Rui Cardoso

Born in Lisbon in 1953, Rui graduated from Instituto Superior Técnico in 1977. He built his entire professional career in journalism, working at Diário Popular (1978–88), Independente (1988–89), and Expresso (1989–2019). At Expresso, he served as a science reporter, editor of travel guides (1995–98), including Guia de Portugal (Guide to Portugal), Guia das Cidades (City Guide), Guia do Melhor de Portugal (Best of Portugal Guide), and later, Guia das Mais Belas Viagens de Comboio (Guide to the Most Beautiful Train Journeys). He was also the editor of the international section (2009–18) and served as director of Courrier Internacional magazine in 2018 before retiring the same year.

He is a frequent guest on SIC Notícias, analyzing international affairs, particularly the war in Ukraine, the Middle East situation, and security and counterterrorism issues in Europe. He continues to collaborate regularly with Expresso.

He has authored several books spanning topics from travel and tourism to scientific policies and Portuguese history. These include Pelas Linhas da Nostalgia (Along the Lines of Nostalgia), co-authored with Mafalda César Machado, which explores walking routes along deactivated railway lines, and Portugal Passo a Passo (Portugal Step by Step), co-authored with Abel Melo e Sousa. In the field of scientific outreach, he wrote Turismo Científico em Portugal, um Roteiro (Scientific Tourism in Portugal: A Guide). In 2010, he published Invasões Francesas – 200 Anos, Histórias, Mitos e Protagonistas (The French Invasions – 200 Years, Stories, Myths, and Key Figures), revisiting the topic last year with Mapa Cor de Sangue (Blood-Colored Map). In 2022, he released Ucrânia: 35 Pontos Fundamentais para Entender a Invasão (Ukraine: 35 Key Points to Understand the Invasion) and Conta-me Como Não Foi (Tell Me How It Wasn’t), a book debunking myths and lies in Portuguese history. He is currently working on a brief history of the PREC (Ongoing Revolutionary Process, Portugal’s post-revolution transition period in 1974–75).