Ana Maria Rosa Martins Gomes (born 9 February 1954), better known as Ana Gomes, is a Portuguese former diplomat and politician of the
Socialist Party
Socialist Party is the name of many different political parties around the world. All of these parties claim to uphold some form of socialism, though they may have very different interpretations of what "socialism" means. Statistically, most of t ...
(PS).
She earned wide recognition for her role in negotiating independence for
East Timor
East Timor (), also known as Timor-Leste (), officially the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste, is an island country in Southeast Asia. It comprises the eastern half of the island of Timor, the exclave of Oecusse on the island's north-west ...
, a former Portuguese colony, and in the reestablishment of diplomatic relations between Portugal and
Indonesia
Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...
. She later suspended her career as a diplomat to enter
party politics
A political party is an organization that coordinates candidates to compete in a particular country's elections. It is common for the members of a party to hold similar ideas about politics, and parties may promote specific political ideology ...
, and served as a Member of the
European Parliament
The European Parliament (EP) is one of the legislative bodies of the European Union and one of its seven institutions. Together with the Council of the European Union (known as the Council and informally as the Council of Ministers), it adopts ...
from 2004 until 2019, where she was an outspoken campaigner on corruption and human rights.
On 10 September 2020, she officially announced her candidacy for the
2021 Portuguese presidential election, without official support from the Socialist Party. She finished second, with 13% of the votes, the best result ever achieved by a woman in a presidential election in Portugal.
Education and early political career
Ana Gomes was born in 1954 in
Alfredo da Costa Maternity Hospital,
in the
Lisbon parish of
São Sebastião da Pedreira
São Sebastião da Pedreira ( English: '' Saint Sebastian of the Quarry'') was a Portuguese parish (''freguesia'') in the municipality of Lisbon. With the 2012 Administrative Reform, the former ''São Sebastião da Pedreira'' parish merged with th ...
, and she grew up during the authoritarian ''
Estado Novo'' regime.
Her father, Jorge Pedro Martins Gomes,
was an officer of the
merchant marine and her mother, Maria Alice Rosa Gomes,
a
homemaker
Homemaking is mainly an American and Canadian term for the management of a home, otherwise known as housework, housekeeping, housewifery or household management. It is the act of overseeing the organizational, day-to-day operations of a hous ...
. Both were politically minded and opposed the authoritarian regime.
In her teenage years, she accompanied her father to the rallies of the opposition movements
Democratic Unity Electoral Commission (CEUD, ''Comissão Eleitoral de Unidade Democrática'') and the
Portuguese Democratic Movement/Democratic Electoral Commissions (MDP/CDE, ''Movimento Democrático Português/Comissões Democráticas Eleitorais'') that unsuccessfully ran in the fraudulent
1969 legislative election,
amid extensive harassment of opposition candidates and voter manipulation. Her parents allowed her and her sister a liberal education, initially at Colégio da Baforeira, a
boarding school in
Parede, and then the
lyceum
The lyceum is a category of educational institution defined within the education system of many countries, mainly in Europe. The definition varies among countries; usually it is a type of secondary school. Generally in that type of school the t ...
in
São João do Estoril,
and later still the
Maria Amália Vaz de Carvalho Lyceum in
Lisbon,
where she became an activist of the Associative Movement of the Lisbon Secondary Education Students (MAEESL, ''Movimento Associativo de Estudantes do Ensino Secundário de Lisboa''), at the time led by
Nuno Crato
Nuno Paulo de Sousa Arrobas Crato, GCIH, GCPI (born 9 March 1952) is a Portuguese university professor, researcher, applied mathematician, economist, and writer. For many years, Crato was a researcher and professor in the United States. Back in ...
.
In what she considered a "political act", Gomes formally requested to be released from
religious education classes at school.
She began attending the Faculty of Law of the
University of Lisbon
The University of Lisbon (ULisboa; pt, Universidade de Lisboa, ) is a public research university in Lisbon, and the largest university in Portugal. It was founded in 2013, from the merger of two previous public universities located in Lisbon, th ...
in 1972, a period marked by the regime's increasing academic repression climate in the aftermath of the
student opposition resistance movement of the
Academic Crisis The Academic Crisis ( pt, Crise académica) is the name given to a Portugal, Portuguese governmental policy instigated in 1962 by the ''Estado Novo (Portugal), Estado Novo'' entailing the boycott and closure of several student associations and organ ...
in 1962, later revived by the
international revolutionary movements of 1968; notably, 1972 was the year of the assassination of fellow law student
Ribeiro dos Santos by agents of the
political police
Secret police (or political police) are intelligence, security or police agencies that engage in covert operations against a government's political, religious, or social opponents and dissidents. Secret police organizations are characteristic of a ...
, and early in the year that followed, the
Minister of Education Veiga Simão had "surveillers" (''vigilantes''; commonly referred to as the "gorillas") placed at the Faculty to enforce police control over students. Ana Gomes soon became active in student political activism against the regime as part of the underground Anti-Colonial Struggle Committees (CLAC; ''Comités de Luta Anti-Colonial''), groups with links to the
Re-Organized Movement of the Party of the Proletariat (MRPP; ''Movimento Reorganizativo do Partido do Proletariado''), a clandestine communist party.
As an
initiation, she was recruited to paint large murals against the
Colonial War
Colonial war (in some contexts referred to as small war) is a blanket term relating to the various conflicts that arose as the result of overseas territories being settled by foreign powers creating a colony. The term especially refers to wars ...
.
By the time of the
Carnation Revolution that overthrew the dictatorial regime in 1974, Ana Gomes had been suspended from the Faculty of Law for "subversive activities"; she had been briefly arrested as an agitator, along with a group of fellow students, in December 1973 and was suspended the following month.
At around this time, she was first employed part-time as a waitress at the restaurant Caldeiro owned by a popular actress of the time,
Maria José Curado Ribeiro (she worked there alongside
Rita Ribeiro
Rita may refer to:
People
* Rita (given name)
* Rita (Indian singer) (born 1984)
* Rita (Israeli singer) (born 1962)
* Rita (Japanese singer)
* Eliza Humphreys (1850–1938), wrote under the pseudonym Rita
Places
* Djarrit, also known as Rita, ...
and
Guida Maria
Guida Maria (23 January 1950 – 2 January 2018) was a Portuguese actress. Her career spanned 60 years and included appearances on stage, in film and on television.
Early life
Maria was born in 1950 in Campo de Ourique, Lisbon. Her father, Luis ...
), and then as a translator for the exports department of the ''Companhia Portuguesa de Congelação'' (Portuguese Frozen Foods Company).
She was present at the
Largo do Carmo in the afternoon of the day of the revolution, 25 April 1974, when the forces of the
Armed Forces Movement led by
Salgueiro Maia
Fernando José Salgueiro Maia, GOTE, GCIH, GCL (1 July 1944 – 4 April 1992 in Santarém), commonly known as Salgueiro Maia (), was a captain in the Portuguese army. He made a significant contribution to the Carnation Revolution, which result ...
and a crowd of civilian supporters besieged the headquarters of the
National Republican Guard, where Prime Minister
Marcelo Caetano
Marcelo José das Neves Alves Caetano (; 17 August 1906 – 26 October 1980) was a Portuguese politician and scholar. He was the second and last leader of the Estado Novo after succeeding António Salazar. He served as prime minister from 196 ...
had sought refuge, demanding he cede power. She later went to the
Fort of Caxias to witness the release of the
political prisoner
A political prisoner is someone imprisoned for their political activity. The political offense is not always the official reason for the prisoner's detention.
There is no internationally recognized legal definition of the concept, although n ...
s.
She was preparing to marry a fellow law student and political activist,
António Monteiro Cardoso, just as the revolution took place, but the marriage had to be postponed to the following month.
She was elected to the Faculty's
student council in the
electoral list supported by MRPP in November 1974 (alongside
Durão Barroso Durão is a surname. Notable people with the surname include:
* Joaquim Durão (1930–2015), Portuguese chess player
* Nuno Durão (born 1962), Portuguese rugby union footballer and coach
*Santa Rita Durão
José de Santa Rita Durão (1722–178 ...
and
Garcia Pereira)
as well as to the Faculty governing board. After the birth of her daughter in August 1975, she dropped out of law school and quit her job, and focused on working as a translator and interpreter for the press division of the Central Committee of MRPP.
During the political tensions of the "
Hot Summer" in 1975, during which the country was on the brink of civil war, culminating with the
attempted Communist coup of 25 November, Ana Gomes was on the side of the democratic forces, supporting General
Ramalho Eanes Ramalho is a Portuguese surname. Ramalho may refer to:
People
* João Ramalho (1493–1580), Portuguese explorer
*Ramalho Ortigão (1836–1915), Portuguese writer
* Rosa Ramalho (1888–1977), Portuguese ceramist
* José Ramalho (rower) (1901–?u ...
and the
Socialist Party
Socialist Party is the name of many different political parties around the world. All of these parties claim to uphold some form of socialism, though they may have very different interpretations of what "socialism" means. Statistically, most of t ...
against the
Portuguese Communist Party
The Portuguese Communist Party ( pt, Partido Comunista Português, , PCP) is a communist, Marxist–Leninist political party in Portugal based upon democratic centralism. The party also considers itself patriotic and internationalist,Portu ...
. Shortly after, however, in January 1976, disillusioned with the party's disbelief in the
Portuguese transition to democracy
Portugal's redemocratization process started with the Carnation Revolution of 1974. It ended with the enactment of the Current Portuguese Constitution in 1976.
Background: the Salazar-Caetano era
The republic was replaced by a military dict ...
,
she abandoned MRPP and active politics. She returned to work as a secretary for an
import/export company and resumed her law degree
after working hours, finally completing it in 1979.
She was working as a
teaching assistant
A teaching assistant or teacher's aide (TA) or education assistant (EA) or team teacher (TT) is an individual who assists a teacher with instructional responsibilities. TAs include ''graduate teaching assistants'' (GTAs), who are graduate stude ...
at the Faculty of Law and training to become a
lawyer under Manuel Figueira, a specialist in
public international law
International law (also known as public international law and the law of nations) is the set of rules, norms, and standards generally recognized as binding between states. It establishes normative guidelines and a common conceptual framework for ...
and
maritime law,
when she was challenged by friends João Ramos Pinto and José de Freitas Ferraz to apply for the
diplomatic service
Diplomatic service is the body of diplomats and foreign policy officers maintained by the government of a country to communicate with the governments of other countries. Diplomatic personnel obtains diplomatic immunity when they are accredited to o ...
.
She came out on top of all applicants in the
concours to gain access to the
Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
* 1981 - Community Law Course, National Institute of Administration, Lisbon
* 1988 - Summer course at the International Institute for Human Rights,
University of Strasbourg
The University of Strasbourg (french: Université de Strasbourg, Unistra) is a public research university located in Strasbourg, Alsace, France, with over 52,000 students and 3,300 researchers.
The French university traces its history to the ea ...
Career in the diplomatic service
![Ronald Reagan, Ramalho Eanes 1985](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b2/Ronald_Reagan%2C_Ramalho_Eanes_1985.jpg)
Ana Gomes became a career diplomat in 1980 and worked for the department of the
Ministry of Foreign Affairs that dealt with the negotiations for the accession of Portugal to the
European Economic Community.
During the
1980 presidential election, Gomes was invited to join the National Commission to Support the Reelection of
President Eanes (CNARPE; ''Comissão Nacional de Apoio à Reeleição do Presidente Eanes'') as a jurist.
In 1982, she was chosen to replace
José Filipe Moraes Cabral as the diplomatic advisor to President
António Ramalho Eanes, and was in the position until the end of his term in 1986, additionally, she acted as the President's personal
interpreter when meeting foreign dignitaries.
Among the dossiers she at the time came into contact with was the unfinished business of the
decolonisation
Decolonization or decolonisation is the undoing of colonialism, the latter being the process whereby imperial nations establish and dominate foreign territories, often overseas. Some scholars of decolonization focus especially on independence m ...
of
East Timor
East Timor (), also known as Timor-Leste (), officially the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste, is an island country in Southeast Asia. It comprises the eastern half of the island of Timor, the exclave of Oecusse on the island's north-west ...
(formerly a Portuguese colonial possession, abandoned after the
Carnation Revolution, and subsequently
invaded by Indonesia), with which she worked with the President's special advisor for East Timor, former
Prime Minister
A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister i ...
Maria de Lourdes Pintasilgo.
Subsequently, she served in the Portuguese Missions at the
United Nations
The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be a centre for harmoniz ...
in
New York, and also in the Embassies in
Geneva
, neighboring_municipalities= Carouge, Chêne-Bougeries, Cologny, Lancy, Grand-Saconnex, Pregny-Chambésy, Vernier, Veyrier
, website = https://www.geneve.ch/
Geneva ( ; french: Genève ) frp, Genèva ; german: link=no, Genf ; it, Ginevr ...
,
Tokyo
Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and List of cities in Japan, largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, ...
and
London
London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...
.
After Indonesian President
Suharto's fall from power in 1998, Ana Gomes was part of the diplomatic talks about East Timor between the Portuguese authorities led by
Jaime Gama
Jaime José de Matos da Gama, GCC, GCIH, GCL (born 8 June 1947) is a Portuguese former politician. He was Minister of Foreign Affairs of Portugal from 1983 to 1985 and again from 1995 to 2002, and he was President of the Assembly of the R ...
, and Indonesian authorities led by
Ali Alatas
Ali Alatas ( ar, علي العطاس '; 4 November 193211 December 2008) was an Indonesian diplomat of Ba 'Alawi sada descent, who served as the country's foreign minister from 1988 to 1999. He was Indonesia's longest serving foreign minister.
E ...
. When it was decided Portugal would set up an
Interests Section
A protecting power is a country that represents another sovereign state in a country where it lacks its own diplomatic representation. It is common for protecting powers to be appointed when two countries break off diplomatic relations with e ...
in
Jakarta (with the
Netherlands
)
, anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau")
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, subdivision_type = Sovereign state
, subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands
, established_title = Before independence
, established_date = Spanish Netherl ...
acting as
protecting power
A protecting power is a country that represents another sovereign state in a country where it lacks its own diplomatic representation. It is common for protecting powers to be appointed when two countries break off diplomatic relations with e ...
), she was chosen to head it. In 2000, with the reestablishment of bilateral relations with Indonesia, Ana Gomes was the first Portuguese Ambassador in Jakarta, having played an important role both in the process leading up to the independence of
East Timor
East Timor (), also known as Timor-Leste (), officially the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste, is an island country in Southeast Asia. It comprises the eastern half of the island of Timor, the exclave of Oecusse on the island's north-west ...
and in the reestablishment of diplomatic relations between Portugal and Indonesia. According to ambassador
Fernando de Oliveira Neves, as relayed in his work ''O Negociador'' (2019), Gomes showed "unusual professionalism" and had an "extraordinary role" in the negotiations, and became a friend of Ali Alatas who came to admire her.
*1980 - Entered the Diplomatic Service through public competition, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Lisbon
*1982-1986 - Diplomatic Advisor of the President of the Republic, General
António Ramalho Eanes, Lisbon
*1986-1989 - First Secretary at the Portuguese Permanent Representation at the UN and other International Organisations (responsible for Human Rights and Humanitarian Law), Geneva
*1989-1991 - Counsellor at the Portuguese Embassy in Tokyo
*1991-1994 - Political Counsellor at the
Portuguese Embassy in London
*1992 - Member of the European Union Presidency team working on the Middle East Peace Process
*1992 -1994 - Member of the Portuguese Delegation at the UN Human Rights Commission in Geneva
*1994 - Head of the Europe Unit, Political Affairs Department,
Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Lisbon
*1995 -1996 - Chief of Staff of the Secretary of State for European Affairs, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Lisbon
*1997-1998 - Coordinator of the Portuguese Delegation at the
UN Security Council
The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) is one of the Organs of the United Nations, six principal organs of the United Nations (UN) and is charged with ensuring international security, international peace and security, recommending the admi ...
, New York
*1999 - 2000 - Director of the Portuguese Interests Section at the Embassy of the Netherlands, Jakarta
*2000 - 2003 - Ambassador of Portugal in Indonesia, Jakarta
Political career
Early beginnings
In December 2001, following the resignation of Socialist Prime Minister
António Guterres, President
Jorge Sampaio
Jorge Fernando Branco de Sampaio (; 18 September 1939 – 10 September 2021) was a Portuguese lawyer and politician who was the 18th president of Portugal from 1996 to 2006. A member of the Socialist Party, a party which he led between 1989 a ...
dissolved the
Assembly of the Republic and called for fresh legislative elections; the
Socialist Party
Socialist Party is the name of many different political parties around the world. All of these parties claim to uphold some form of socialism, though they may have very different interpretations of what "socialism" means. Statistically, most of t ...
, led by
Ferro Rodrigues
Eduardo Luís Barreto Ferro Rodrigues (born 3 November 1949) is a Portuguese politician and economist who had been President of the Assembly of the Republic since 2015 until 29 March 2022, in the 13th (2015–2019) and 14th Legislatures (2019 ...
, then lost the
2002 election to
Durão Barroso Durão is a surname. Notable people with the surname include:
* Joaquim Durão (1930–2015), Portuguese chess player
* Nuno Durão (born 1962), Portuguese rugby union footballer and coach
*Santa Rita Durão
José de Santa Rita Durão (1722–178 ...
's
Social Democratic Party
The name Social Democratic Party or Social Democrats has been used by many political parties in various countries around the world. Such parties are most commonly aligned to social democracy as their political ideology.
Active parties
Fo ...
. Ana Gomes was indignant Ferro Rodrigues, who she regarded as an honest politician, lost the election, and joined the Socialist Party the day after the election, on 18 March 2002.
Later that same year, she was invited to positions in the party leadership and to join the party's
electoral lists for the
European Parliament
The European Parliament (EP) is one of the legislative bodies of the European Union and one of its seven institutions. Together with the Council of the European Union (known as the Council and informally as the Council of Ministers), it adopts ...
. She was elected Member of the European Parliament in the
2004 election, and served for three terms (reelected
in 2009 and
in 2014).
Political responsibilities:
*2002 - Elected Member of the National and Political Committees of the Socialist Party
*2003 - 2004 - National Secretary for External Relations of the Socialist Party
*2004 - ongoing - Member of the National Committee of the Socialist Party
Member of the European Parliament, 2004–2019
![Ana Maria Gomes, Member of the Subcommittee on Security and Defence, European Parliament (5221573249)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/6c/Ana_Maria_Gomes%2C_Member_of_the_Subcommittee_on_Security_and_Defence%2C_European_Parliament_%285221573249%29.jpg)
In parliament, Gomes served on the
Committee on Foreign Affairs (2004–2014), its
Subcommittee on Security and Defence (2004–2019), its
Subcommittee on Human Rights (2009–2014) and the
Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs The Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs (LIBE) is a committee of the European Parliament that is responsible for protecting civil liberties and human rights, as listed in the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union.
...
(2014–2019).
From 2006 until 2007, Gomes was also a member the
Temporary Committee on the alleged use of European countries by the CIA for the transport and illegal detention of prisoners. She authored a 2008 report on China's role in Africa, which criticised Chinese imports of natural resources from the continent. In 2018, she chaired a delegation of the European Parliament to investigate the rule of law and money laundering in Malta.
