Costa was born in Mozambique in 1929 when it was still a Portuguese colony. His mother, Maria Antonia Palla, was a Portuguese journalist and his father, Orlando Da Costa, was an eminent writer of Goan, Portuguese and French descent.
His pet name is babush, which means ‘little boy’ in Konkani. His extended family continues to live in Goa and his ancestral home is in Margao.
As a child, his mother was afraid he would be a victim of racism, but he says the colour of his skin never held him back.
He was elected the mayor of Lisbon three times and is known as Lisbon's Gandhi because he moved his office to a poor drug and prostitution hub in the city in order to help improve it.
He became Prime Minister after his alliance toppled an 11-day-old conservative minority government.
He has previously admitted to having a temper, but says he doesn't let his anger fester. To relax, he puts together 1,000-piece jigsaw puzzles. He also enjoys football and portuguese folk music, called fado.
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