João Bernardo Vieira II, born in Bissau on August 17, 1977, is the Secretary of State for Transport and Communications of

Guinea-Bissau Guinea-Bissau, officially the Republic of Guinea-Bissau, is a country in West Africa that covers with an estimated population of 2,026,778. It borders Senegal to Guinea-Bissau–Senegal border, its north and Guinea to Guinea–Guinea-Bissau b ...

and the spokesperson of the biggest party in Guinea-Bissau.

Early life and education

João Bernardo Vieira was named after his uncle

João Bernardo Vieira João Bernardo "Nino" Vieira (; 27 April 1939 – 2 March 2009) was a Bissau-Guinean politician and military officer who served as President of Guinea-Bissau from 1980 to 1999, except for a three-day period in May 1984, and from 2005 until ...

who served as President of Guinea-Bissau from 1980 to 1998 and later 2005 to 2009. Vieira has a law degree from Universidade Lusídas Lisboa,

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. Featuring Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point in continental Europe, Portugal borders Spain to its north and east, with which it share ...

and holds a master's degree in Sustainable International Development from

Brandeis University Brandeis University () is a Private university, private research university in Waltham, Massachusetts, United States. It is located within the Greater Boston area. Founded in 1948 as a nonsectarian, non-sectarian, coeducational university, Bra ...

, where he served as President of the Graduate Students Association. He was awarded a certificate of Emerging Leaders Program in Executive Education from

Harvard Kennedy School The John F. Kennedy School of Government, commonly referred to as Harvard Kennedy School (HKS), is the school of public policy of Harvard University, a private university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Harvard Kennedy School offers master's de ...

and an

Archbishop Desmond Tutu Desmond Mpilo Tutu (7 October 193126 December 2021) was a South African Anglican bishop and theologian, known for his work as an anti-apartheid and human rights activist. He was Bishop of Johannesburg from 1985 to 1986 and then Archbishop o ...

Leadership Fellowship in

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

Career

In 2004, Vieira began his career in public service in Guinea-Bissau by serving as the Head of Multilateral Agreements in the Ministry of Trade. In this capacity he represented Guinea-Bissau in the

multilateral trade negotiations The term multilateral trade negotiations (MTN) initially applied to negotiations between General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) member nations conducted under the auspices of the GATT and aimed at reducing tariff and nontariff trade barriers ...

of the

World Trade Organization The World Trade Organization (WTO) is an intergovernmental organization headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland that regulates and facilitates international trade. Governments use the organization to establish, revise, and enforce the rules that g ...

. He took courses in

Geneva Geneva ( , ; ) ; ; . is the List of cities in Switzerland, second-most populous city in Switzerland and the most populous in French-speaking Romandy. Situated in the southwest of the country, where the Rhône exits Lake Geneva, it is the ca ...

offered to students from

Least Developed Countries The least developed countries (LDCs) are developing countries listed by the United Nations that exhibit the lowest indicators of socioeconomic development. The concept of LDCs originated in the late 1960s and the first group of LDCs was listed b ...

. In 2011 after a national contest, he was selected out of a pool of 50 Bissau-Guineeans to serve as a member of the board of National Regulatory Authority, an organization responsible to regulate the telecom and the internet sector where he served for 3 years.

Secretary of State for Transport and Communications

In May 2014 he contributed to party's landslide victory. In July he was sworn in as Secretary of State for Transport and Communications, the youngest member (Kodé) of the government.

Gallery

JOÃO BERNARDO VIEIRA--2.JPG , João Bernardo Vieira II JOÃO BERNARDO VIEIRA 2.jpg, João Bernardo Vieira II JOÃO BERNARDO VIEIRA2.JPG , João Bernardo Vieira II Novo-elenco-governamental-da-Guiné-Bissau.jpg , New governmental staff of Guinea-Bissau

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Vieira, Joao Bernardo, II 1977 births Living people Brandeis University alumni Government ministers of Guinea-Bissau People from Bissau