Maria Manuela Dias Ferreira Leite GCC GCIH (born

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 ...

, 3 December 1940), commonly known as Manuela Ferreira Leite (), 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 ...

economist An economist is a professional and practitioner in the social sciences, social science discipline of economics. The individual may also study, develop, and apply theories and concepts from economics and write about economic policy. Within this ...

pundit A pundit is a person who offers mass media opinion or commentary on a particular subject area (most typically politics, the social sciences, technology or sport). Origins The term originates from the Sanskrit term ('' '' ), meaning "knowledg ...

and retired

politician A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking, a ...

Background

She was born in Lisbon, Portugal. Manuela Ferreira Leite comes from a family of many generations of famous lawyers, but she has chosen to follow finance and economics instead. Her brother José Eugénio Dias Ferreira is a Lisbon lawyer and a

political commentator A pundit is a person who offers mass media opinion or commentary on a particular subject area (most typically politics, the social sciences, technology or sport). Origins The term originates from the Sanskrit term ('' '' ), meaning "knowledg ...

and

sports commentator In sports broadcasting, a sports commentator (also known as sports announcer or sportscaster) provides a real-time commentary of a game or event, usually during a live broadcast, traditionally delivered in the historical present tense. Radio was ...

. She is a daughter of Carlos Eugénio Dias Ferreira (b.

, 18 May 1908), a Licentiate in

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 precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. It has been vario ...

from the

Faculty of Law A faculty is a division within a university or college comprising one subject area or a group of related subject areas, possibly also delimited by level (e.g. undergraduate). In American usage such divisions are generally referred to as colleges ...

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 ...

and a

lawyer A lawyer is a person who practices law. The role of a lawyer varies greatly across different legal jurisdictions. A lawyer can be classified as an advocate, attorney, barrister, canon lawyer, civil law notary, counsel, counselor, solic ...

, and wife Julieta Teixeira de Carvalho, a Licentiate in

Engineering Engineering is the use of scientific method, scientific principles to design and build machines, structures, and other items, including bridges, tunnels, roads, vehicles, and buildings. The discipline of engineering encompasses a broad rang ...

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 ...

of the

Technical University of Lisbon The Technical University of Lisbon (UTL; pt, Universidade Técnica de Lisboa, ) was a Portuguese public university. It was created in 1930 in Lisbon, as a confederation of preexisting schools, and comprised the faculties and institutes of veter ...

and an

engineer Engineers, as practitioners of engineering, are professionals who invent, design, analyze, build and test machines, complex systems, structures, gadgets and materials to fulfill functional objectives and requirements while considering the l ...

, daughter of José Teixeira de Carvalho and wife Etelvina Ferreira de Carvalho. Her paternal grandfather José Eugénio Dias Ferreira (

, 13 November 1882 –

, 17 January 1953) was also a lawyer from the

University of Coimbra The University of Coimbra (UC; pt, Universidade de Coimbra, ) is a Public university, public research university in Coimbra, Portugal. First established in Lisbon in 1290, it went through a number of relocations until moving permanently to Coi ...

, being a natural son of Minister and

Counselor Counselor or counsellor may refer to: A professional In diplomacy and government * Counsellor of State, senior member of the British royal family to whom the Monarch can delegate some functions in case of unavailability * Counselor (dipl ...

José Dias Ferreira José Dias Ferreira, GCTE (30 November 1837, in Arganil, – 8 September 1909, in Vidago) was a Portuguese lawyer, politician and jurist, son of António Ferreira Dias (São Martinho, Urgueira, c. 1815 – Aldeia Nova, 27 August 1880) and wife ...

by an unknown mother. She is a fifth cousin of her non-immediate predecessor

Pedro Santana Lopes Pedro Miguel de Santana Lopes GCC (; born 29 June 1956) is a Portuguese lawyer and politician, who is the current president of the Municipal Chamber of Figueira da Foz. He most notably served as prime minister of Portugal from 2004 to 2005 ...

Career

She is a Licentiate in

Finances Finance is the study and discipline of money, currency and capital assets. It is related to, but not synonymous with economics, the study of production, distribution, and consumption of money, assets, goods and services (the discipline of finan ...

from the ISEG - ''Instituto Superior de Economia e Gestão'' (formerly known as ''ISCEF - Instituto Superior de Ciências Económicas e Financeiras''), a noted economics and finance school of the

. Manuela Ferreira Leite has in the past held several positions within the Portuguese government, including Minister of Education during

Aníbal Cavaco Silva Aníbal António Cavaco Silva, GCC, GColL, GColIH (; born 15 July 1939) is a Portuguese economist who served as the 19th president of Portugal, in office from 9 March 2006 to 9 March 2016. He had been previously prime minister of Portugal fro ...

's cabinet between 1993 and 1995, and 112th Minister of State and Finances during

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 ...

cabinets between 6 April 2002 and 2004. In both cases her politics of contention was targeted for its alleged excessiveness. In Education, as so many of her predecessors and successors but with worse opposition and manifestations, she had to deal with the issue of

tuition Tuition payments, usually known as tuition in American English and as tuition fees in Commonwealth English, are fees charged by education institutions for instruction or other services. Besides public spending (by governments and other public bo ...

s, which even though of low value remains hard to afford by many

college student A student is a person enrolled in a school or other educational institution. In the United Kingdom and most commonwealth countries, a "student" attends a secondary school or higher (e.g., college or university); those in primary or elementary ...

s. In 2006, she was non-executive administrator of the Portuguese

Banco Santander Totta Banco Santander Totta S.A., also known as Banco Santander (Portugal), is a subsidiary of Banco Santander in Portugal. Founded in 1988, it is currently the largest private bank in Portugal. In 2000, the then Banco Totta was acquired by Santander G ...

. She was also, between 2006 and 2008, member of the

Council of State A Council of State is a governmental body in a country, or a subdivision of a country, with a function that varies by jurisdiction. It may be the formal name for the cabinet or it may refer to a non-executive advisory body associated with a head o ...

, designated by the

President of Portugal The president of Portugal, officially the president of the Portuguese Republic ( pt, Presidente da República Portuguesa, ), is the head of state and highest office of Portugal. The powers, functions and duties of prior presidential offices, an ...

. She was elected leader of the Social Democratic Party (PSD) on 31 May 2008, leading the party during the 2009 legislative elections. She was unable to defeat 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 th ...

led by

José Sócrates José Sócrates Carvalho Pinto de Sousa, GCIH (born 6 September 1957), commonly known as José Sócrates (), is a Portuguese politician who was the prime minister of Portugal from 12 March 2005 to 21 June 2011. For the second half of 2007, he ...

, although achieving a slight increase in number of votes and seats. As leader of the major party outside the government, she was the Leader of the Opposition. She was succeeded as party leader by

Pedro Passos Coelho Pedro Manuel Mamede Passos Coelho (; born 24 July 1964) is a Portuguese politician and university guest lecturer who was the 118th prime minister of Portugal, in office from 2011 to 2015. He was the leader of the Social Democratic Party (PSD) b ...

on 9 April 2010. After leaving PSD leadership she retired from active party politics (although she is still a member of the party). She currently has a weekly programme where she comments about politics and current affairs at the cable news channel

TVI 24 CNN Portugal is a Portuguese basic cable and satellite television news channel owned by Media Capital, launched on 26 February 2009 as TVI 24, the 24-hour news channel of the terrestrial network Televisão Independente. The network's name was ch ...

Personal life

She was married to Rui Leite, a Licentiate in

Economics Economics () is the social science that studies the Production (economics), production, distribution (economics), distribution, and Consumption (economics), consumption of goods and services. Economics focuses on the behaviour and intera ...

from the Instituto Superior de Ciências Económicas e Financeiras of the

and an

Economist An economist is a professional and practitioner in the social sciences, social science discipline of economics. The individual may also study, develop, and apply theories and concepts from economics and write about economic policy. Within this ...

, from whom she is now divorced and has three children: * Nuno Dias Ferreira Leite, married at the Church of Campo Grande in Campo Grande,

), on 6 July 2006 to Mónica da Cruz Rocha Campos * João Dias Ferreira Leite * Ana Dias Ferreira Leite, married at the Church of Santos in Santos-o-Velho,

, on 3 December 2005 to João Maria de Gouveia Durão de Quintanilha e Mendonça, born in

Alvalade Alvalade may refer to the following places in Portugal: *Alvalade (Lisbon), a freguesia (civil parish) in the municipality of Lisbon *Alvalade (Santiago do Cacém), a freguesia (civil parish) in the Santiago do Cacém Municipality, Alentejo *Estád ...

, on 3 November 1978, only son of three children of João Maria de Azevedo de Quintanilha e Mendonça (b. 17 May 1952) and wife Maria Joana Guizado de Gouveia Durão, and had issue: ** ''Maria Ferreira Leite de Quintanilha e Mendonça (b.

London London is the capital and 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 down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

Middlesex Middlesex (; abbreviation: Middx) is a Historic counties of England, historic county in South East England, southeast England. Its area is almost entirely within the wider urbanised area of London and mostly within the Ceremonial counties of ...

, 24 April 2006)'' ** ''João Maria Ferreira Leite de Quintanilha e Mendonça (b.

, 30 May 2008)'' ** ''Vasco Ferreira Leite de Quintanilha e Mendonca (b.

, 17 September 2012)''

Honours

PRT_Order_of_Prince_Henry_-_Grand_Cross_BAR

Grand Cross of the

Order of Prince Henry The Order of Prince Henry ( pt, Ordem do Infante Dom Henrique) is a Portuguese order of knighthood created on 2 June 1960, to commemorate the quincentenary of the death of the Portuguese prince Henry the Navigator, one of the main initiators 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 ...

(6 March 1998) * PRT_Order_of_Christ_-_Grand_Cross_BAR

Grand-Cross of the Order of Christ,

(10 June 2011)

Electoral history

PSD leadership election, 2008

* (Source
Official results

References

* ttps://web.archive.org/web/20090501054358/http://www.politicadeverdade.com/ Manuela Ferreira Leite personal website , - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Ferreira Leite, Manuela 1940 births Living people Portuguese women economists People from Lisbon 20th-century Portuguese economists Social Democratic Party (Portugal) politicians Finance ministers of Portugal Technical University of Lisbon alumni Education ministers of Portugal Women government ministers of Portugal Female finance ministers 21st-century Portuguese women politicians 21st-century Portuguese politicians 20th-century Portuguese women politicians