Bernardo Pires de Lima (Lisbon, 1979) is, since December 2024, Senior Advisor & Speechwriter to the President of the European Council, António Costa.
He was Political Advisor to the President of the Portuguese Republic, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa (2021-2024), foreign affairs analyst for the Portuguese national television and radio broadcasters RTP and Antena 1 (2015-2024), and President of the Board of Trustees of FLAD/Luso-American Development Foundation (2020-2024). Since 2004, he has been Associate Fellow at the Portuguese Institute of International Relations of Nova University of Lisbon, and in 2018, he founded the Group of Reflection on the Future of Portugal, a forum of 45 Portuguese leading voices born after 1974, with no political affiliation, to exclusively discuss global trends with impact in Portugal with the President of the Portuguese Republic, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa. In 2022, by governmental nomination, he was one of the twenty one Portuguese personalities responsible for the National Defense Strategy Review.
Previously, he was Partner at FIRMA, where he led the Strategic Foresight area. He was also Visiting and Nonresident Fellow at the Center for Transatlantic Relations, Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies, Johns Hopkins University in Washington D.C (2012-2018). Between 2005 and 2009, he was a Research Associate at the Portuguese National Defense Institute, and has been a lecturer at the National Defense Institute, Portuguese Diplomatic Institute, Diplomatic Academy of Turkey, Suffolk University, University of Cape Verde, Portuguese Academy of Sciences, Nova University, ISCTE-University Institute of Lisbon, University of Azores, Catholic University and Lusíada University of Lisbon. He was also a member of the Strategic Council of the Institute for the Promotion and Development of Latin America (IPDAL). He has been a regular opinion maker for several media outlets in Portugal, over the last 20 years, such as the newsmagazine Visão (2022-2024), Diário de Notícias (2010-2021), newspaper i (2009) and Atlântico (2005-2008).
In 2012 he had a Luso-American Foundation Fellowship (FLAD) and one year later he was awarded with the Marshall Memorial Fellowship, from The German Marshall Fund of the United States, one of the most important leadership and networking programs for future transatlantic leaders under 40 years old. He is currently a Member of the Executive Board of the Portuguese Marshall Memorial Fellowship Alumni Association. Over the last years, he’s been traveling around the United States, Africa, the Middle East and Europe, an old continent he prefers to measure, like Tony Judt, “in train time”: he went on three inter-rails throughout the last decade. He is also Alumnus of the George C. Marshall Center’s Leaders Program on Advanced Security Studies (2006), the Future European Leadership Program from the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs (2014), as well as of the NATO School of Oberammergau’s Orientation Course (2006). He has also been invited to attend and speak at some of the major international conferences, to discuss European, transatlantic and global politics, such as at GMF Brussels Forum, Wilton Park, ESPAS Annual Conference on Global Trends, GLOBSEC or the M100 Sanssouci Colloquium.
His comments have been published and released in several Portuguese and international radio broadcasts (Rádio Renascença, TSF, Antena 1, Rádio Europa, Rádio Clube Português, Rádio Morabeza, RFI, BBC, Deutsche Welle, Deutschlandfunk), national television networks (TVI, TVI24, SIC, SIC Notícias, RTP1, RTP2, RTP3, RTP Informação, RTP África, RTP Internacional) and news agencies (Lusa, Reuters). He was also a contributor and a columnist for other Portuguese newspapers and magazines (Diário Económico, I, Atlântico, Notícias Magazine), and for several international outlets (Huffington Post World, The Diplomat, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, The National Interest, Hurriyet Daily News, Berlin Policy Journal, Majalla Magazine, World Politics Review, Atlantic Treaty Association Commentary, Europa United, Forum.eu). He has been regularly published in peer-reviewed journals like Relações Internacionais, Nação e Defesa and European Foreign Affairs Review.
He is the author of eight books over the last twelve years, covering the major debates on contemporary international politics, including O Ano Zero da Nova Europa (Tinta-da-China, 2024), an essay on the main challenges Europe is facing since the war in Ukraine; Portugal na Era dos Homens Fortes: Democracia e Totalitarismo em Tempos de Covid (Tinta-da-China, 2022), an essay on the international role of Portugal in times of Covid and the rise of authoritarian leaders; The B-Side of Europe: A journey to the 28 capital cities (Tinta-da-China, 2019), O Lado B da Europa: Viagem às 28 Capitais (Tinta-da-China, 2018), a collection of 28 essays from the point of view of each one of the EU member-state’s capital after travelling 11 months throughout Europe in 2017; Putinlândia (Tinta-da-China, 2016; José Medeiros Ferreira Prize), a collection of essays about the current European and Mediterranean steps of Vladimir Putin; Portugal e o Atlântico (Fundação Francisco Manuel dos Santos, 2016), an essay on the rise of the Atlantic and the role of Portugal; A Síria em Pedaços (Tinta-da-China, 2015), a collection of chronicles on the Syrian civil war; A Cimeira das Lajes: Portugal, Espanha e a Guerra do Iraque (Tinta-da-China, 2013), a study of the Portuguese support of the American decision to use force against Iraq, which has represented the most difficult balance between European and Transatlantic pillars in the Portuguese democratic history; and Blair, a Moral e o Poder (Guerra & Paz, 2008), a critical analysis of Tony Blair’s decade on foreign affairs with a particular emphasis on the European and Atlantic balance during the Kosovo and Iraq crisis.
He holds a Degree in Political Science and a M.A in International Relations from Lusíada University, and has his PhD currently frozen (Nova University of Lisbon) due to several professional responsibilities. His doctoral research is focused on the US foreign policy during Bill Clinton’s administration towards the role of NATO immediately after the end of the Cold War. During his studies he spent one year at the Department of Political Science, Università degli Studi di Roma Tre (Italy).
He was awarded with the European Union Merit Award by The International Business Fair (2021), the Europe Essay Award by Respublica Foundation (2019) and with the José Medeiros Ferreira Prize by the European Institute of University of Lisbon (2016).
Bernardo Pires de Lima was a Board Member of Clube de Lisboa, and is a Corresponding Member of the Navy Academy (class of Arts, Letters and Science), and a member of the Portuguese Association of Political Science. His main areas of interest include Transatlantic Relations, European Security, Geopolitics, Portuguese, American and British foreign policies.
In November 2024, he was awarded with the Grand-Officer of the Order of Prince Harry, by the President of the Portuguese Republic, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa.