In addition to her committee assignments, Gomes was part of the parliament's delegations to the
ACP–EU Joint Parliamentary Assembly
The ACP–EU Joint Parliamentary Assembly was created to bring together the elected representatives of the European Union (the Members of the European Parliament) and the elected representatives of the African, Caribbean and Pacific states ("ACP c ...
(2004–2009) and
for relations with Iraq as well as of the Intergroup on
Western Sahara
Western Sahara ( '; ; ) is a disputed territory on the northwest coast and in the Maghreb region of North and West Africa. About 20% of the territory is controlled by the self-proclaimed Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR), while the ...
and the Group of Friends European Parliament/
East Timor
East Timor (), also known as Timor-Leste (), officially the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste, is an island country in Southeast Asia. It comprises the eastern half of the island of Timor, the exclave of Oecusse on the island's north-west ...
. She also participated in a number of European Parliament missions to Afghanistan, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Chad, China, Democratic Republic of Congo, East Timor, Kosovo, Lebanon, Indonesia (including Aceh), Iraq, Israel, Palestine, Sudan (Darfur), Turkey, USA, etc. She took part in the following
Election Observation Missions (EOM):
:*
Ethiopia
Ethiopia, , om, Itiyoophiyaa, so, Itoobiya, ti, ኢትዮጵያ, Ítiyop'iya, aa, Itiyoppiya officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country in the Horn of Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the ...
(2005) - Head of the EU's EOM
:*
Democratic Republic of Congo
The Democratic Republic of the Congo (french: République démocratique du Congo (RDC), colloquially "La RDC" ), informally Congo-Kinshasa, DR Congo, the DRC, the DROC, or the Congo, and formerly and also colloquially Zaire, is a country in ...
(2006) - Member of the
European Parliament
The European Parliament (EP) is one of the legislative bodies of the European Union and one of its seven institutions. Together with the Council of the European Union (known as the Council and informally as the Council of Ministers), it adopts ...
's EOM
:*
East Timor
East Timor (), also known as Timor-Leste (), officially the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste, is an island country in Southeast Asia. It comprises the eastern half of the island of Timor, the exclave of Oecusse on the island's north-west ...
(2007) - Head of the European Parliament's EOM
:*
Angola
, national_anthem = " Angola Avante"()
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, capital = Luanda
, religion =
, religion_year = 2020
, religion_ref =
, coordina ...
(2008) - Member of the European Parliament's EOM
Political positions and controversy
During her time in the European Parliament, Gomes' main areas of activity were:
migration
Migration, migratory, or migrate may refer to: Human migration
* Human migration, physical movement by humans from one region to another
** International migration, when peoples cross state boundaries and stay in the host state for some minimum le ...
, human rights, security and defence,
international relations
International relations (IR), sometimes referred to as international studies and international affairs, is the scientific study of interactions between sovereign states. In a broader sense, it concerns all activities between states—such a ...
,
gender issues
Gender is the range of characteristics pertaining to femininity and masculinity and differentiating between them. Depending on the context, this may include sex-based social structures (i.e. gender roles) and gender identity. Most cultures u ...
and development. In 2010 she signed the
Spinelli Group
The Spinelli Group is an initiative founded with a view to reinvigorate the endeavour for federalisation of the European Union (EU), by creating a network of citizens, think tanks, NGOs, academics, writers and politicians who support the idea o ...
manifesto supporting a federal Europe.
