The study combines the assumptions of the elite’s studies with the dynamics of democratic
societies, starting with the empirical collection of data on the Portuguese parliamentary elites from the 11th to
the current legislature (13th), with the purpose of building a prosopographic database. The data processing
was carried out by legislature, aiming to identify and analyze statistically the relevant quantities of biographic
data about the MPs. The study was a cross-sectional survey in which political and sociodemographic issues of
the Portuguese deputies where explored and correlated to define the group's profile. In this way, the collected
data provided a comparative evaluation of the three legislatures (2009-2011, 2011-2015 and 2015 to present)
and created an interrelation between two main analysis dimensions: the sociodemographic one (age, gender
representation, educational credentials and occupation) and the political one (parliamentary group, previous
held positions (political or party background); career paths – local and / or central power, ex-ministers,
number of terms on office). The profile of the members of Parliament as a whole become visible, and the
variances marked by electoral processes.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio
