The President of the Republic personally congratulated Dr. Maria Luís Albuquerque on her nomination by the Portuguese Government as a candidate for membership in the European Commission for the 2024-2029 term, according to a note published on the presidency’s website.
The Portuguese Government proposed former Finance Minister Maria Luís Albuquerque as a candidate for European Commissioner, announced Prime Minister Luís Montenegro today in a statement at the official residence in São Bento, without taking questions.
In his brief statement, the Prime Minister said he chose Maria Luís Albuquerque with the support of the entire Government, in a process that took place with “all discretion,” and highlighted the profile of the former Minister of State and Finance under Pedro Passos Coelho.
“Given her profile and my direct and personal knowledge of her capabilities, I know she will honor Portugal,” he stated.
Maria Luís Albuquerque, 56, was Minister of State and Finance during the period when Portugal was under financial assistance from the ‘troika’, succeeding Vítor Gaspar in July 2013 and remaining until the end of the executive led by Pedro Passos Coelho.
In the PSD party, she was vice-president during Passos Coelho’s leadership and headed the list of PSD candidates for deputies in Setúbal in 2011 and 2015.
Currently, she is a member of the PSD National Council – second name on Luís Montenegro’s leadership list, right after Carlos Moedas – and a member of the Supervisory Board of the European subsidiary of the North American company Morgan Stanley.
