Isabel Rendeiro Marques Mendes Lopes (born 28 February 1982) is a

Portuguese Portuguese may refer to: * anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Portugal ** Portuguese cuisine, traditional foods ** Portuguese language, a Romance language *** Portuguese dialects, variants of the Portuguese language ** Portu ...

civil engineer, politician and member of the Assembly of the Republic, the national

legislature A legislature is an assembly with the authority to make law Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior,Robertson, ''Crimes against humanity'', 90. with its p ...

of Portugal. A member of the

LIVRE LIVRE (, L), previously known as LIVRE/Tempo de Avançar (, L/TDA), is a green political party in Portugal founded in 2014. Its founding principles are ecology, universalism, freedom, equity, solidarity, socialism and Europeanism. Its symbol ...

party, she has represented

Lisbon Lisbon (; pt, Lisboa ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 544,851 within its administrative limits in an area of 100.05 km2. Grande Lisboa, Lisbon's urban area extends beyond the city's administr ...

since March 2024.

Early life

Lopes was born on 28 February 1982 in the United Kingdom. She moved to Portugal at the age of two and lives in

. She has a

degree Degree may refer to: As a unit of measurement * Degree (angle), a unit of angle measurement ** Degree of geographical latitude ** Degree of geographical longitude * Degree symbol (°), a notation used in science, engineering, and mathematics ...

civil engineering Civil engineering is a professional engineering discipline that deals with the design, construction, and maintenance of the physical and naturally built environment, including public works such as roads, bridges, canals, dams, airports, sewage ...

(2005) from the

Instituto Superior Técnico Instituto Superior Técnico MHSE • MHIP (IST, also known colloquially as Técnico, and stylized TÉCNICO LISBOA) is a public school of engineering and technology, part of University of Lisbon. It was founded as an autonomous school in 1911 ...

(IST). She also has a

master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is an academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice.

(2008) in mobility and transport from IST.

Career

Lopes is a

civil engineer A civil engineer is a person who practices civil engineering – the application of planning, designing, constructing, maintaining, and operating infrastructure while protecting the public and environmental health, as well as improving existing ...

by profession, specialising in transport and planning. She worked for

Infraestruturas de Portugal Infraestruturas de Portugal, S.A. (IP) is a state-owned company which resulted from the merger of Rede Ferroviária Nacional (REFER) and Estradas de Portugal (EP). It manages the Portuguese rail and road infrastructure. Network Road Total leng ...

until 2022. She has been a storyteller of children's books since 2018 and has also done theatrical work. Interested in building a more just and dignified society and strengthening democracy, Lopes was involved with the Congresso Democrático das Alternativas (Democratic Congress of Alternatives) and similar organisations. She has been a member of the

party since its foundation in 2013 and was part of the Contact Group, the party's

executive body The Executive, also referred as the Executive branch or Executive power, is the term commonly used to describe that part of government which enforces the law, and has overall responsibility for the governance of a state. In political systems ba ...

, from 2015 to 2022. She was a

political advisor Political consulting is a form of consulting that consists primarily of advising and assisting political campaigns. Although the most important role of political consultants is arguably the development and production of mass media (largely tele ...

to LIVRE's parliamentary office from 2022 to 2024. She has been a member of

Lisbon City Council Lisbon (; pt, Lisboa ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 544,851 within its administrative limits in an area of 100.05 km2. Grande Lisboa, Lisbon's urban area extends beyond the city's administr ...

since 2021. At the 2022 legislative election Lopes was placed second on LIVRE's

list A ''list'' is any set of items in a row. List or lists may also refer to: People * List (surname) Organizations * List College, an undergraduate division of the Jewish Theological Seminary of America * SC Germania List, German rugby union ...

of candidates in

but the party only won a single seat in the constituency. She was elected to the Assembly of the Republic at the 2024 legislative election. After the election the party's

parliamentary group A parliamentary group, parliamentary party, or parliamentary caucus is a group consisting of some members of the same political party or electoral fusion of parties in a legislative assembly such as a parliament or a city council. Parliamentar ...

unanimously chose Lopes to be its leader.

Electoral history

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lopes, Isabel Mendes 1982 births 21st-century Portuguese politicians Instituto Superior Técnico alumni Living people LIVRE politicians Local politicians in Portugal Members of the 16th Assembly of the Republic (Portugal) Politicians from Lisbon Portuguese civil engineers Portuguese women engineers Storytellers Women members of the Assembly of the Republic (Portugal)