Maria Luís Albuquerque
| Maria Luís Albuquerque | |
|---|---|
| Minister of Finance | |
| Assumed office 2 July 2013 |
|
| Prime Minister | Pedro Passos Coelho |
| Preceded by | Vítor Gaspar |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 16 September 1967 Braga, Portugal |
| Political party | Social Democratic Party |
| Alma mater | Lusíada University Technical University of Lisbon |
Maria Luís Albuquerque (born 16 September 1967 in Braga) is a Portuguese politician.[1] She took office as Minister of State and Finance on 2 July 2013, replacing Vitor Gaspar.
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Early life and education[edit]
Albuquerque is married and has three children. She graduated in Economics in 1991 from Universidade Lusíada, in Lisbon, and holds a Masters degree (1997) in Monetary and Financial Economics from ISEG, Technical University of Lisbon.
Career[edit]
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This section of a biography of a living person does not include any references or sources. (February 2015) |
Albuquerque worked at the Directorate General of Treasury from 1996 to 1999; at the office of Higher Technical Studies and Economic Forecasts of the Ministry of Economy from 1999 to 2001 and as an advisor to the Secretary of State for Treasury and Finance in 2001. Between 2001 and 2007 she was Director of the Department of Financial Management of REFER, the railway infrastructure public company. From 2007 to 2011 she was Head of Issuing and Markets Department at the Portuguese Debt Management Agency. She was a lecturer at Universidade Lusíada between 1991 and 2006.
At the XIX Constitutional Government, Maria Luís Albuquerque became Secretary of State for Treasury and Finance between June 2011 and October 2012 and Secretary of State for Treasury between October 2012 and June 2013. In such capacity, she followed Eurogroup and Ecofin matters as alternate to the then Minister of State and Finance.
Minister of State and Finance, 2013-present[edit]
Albuquerque’s appointment was followed by the resignation of the former Minister of Foreign Affairs, Paulo Portas, who had openly criticized her nomination.[2] Questions were raised after she denied that the Government had been informed about "swap" operations performed under the Government of Prime Minister José Sócrates, while the former Minister of Finance, Vitor Gaspar, admitted that he had been informed.[citation needed] She is only the second woman to hold the office of finance minister in Portugal,[3] after Manuela Ferreira Leite.
As Finance Minister, Albuquerque has been supporting the reform program advocated by Portugal’s creditors and put in place by Gaspar.[4] In January 2015, she announced that Portugal would follow Ireland with an early repayment of bailout loans from the International Monetary Fund after borrowing costs fell and the country was able to sell 30-year bonds.[5] At the time, Portugal’s economy was growing again after a three-year recession caused by a debt crisis and austerity.[6]
Also, Albuquerque bolstered Portugal's bank resolution fund (Fundo de Resolução) in 2014 by earmarking 5.4 billion euros in Treasury loans. In early August 2014, she spent 4.9 billion euros to rescue Banco Espírito Santo, the country's second-largest lender, mostly from public funds. The bank was split into a regular bank called Novo Banco and a "bad bank" that inherited unserviced debt.[7]
In her current position, Albuquerque also serves as a Member of the Board of Governors at the African Development Bank, the European Stability Mechanism and the European Investment Bank.
References[edit]
- ^ http://www.publico.pt/economia/noticia/marido-de-maria-luis-albuquerque-rescinde-contrato-com-edp-1599136
- ^ Raphael Minder (6 July 2013), Seeking to Repair a Rift in Portugal’s Ruling Coalition New York Times.
- ^ Sarah Gordon (April 13, 2014), Portuguese finance minister open to unconventional easing by ECB Financial Times.
- ^ Raphael Minder (3 July 2013), Prime Minister Tells Portuguese He Won’t Resign New York Times.
- ^ João Lima and Henrique Almeida (3 July 2013), Portugal to Join Ireland With Early Repayment of IMF Loans Bloomberg News.
- ^ Andrei Khalip (September 18, 2015), S&P upgrades Portugal, sees little policy change post-election Reuters.
- ^ Sergio Goncalves (October 21, 2014), Portugal bolsters bank resolution fund, sees no new rescues Reuters.
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Vítor Gaspar |
Minister of Finance 2013–present |
Incumbent |
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