Chris Sainty, former British Ambassador to Portugal, is taking on this new role and will drive The Portugal News’ ambitious plans to expand the circulation of the newspaper to Lisbon and Porto over the coming year.

The Portugal News has its roots in the Algarve, where the freely distributed weekly newspaper is an instantly recognisable brand and a key resource for the English-speaking population. This latest move comes in response to the enormous growth in recent years of the international community in Portugal’s two leading cities.

Chris Sainty is a senior diplomat with more than three decades of experience in international relations in many parts of the world. He has worked on European and international treaty negotiations, conflict resolution, security co-operation and counter-terrorism, and European foreign and security policy.

As Ambassador to Portugal from 2018-2024, he developed the 650-year-old alliance between Britain and Portugal. During this period, both countries confronted significant challenges, including Brexit, the Covid-19 pandemic, and Russia´s invasion of Ukraine. But in 2022 he led the negotiation of a new agreement between the two countries, setting up a modern partnership in trade, tourism, security and defence, science, technology, education, arts and culture, and much more.

Chris Sainty said that he was very excited to be taking on this new role: “For nearly 50 years The Portugal News has done a fantastic job, telling positive stories about Portugal and providing top quality financial, real estate, and other services to the English-speaking community in the Algarve. It’s time to broaden that horizon and bring The Portugal News to a wider, more diverse international community across Portugal and beyond.”