The now former police chief had given a number of public opinions about Madeleine's disappearance despite the official laws about secrecy in such matters, and in February, he had claimed the police were too quick to include the little girl’s parents among the suspects.
Four-year-old Madeleine McCann, from Leicestershirein the UK, vanished from a holiday apartment in the resort of Praia da Luz on 3 May last year.
José Maria Almeida Rodrigues has been named as Ribeiro’s replacement.
Mr Ribeiro had in the past said that information about the investigation into what happened to Madeleine should not be made public, but he had then gone on to talk about the case in interviews.
