Maria Cristina Lopes Almeida Fontes Lima (born 1958) is a Cape Verdean lawyer and politician who served as

minister of justice A justice ministry, ministry of justice, or department of justice is a ministry or other government agency in charge of the administration of justice. The ministry or department is often headed by a minister of justice (minister for justice in a v ...

from 2001 to 2006,

Minister of Defence A defence minister or minister of defence is a Cabinet (government), cabinet official position in charge of a ministry of defense, which regulates the armed forces in sovereign states. The role of a defence minister varies considerably from coun ...

from 2006 to 2011 and

Deputy Prime Minister A deputy prime minister or vice prime minister is, in some countries, a government minister who can take the position of acting prime minister when the prime minister is temporarily absent. The position is often likened to that of a vice president, ...

and

Minister of Health A health minister is the member of a country's government typically responsible for protecting and promoting public health and providing welfare and other social security services. Some governments have separate ministers for mental health. Coun ...

from 2011 to 2016.

Early life and education

Fontes Lima was born in 1958. In 1981 she earned a Law Degree from the Faculdade de Direito da Universidade Clássica de Lisboa. In 1996, she attained a

Master of Public Administration The Master of Public Administration (M.P.Adm., M.P.A., or MPA) is a specialized higher professional post graduate degree in public administration, similar/ equivalent to the Master of Business Administration but with an emphasis on the issues of ...

from

Southern Illinois University Southern Illinois University is a system of public universities in the southern region of the U.S. state of Illinois. Its headquarters is in Carbondale, Illinois. Board of trustees The university is governed by the nine member SIU Board of Tr ...

Career

Fontes Lima is a member of the

African Party for the Independence of Cape Verde The African Party of Independence of Cape Verde ( pt, Partido Africano da Independência de Cabo Verde, PAICV) is a democratic socialist political party in Cape Verde. It was formerly a Marxist–Leninist communist party and the sole legal par ...

. She was appointed to cabinet by Prime Minister

José Maria Neves José Maria Pereira Neves (; born 28 March 1960) is a Cape Verdean politician who is currently the president of Cape Verde, having previously served as the Prime Minister of Cape Verde from 2001 to 2016. He is a member of the African Party for th ...

on 13 January 2001, as Minister of Justice. She served in this role until 8 March 2006, when she was appointed Minister of the Presidency of the Council of Ministers, Minister of Reform of the State and Minister of Defence. In 2011, Fontes Lima was appointed Minister of Health and Deputy Prime Minister. As Health Minister, she oversaw the nation's responses to the

Ebola epidemic This list of Ebola outbreaks records the known occurrences of Ebola virus disease, a highly infectious and acutely lethal viral disease that has afflicted humans and animals primarily in equatorial Africa. The pathogens responsible for the d ...

in neighbouring countries and the Zika epidemic that affected more than 7000 people in Cape Verde. In February 2014, she led the signing of a national health compact. In December 2014, when Neves decided not to run for a fourth term, Fontes Lima was a candidate for the party's leadership. She came third with 8.5% of the vote to

Janira Hopffer Almada Janira Isabel Fonseca Hopffer Almada (born 27 September 1978) is a lawyer and politician from Cape Verde who served as the president of the African Party for the Independence of Cape Verde (PAICV) from 2014 to 2021. Early life and education Alma ...

(51.2%) and parliamentary leader Felisberto Alves Vieira (40.3%). She left the executive after party's defeat at the 2016 election. In September 2016, Fontes Lima was a candidate for the

city council A municipal council is the legislative body of a municipality or local government area. Depending on the location and classification of the municipality it may be known as a city council, town council, town board, community council, rural counc ...

Praia Praia (, Portuguese language, Portuguese for "beach") is the capital and largest city of Cape Verde.

, but was defeated by Movement for Democracy candidate Oscar Santos who had replaced

Ulisses Correia e Silva José Ulisses de Pina Correia e Silva () (born 4 June 1962) is a Cape Verdean businessman and politician who has been Prime Minister of Cape Verde since 22 April 2016. He took office after his party, the Movement for Democracy, won the 20 March ...

when he left to run for the country's leadership.

References

External links

Fontes Lima speaking at the 67th World Health Assembly 19 May 2013
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fontes Lima, Cristina Living people 1958 births Southern Illinois University alumni African Party for the Independence of Cape Verde politicians Justice ministers of Cape Verde Defense ministers of Cape Verde Female defence ministers Deputy prime ministers Health ministers of Cape Verde 21st-century women politicians Female interior ministers Female justice ministers Women government ministers of Cape Verde