Carolina Cerqueira is an

Angola , national_anthem = " Angola Avante"() , image_map = , map_caption = , capital = Luanda , religion = , religion_year = 2020 , religion_ref = , coordina ...

n politician. She is a former State Minister for Social Affairs and a member of the

Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola The People's Movement for the Liberation of Angola ( pt, Movimento Popular de Libertação de Angola, abbr. MPLA), for some years called the People's Movement for the Liberation of Angola – Labour Party (), is an Angolan left-wing, social d ...

. Since November 2022, she has been the first female President of the

National Assembly In politics, a national assembly is either a unicameral legislature, the lower house of a bicameral legislature, or both houses of a bicameral legislature together. In the English language it generally means "an assembly composed of the repre ...

. Cerqueira was born in

Caculo Cabaça Caculo Cabaça is a town and commune of Angola, located in the province of Cuanza Norte. See also * Communes of Angola The Communes of Angola ( pt, comunas) are Administrative division, administrative units in Angola after Municipalities of ...

in the municipality of

Banga Banga may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Banga'' (album), a 2012 album by Patti Smith * A song by Ali Shaheed Muhammad from the 2004 album '' Shaheedullah and Stereotypes'' * The name of Pontius Pilate's dog in Mikhail Bulgakov's novel ' ...

Cuanza Norte Province The Cuanza Norte Province ( en, North Cuanza; umb, Konano Kwanza Volupale) is province of Angola. N'dalatando is the capital and the province has an area of 24,110 km² and a population of 443,386. Manuel Pedro Pacavira was born here and i ...

Angola , national_anthem = " Angola Avante"() , image_map = , map_caption = , capital = Luanda , religion = , religion_year = 2020 , religion_ref = , coordina ...

. She completed her master's degree in Political Sciences Law at Agostinho Neto University in 2008. She served as the Vice President of the Pan African Women 's Organization for Southern Africa between 2013 and 2016, she was the Vice President Parliamentary Group of MPLA 2008-2010, she was elected as the Deputy to the National Assembly during 2012-16, she was a Member of the Permanent Committee, and she was a Member of the Committee on Legal and Constitutional Affairs. She was a member of the Executive Committee and the Sustainable Development Committee, Finance and Trade of the World Inter - Parliamentary Union in 2015. Cerqueira is recognized internationally for her veteran effort for 30 years in promoting democracy, women's rights, and peace promotion. She was an election observer in the first multiparty elections in

Namibia Namibia (, ), officially the Republic of Namibia, is a country in Southern Africa. Its western border is the Atlantic Ocean. It shares land borders with Zambia and Angola to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south and ea ...

and

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

. She is acclaimed for her diplomatic handling of the formula of the Statute of Journalists Act, promoting a broad national debate, and effectively handling press and media.

Early life

Cerqueira was born in Caculo Gourd in the municipality of

Angola , national_anthem = " Angola Avante"() , image_map = , map_caption = , capital = Luanda , religion = , religion_year = 2020 , religion_ref = , coordina ...

. She completed her master's degree in Political Sciences Law at Agostinho Neto University in 2008 and served as a Jurist. She attended the Diplomatic Journalism Course at the UN Headquarters in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

, training in People 's Diplomacy at the University of Salento,

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

, training in electoral observation in the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been des ...

Headquarters in

Brussels Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...

and

Ghana Ghana (; tw, Gaana, ee, Gana), officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It abuts the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, sharing borders with Ivory Coast in the west, Burkina Faso in the north, and To ...

and a training in Conflict Resolution in

Kenya ) , national_anthem = "Ee Mungu Nguvu Yetu"() , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Nairobi , coordinates = , largest_city = Nairobi , ...

. She was a member of the International Federation of Women advocating Legal Career, member of the Association of Angolan Women Careers Legal, member of the WCO, member of the Eminent Women Committee African and a member of Assises d '

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...

Afrique. While Portuguese is her mother tongue, she knows

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

and understands Spanish.

Career

She started her career as a journalist in National Radio of Angola (RNA) and worked there from 1977 to 1984. She continued as a Secretary for Legal Affairs and WCO Solidarity during the period and also as the Director of Citizenship Office and Society between 1984 and 2008. She was the Chairman of the General Meeting of the International Federation of Women in Legal Careers during 2006-12 and member of the Constitutional Commission of the CRA in 2010. She was deputed the Minister of Social Communication during 2010-12. During the period of 2012-16, she served as the Chairman of the Commission on Human rights, suggestions and Complaints, and as the President of the National World IPU Group. She served as the Vice President of the Pan African Women 's Organization for Southern Africa between 2013 and 2016, while she was the Vice President Parliamentary Group of MPLA 2008-2010, while she was elected as the Deputy to the National Assembly during 2012-16, Member of the Permanent Committee and Member of the Committee on Legal and Constitutional Affairs. She was a member of the Executive Committee and the Sustainable Development Committee, Finance and Trade of the World Inter - Parliamentary Union in 2015. She was deputed as the Minister of Culture in 2016. She was elected from Luanda Province in the Parliamentary elections.

International relations

Cerqueira is recognized internationally for her veteran effort for 30 years in promoting democracy, women's rights and peace promotion. She is considered a champion of peaceful conflict resolution and worked in the capacity of senior manager of the Organization African women for 20 years. As an ambassador of Angola, she represented the nation in various international conferences on peace, development and gender equality. She has also been a facilitator to establish links between NGOs and specific arms of United Nations projects. She was an election observer in the first multiparty elections in

and

. She was representing Angola in Interparliamentary Union and stressed that Angola was a top ten country in terms of gender equity. She is acclaimed for her diplomatic handling of the formula of the Statute of Journalists Act, promoting a broad national debate and effectively handling press and media.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cerqueira, Carolina Living people Presidents of the National Assembly (Angola) Angolan politicians Culture ministers of Angola Social Communication ministers of Angola People from Cuanza Norte Province 1956 births MPLA politicians Women government ministers of Angola 21st-century Angolan women politicians 21st-century Angolan politicians