Regina Quintanilha (1893-1967) was the first Portuguese woman to obtain a law degree at 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 ...

. Despite the law prohibiting women to practise law, on 14 November 1913 she received authorization from the President of the Supreme Court of Justice to do so and became the first female lawyer in Portugal.

Early life

Regina da Glória Pinto de Magalhães Quintanilha de Sousa e Vasconcelos was born on 9 May 1893 in Bragança. Coming from a wealthy family, Quintanilha received a privileged education. Her mother, Josefa Quintanilha, was a writer and poet, who attached considerable value to study. After school in Bragança and completing high school in

Porto Porto or Oporto () is the second-largest city in Portugal, the capital of the Porto District, and one of the Iberian Peninsula's major urban areas. Porto city proper, which is the entire municipality of Porto, is small compared to its metropol ...

, Quintanilha joined the Faculty of Law of the

, in 1910. At this time in Portugal it was extremely rare for a woman to go to university and she was the first woman to study Law in Portugal. The University of Coimbra was generally regarded as the best university in Portugal at that time, attracting students with the best high school marks. Among Quintanilha's fellow students was

António de Oliveira Salazar António de Oliveira Salazar (, , ; 28 April 1889 – 27 July 1970) was a Portuguese dictator who served as President of the Council of Ministers from 1932 to 1968. Having come to power under the ("National Dictatorship"), he reframed the re ...

, future head of state as leader of Portugal's '' Estado Novo'' dictatorship.

Career

In 1913 Quintanilha was granted authorization to practice Law, five years before a Decree was issued permitting women to do this. In the same year she made her debut in court in the Portuguese capital of

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 ...

as the country's first female lawyer. This was favourably covered by several newspapers, such as ''

Diário de Notícias ''Diário de Notícias'' () is a Portuguese daily newspaper published in Lisbon, Portugal. Established since 1864, the paper is considered a newspaper of record for Portugal. History and profile ''Diário de Notícias'' was first published in ...

'', ''

O Século ''O Século'' (meaning ''The Century'' in English) was a Portuguese daily newspaper published in Lisbon, Portugal, from 1881 to 1977. History and profile ''O Século'' was first published on 4 January 1881. The founder was Sebastião de Magalhãe ...

'' and '. She also worked as a public

notary A notary is a person authorised to perform acts in legal affairs, in particular witnessing signatures on documents. The form that the notarial profession takes varies with local legal systems. A notary, while a legal professional, is disti ...

and as a conservator (record keeper) of the Portuguese Land Registry. She was also the first woman to have these responsibilities. In 1917, she served as president of the General Assembly of the feminist-inspired

Portuguese Women's Crusade The Portuguese Women's Crusade ( pt, italic=no, Cruzada das Mulheres Portuguesas ) was a Portuguese feminist beneficence movement, founded in 1916 by a group of women led by First Lady Elzira Dantas Machado (an important advocate for women's acti ...

, an organization set up to provide support to conscripts during

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. Quintanilha married Vicente de Vasconcelos, a judge, and they had two sons. She later moved to Brazil, where she collaborated in the reform of Brazilian law. She established an office in Rio de Janeiro and, later, one in New York. On her return to Portugal she worked as a lawyer for several French companies. Quintanilha died in Lisbon, on the 25 March 1967.

References

1893 births 1967 deaths 20th-century Portuguese lawyers Portuguese women lawyers 20th-century women lawyers {{Portugal-law-bio-stub