In 2012, Gomes argued she was held at
Bahrain International Airport
Bahrain International Airport ( ar, مطار البحرين الدولي, ''maṭār al-Baḥrayn al-dwalī'') is the international airport of Bahrain. Located on Muharraq Island, adjacent to the capital Manama, it serves as the hub for the nati ...
for over seven hours despite holding a
diplomatic passport
A passport is an official travel document issued by a government that contains a person's identity. A person with a passport can travel to and from foreign countries more easily and access consular assistance. A passport certifies the personal ...
when she tried to enter Bahrain during a stopover on the way to
Benghazi,
Libya
Libya (; ar, ليبيا, Lībiyā), officially the State of Libya ( ar, دولة ليبيا, Dawlat Lībiyā), is a country in the Maghreb region in North Africa. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to the east, Suda ...
.
Gomes faced accusations of
antisemitism
Antisemitism (also spelled anti-semitism or anti-Semitism) is hostility to, prejudice towards, or discrimination against Jews. A person who holds such positions is called an antisemite. Antisemitism is considered to be a form of racism.
Antis ...
for inviting anti-Israel speakers to the European Parliament and allegedly referring to Jewish organizations as a "perverse lobby".
Her
activism and membership in the migration focused
NGO
A non-governmental organization (NGO) or non-governmental organisation (see spelling differences) is an organization that generally is formed independent from government. They are typically nonprofit entities, and many of them are active in h ...
Friends of Europe
Friends of Europe is a Brussels-based, not-for-profit think-tank for European Union policy analysis and debate. The organisation, established in 1999, has no political or national allegiance and is independent of the EU institutions. Its declared ...
were commented upon in an interview by the Romanian prime-minister
Viorica Dancila as "totally uninspired". Two requests made by the Deputy Attorney General of
Portugal
Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...
in 2014 and 2017 to waive Ana Gomes' parliamentary immunity with respect to criminal proceedings against her in connection with statements made by her in a television debate and in an interview with the Portuguese Journal "Diário de Noticias" whereas the newspaper article indicated that investigations were under way in relation to the Viana shipyards and in this connection Gomes commented that "something was starting to happen with regard to a case of blatant corruption" have both been decided against by the
European Parliament
The European Parliament (EP) is one of the legislative bodies of the European Union and one of its seven institutions. Together with the Council of the European Union (known as the Council and informally as the Council of Ministers), it adopts ...
.
Personal life
Ana Gomes
civilly married a colleague of the Faculty of Law of the
University of Lisbon
The University of Lisbon (ULisboa; pt, Universidade de Lisboa, ) is a public research university in Lisbon, and the largest university in Portugal. It was founded in 2013, from the merger of two previous public universities located in Lisbon, th ...
,
António Monteiro Cardoso (whom she called "Toné") on 20 May 1974, shortly after the
Carnation Revolution, in a
register office
A register office or The General Register Office, much more commonly but erroneously registry office (except in official use), is a British government office where births, deaths, marriages, civil partnership, stillbirths and adoptions in England ...
in
Alcântara,
Lisbon.
The couple then had lunch in a nearby restaurant, Galão, with their parents, the groom's sister, and the
best man
A groomsman or usher is one of the male attendants to the groom in a wedding ceremony and performs the first speech at the wedding. Usually, the groom selects close friends and relatives to serve as groomsmen, and it is considered an honor to be ...
, António Luís Cotrim. According to Gomes, the whole affair was brief and there was not even a picture taken of the event ("we did not care for such bourgeois vices"
), as the couple were then busy actively engaged with political work with
MRPP party as
the country was transitioning to democracy.
The marriage was happy and produced one daughter, Joana, but was ultimately broken off about one year later.
She later married fellow diplomat António Franco in 1994, whom she had met in 1983 while working for President
António Ramalho Eanes. Franco died in 2020.
She currently lives in
Cascais.
Publications
Numerous articles published in the ''Courrier Internacional'', ''
Diário de Notícias
''Diário de Notícias'' () is a Portuguese daily newspaper published in Lisbon, Portugal. Established since 1864, the paper is considered a newspaper of record for Portugal.
History and profile
''Diário de Notícias'' was first published in ...
'', ''
Expresso
Expresso may refer to:
* Espresso, a coffee beverage
* eXpresso, a hosted workspace for Microsoft Office communities
* Expresso (Donkey Kong), a character in the ''Donkey Kong Country'' series
* ''Expresso'' (newspaper), based in Lisbon, Portug ...
