Maria Luís Albuquerque facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Maria Luís Albuquerque
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Official portrait, 2024
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||
| European Commissioner for Financial Services and the Savings and Investments Union | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Assumed office 1 December 2024 |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||
| President | Ursula von der Leyen | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Preceded by | Mairead McGuinness | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Minister of Finance | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| In office 2 July 2013 – 26 November 2015 |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Prime Minister | Pedro Passos Coelho | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Preceded by | Vítor Gaspar | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Succeeded by | Mário Centeno | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Personal details | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born |
Maria Luís Casanova Morgado Dias
16 September 1967 Braga, Portugal |
||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Political party | Social Democratic Party | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Spouse | António Albuquerque | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Children | 3 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Alma mater | Lusíada University Technical University of Lisbon |
||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Occupation | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
Maria Luís Albuquerque (born 16 September 1967) is a Portuguese politician. She is currently the European Commissioner for Financial Services and the Savings and Investments Union. This is a big job in the European Union. Before this, she was the Minister of State and Finance for Portugal from 2013 to 2015.
Contents
Early Life and Education
Maria Luís Albuquerque is married and has three children. She studied economics at Universidade Lusíada in Lisbon. She earned her degree in 1991. Later, in 1997, she got a master's degree in Monetary and Financial Economics. She studied at ISEG, which is part of the Technical University of Lisbon.
Starting Her Career
Maria Luís Albuquerque worked in different government offices early in her career. From 1996 to 1999, she worked at the Directorate General of Treasury. She also worked for the Ministry of Economy. In 2001, she was an advisor to the Secretary of State for the Treasury and Finance.
She then worked for REFER, a public company that manages railway infrastructure. From 2001 to 2007, she was in charge of financial management there. After that, she worked at the Portuguese Debt Management Agency. She was also a teacher at Universidade Lusíada for many years.
Her Political Journey
Maria Luís Albuquerque became a Secretary of State in the Portuguese government. From 2011 to 2012, she was the Secretary of State for the Treasury and Finance. Then, from 2012 to 2013, she was the Secretary of State for the Treasury. In these roles, she helped with important financial meetings in Europe.
Becoming Finance Minister (2013–2015)
In 2013, Maria Luís Albuquerque became the Minister of Finance for Portugal. She was only the second woman to hold this important position in Portugal. As Finance Minister, she supported a plan to help Portugal's economy. This plan was put in place by the country's lenders.
In 2015, she announced that Portugal would start paying back its loans early. These loans were from the International Monetary Fund. This happened because borrowing money became cheaper for Portugal. The country's economy was also starting to grow again. Before this, Portugal had faced a tough recession and a debt crisis.
She also helped strengthen Portugal's bank resolution fund. This fund helps banks if they get into trouble. In 2014, she used public money to help rescue Banco Espírito Santo. This was a very large bank in Portugal. The bank was split into a new, healthy bank and a "bad bank" with old debts.
After the 2014 European elections, some people thought she might become Portugal's representative in the European Commission. However, that job went to someone else.
After Being a Minister
After the 2015 national elections, Maria Luís Albuquerque left her job as Finance Minister. Her political party did not win enough votes to form the government. However, she continued to be a member of parliament until 2019.
In 2016, she wrote an article about a large state-owned bank called Caixa Geral de Depósitos (CGD). She said that the bank had given out big loans without enough guarantees. After her article, the Portuguese government ordered an independent check of the bank.
In 2021, Maria Luís Albuquerque was a candidate to lead the European Securities and Markets Authority. This is an important financial organization in Europe. However, she was not chosen for the role.
Other Important Roles
Maria Luís Albuquerque has also been involved in several international organizations and company boards:
International Organizations
- African Development Bank: She was a member of their board of governors from 2013 to 2015.
- European Stability Mechanism: She was also on their board of governors during the same period.
- European Investment Bank: She served on their board of governors from 2013 to 2015.
Company Boards
- Morgan Stanley Europe: Since 2022, she has been an independent director on their board.
- Arrow Global: She was an independent director on their board from 2016 to 2021.
