The Portuguese prime minister who lost it all to Brussels' besieging

Days before José Sócrates resigned on Wednesday, he told a television interviewer that if early elections are called, Portugal wouldn't see the last of him. The now-caretaker prime minister may yet run again on the Portuguese Socialist Party (PS) ticket.

It is that type of determination that has compelled Sócrates to promise Portugal and the rest of Europe that his country won't need to seek a bailout similar to those of Ireland and Greece- at least not while his caretaker government is in charge. It is also the same type of firmness he has demonstrated in social policy, successfully pushing for far-reaching measures such as gay marriage and the legalization of free-choice abortion in this conservative Catholic country.

At the same time, he introduced unpopular economic policies, including reforms to the Social Security system and trimming the public sector. He lost the unions' backing- a much-needed pool of loyalists who traditionally deliver scores of workers' votes to the Socialists.

On Wednesday, he was deprived of political support when parliament rejected his government's latest batch of cost-saving measures.

"This political crisis was avoidable- there was enough spirit for dialogue," he told lawmakers in presenting his resignation. "This crisis is totally inappropriate and comes at the worst moment, a day before a summit that is decisive for Portugal and Europe," Sócrates added in reference to Thursday's meeting of EU leaders.

For the past year, Sócrates and his government have been under the European Union's watchful eye for signs of financial turbulence that could lead to a mammoth rescue package. He assumed his second mandate after winning reelection in 2009 at one of Portugal's worst economic moments in recent years. But the 53-year-old prime minister insisted that no Brussels bailout would be needed, at least not on his watch. His adamant stance has won praise from German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who on Thursday publicly thanked Sócrates for all he did.

"I listen to others and I like talking to people, but I have my convictions," he said in an EL PAÍS interview in 2007. "In these difficult times firmness is needed. Not arrogance, firmness. The problem is that many people confuse firmness with authoritarianism. I'm not authoritarian, nor reserved, nor austere."

Born in Vilar de Maçada, Sócrates lived with his divorced father during his childhood and teenage years. During his youth, he served as leader of the youth branch of the Portuguese Social Democrat Party (PSD), but joined the PS in 1981. He graduated with a degree in civil engineering and later received his MBA. Before jumping into politics, he was hired as a technical engineer for the town of Covilhã, where he worked from 1981 to 1987. In that last year, he was elected deputy on the Socialist ticket representing Castelo Branco.

He served as leader of the local Socialist Party in Castelo Branco from 1986 to 1995, and became the Socialist spokesman for environmental affairs from 1991 to 1995. He quickly rose in the party's ranks serving in different ministerial posts, including environment minister from 1999 to 2002.

Elected PS secretary general in 2004, he then led the party to victory in general elections a year later. He was seen as Portugal's ray of hope and his popularity soared. In 2007, he became embroiled in scandal over the validity of the college degree he obtained while holding public office from a university that was later shut down by authorities. Some media executives claimed that they were pressured by people close to Sócrates to stop reporting on the controversy.

It was also alleged that he was involved in a shady business deal with a British developer to build a gigantic mall on environmentally protected land outside Lisbon. Despite the accusations and his denials, his approval ratings remained intact.

Sócrates had pushed for a modernization of the country's transport system and encouraged high-tech companies to set up shop in Portugal. But it was his insistence on winning approval of his latest austerity proposals, the so-called economic program for growth (PEC), which included among other things a special tax on all pensions over 1,500 euros, that led to his political downfall on Wednesday night.

PSD leader Pedro Passos Coelho said he hopes that Portugal won't have to resort to an IMF or EU bailout package.