'', ''Jornal de Leiria'', ''Jornal de Notícias'', ''
Público'' and ''Visão''.
Book ''Todo-o-Terreno - 4 Anos de Reflexões'' (RCP Edições, November 2008, Lisbon)
Other activities
*Member of the Student Union, Classical
University of Lisbon
The University of Lisbon (ULisboa; pt, Universidade de Lisboa, ) is a public research university in Lisbon, and the largest university in Portugal. It was founded in 2013, from the merger of two previous public universities located in Lisbon, th ...
, Lisbon (1974–1976)
*Member of the Board of the Union of Portuguese Diplomats (1982–1986 and 1994–1996)
*Deputy-Chair of Parliamentarians for Nuclear Nonproliferation and Disarmament, European Parliament Section
*Member of the Portuguese chapter of
Amnesty International
*Member of International Development NGOs
CIDAC and Engenho & Obra
*Member of the Portuguese Association of Women Jurists
Recognition
National orders
*
![PRT Order of Christ - Grand Cross BAR](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/1a/PRT_Order_of_Christ_-_Grand_Cross_BAR.svg)
Grand Cross of the
Military Order of Christ
The Military Order of Christ is the former order of Knights Templar as it was reconstituted in Portugal. Before 1910 it was known as the Royal Military Order of Our Lord Jesus Christ and the Order of the Knights of Our Lord Jesus Christ. It was ...
(9 June 2000)
*
![PRT Order of Prince Henry - Grand Officer BAR](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d2/PRT_Order_of_Prince_Henry_-_Grand_Officer_BAR.svg)
Grand Officer of the
Order of Prince Henry (18 March 1986)
*
![POR Ordem do Merito Comendador BAR](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b6/POR_Ordem_do_Merito_Comendador_BAR.svg)
Commander of the
Order of Merit (27 April 1993)
Foreign orders
*Insígnia of the
Order of Timor-Leste
The Order of Timor-Leste ( pt, Ordem de Timor-Leste) is the highest honour currently awarded by East Timor. Established in 2009, the order was created after the original honours granted by East Timor. It is of a more general and broader nature t ...
(2009)
[''Decreto do Presidente da República n.° 25/2014 de 27 de Agosto''](_blank)
retrieved 18 September 2019.
Awards
*''Ruth Pearce Award'' for Human Rights by Human Rights NGOs, Geneva, 1989
*''Personality of the Year Award - 1999'',
Expresso
Expresso may refer to:
* Espresso, a coffee beverage
* eXpresso, a hosted workspace for Microsoft Office communities
* Expresso (Donkey Kong), a character in the ''Donkey Kong Country'' series
* ''Expresso'' (newspaper), based in Lisbon, Portug ...
weekly newspaper, Lisbon, 1999
*''Personality of the Year Award - 1999'', Association of International Correspondents, Lisbon, 1999
*''Human Rights Award of the Assembly of the Republic (Portuguese parliament)'', 1999
*''Activist of the Year - 2008'',
The Parliament Magazine
''The Parliament Magazine'' is a monthly EU politics, policy and culture magazine. Its website, www.theparliamentmagazine.eu, is a forum for discussion on the latest developments in EU politics and policy, featuring regular contributions from pr ...
, Brussels, 2008
References
External links
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gomes, Ana Maria
1954 births
Living people
Ambassadors of Portugal to Indonesia
Grand Crosses of the Order of Christ (Portugal)
Grand Officers of the Order of Prince Henry
Socialist Party (Portugal) MEPs
MEPs for Portugal 2004–2009
MEPs for Portugal 2009–2014
MEPs for Portugal 2014–2019
21st-century women MEPs for Portugal
People from Lisbon
People from Cascais
Portuguese women diplomats
Portuguese women ambassadors
Portuguese human rights activists
Candidates for President of Portugal
Women human rights activists