanes, that the first Assembly began its functions.
History
On 21 July 1976, Álvaro Monjardino was elected by plenum of the Regional Assembly, the first President of the Azorean Parliament. The preliminary session of the Assembly, which took two days to deliberate, included 43 regional deputies: 27 representing the Social Democratic Party, 14 from the Socialist Party and 2 members of the Democratic and Social Centre – People's Party. The representatives had gathered at the Amor da Pátria building, as no Regional Assembly had yet been constructed. Representatives of the Assembly were duly elected from 43 electoral districts, with the majority of the seats occupied by members of the Portuguese Social Democrats. The Social Democrats, under the leadership of Mota Amaral, became the first Government of the Azores in the 1st Regional Assembly. On the day of the first session, General Altino Pinto de Magalhães, then the President of the Junta Regional of the Azores and Frank Carlucci, the United States Ambassador in Portugal, surrendered control of the region's administration to the PSD.
Regional Government
Having established a plurality of the seats cast in the regional elections, the Partido Social Democrata was obligated to form the first regional government. Over time, the Regional Presidency would be established and governed from Ponta Delgada, on the island of São Miguel: the residency of President would be at the Palace of Santanna, and main administrative offices would be located in the center of São José. The executive, many of which took office on 8 September 1976, were appointed by decree of the Ministry of the Republic on September 1, 1976, as no formal process had yet been established, and consisted of:
