Maria da Assunção Andrade Esteves (born October 15, 1956) 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 ...

politician who was President of the

Assembly of the Republic of Portugal The Assembly of the Republic (Portuguese: ''Assembleia da República'', ), commonly referred to as simply Parliament (Portuguese: ''Parlamento''), is the unicameral parliament of Portugal. According to the Constitution of Portugal, the parliament ...

from 2011 to 2015. She was a

Member of the European Parliament A Member of the European Parliament (MEP) is a person who has been elected to serve as a popular representative in the European Parliament. When the European Parliament (then known as the Common Assembly of the ECSC) first met in 1952, its ...

for the

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 For ...

– People's Party coalition, part of the European People's Party–European Democrats

group A group is a number of persons or things that are located, gathered, or classed together. Groups of people * Cultural group, a group whose members share the same cultural identity * Ethnic group, a group whose members share the same ethnic iden ...

, from 2004 to 2009.

Life and career

Born in Valpaços,

Valpaços Valpaços () is a municipality in northern Portugal. The population in 2011 was 16,882, in an area of 548.74 km2. History The first documents that cite Valpaços date back to the 12th century. Its toponymy evolved from pre-national settlem ...

, Assunção Esteves holds both a bachelor's degree and a master's degree in law from the Faculty of Law of the University of Lisbon, where she was an assistant between 1989 and 1999. During that time, she was also a Justice of the

Portuguese Constitutional Court The Constitutional Court ( pt, Tribunal Constitucional, ) is a special court, defined by the Portuguese Constitution as part of the judicial branch of the Portuguese political organization. Unlike the rest of the country's courts, the Constituti ...

from 1989 to 1998. On 21 June 2011 she became the first female President of the Assembly of the Republic. At the time, being unable to receive both her salary of €5,219.15 as President of the Assembly and her retirement pension of €7,255, which she started receiving at the age of 42, for having been a Justice of the Portuguese Constitutional Court, she chose to keep her retirement pension. Additionally, she received €2,133 for work expenses.

Honours

PER_Order_of_the_Sun_of_Peru_-_Grand_Cross_BAR

Grand-Cross of the Order of the Sun,

Peru , image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg , image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg , other_symbol = Great Seal of the State , other_symbol_type = Seal (emblem), National seal , national_motto = "Fi ...

(26 July 2013) * MEX_Order_of_the_Aztec_Eagle_3Class_BAR

Sash of the

Order of the Aztec Eagle The Mexican Order of the Aztec Eagle ( es, Orden Mexicana del Águila Azteca) forms part of the Mexican Honours System and is the highest Mexican order awarded to foreigners in the country. History It was created by decree on December 29, 193 ...

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

(17 August 2015) * PRT_Order_of_Christ_-_Grand_Cross_BAR

Grand-Cross of the Order of Christ,

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 ...

(11 November 2015)

References

External links

1956 births Living people MEPs for Portugal 2004–2009 21st-century women MEPs for Portugal Social Democratic Party (Portugal) MEPs Presidents of the Assembly of the Republic (Portugal) Women members of the Assembly of the Republic (Portugal) Members of the Assembly of the Republic (Portugal) People from Valpaços {{Portugal-MEP-stub