Prime Minister dismisses director of the Security Intelligence Service

The Prime Minister, Luís Montenegro, has dismissed, at the request of the individual, Adélio Torres Neiva da Cruz from the position of director of the Security Intelligence Service (SIS). The decision is contained in Order no. 10555/2026, published in the Diário da República, 2nd series, no. 165, of August 26, 2026, and takes effect on July 15, 2026.

The act was carried out under paragraph d) of article 17 of the Framework Law of the Information System of the Portuguese Republic, approved by Law no. 30/84, of September 5, in its current wording, and after hearing the Secretary-General of the Information System of the Portuguese Republic. The order is signed by the Prime Minister himself, Luís Montenegro, on July 15, 2026.

Legal Framework

The dismissal falls within the regime for the appointment and termination of functions of the directors of intelligence services, provided for in the Framework Law of the Information System of the Portuguese Republic. Under paragraph d) of article 17 of that diploma, it is the responsibility of the Prime Minister to decide on the termination of functions of the director of the SIS, after hearing the Secretary-General of the Information System of the Portuguese Republic.

The SIS is the intelligence service responsible for producing information aimed at safeguarding internal security and preventing sabotage, terrorism, espionage, and acts that, by their nature, could alter or destroy the constitutionally established rule of law. The change at the top of the service occurs within a context of renewal of the leadership of the national intelligence services.

Decision and Effects

The order determines, in its point 1, the dismissal, at the request of the individual, of Adélio Torres Neiva da Cruz from the position of director of the SIS. Point 2 sets the effective date of the act as July 15, 2026, the date on which the termination of functions becomes effective.

• Issuing body: Presidency of the Council of Ministers, Office of the Prime Minister.
• Official reference: Order no. 10555/2026.
• Publication: Diário da República, 2nd series, no. 165, of August 26, 2026.
• Signature date: July 15, 2026.
• Effects: July 15, 2026.

Relevance

The dismissal of the director of the SIS represents a leadership change in one of the central bodies of the Portuguese intelligence system, with a direct impact on the conduct of internal security policy. The publication of the order in the Diário da República provides publicity and legal certainty to the act, allowing citizens and institutions to know the composition of the leadership of the intelligence services and the legal framework governing their appointment and termination of functions.

Source: Diário da República, 2nd series, no. 165, of August 26, 2026, Part C — Government and direct and indirect administration of the State (official reference: Order no. 10555/2026).