João Gomes Cravinho
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João Titterington Gomes Cravinho (born 16 June 1964) is a Portuguese diplomat and politician who served as
Minister of Foreign Affairs In many countries, the ministry of foreign affairs (abbreviated as MFA or MOFA) is the highest government department exclusively or primarily responsible for the state's foreign policy and foreign relations, relations, diplomacy, bilateralism, ...
in the government of
Prime Minister A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...
António Costa António Luís Santos da Costa (; born 17 July 1961) is a Portuguese lawyer and politician who has served as President of the European Council since 2024. He previously served as the 118th prime minister of Portugal from 2015 to 2024 and th ...
between 2022 and 2024. Previously, he had served as Minister of National Defence.


Career

During his time in the
European External Action Service The European External Action Service (EEAS) is the diplomatic service in charge of executing all Foreign relations of the European Union, international relations of the European Union. The EEAS is led by the Vice-President of the European Co ...
, Cravinho served as Head of the
European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are Geography of the European Union, located primarily in Europe. The u ...
's delegation to
Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...
from 2015 until 2018 and
India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...
from 2011 until 2015. Prior to that, he occupied the post of Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs and Cooperation in
José Sócrates José Sócrates Carvalho Pinto de Sousa (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 acted ...
's government. Under Cravinho's leadership as Minister of National Defence, the
Portuguese Air Force The Portuguese Air Force () is the air force, aerial warfare force of Portugal. Locally it is referred to by the acronym FAP but internationally is often referred to by the acronym PRTAF. It is the youngest of the three branches of the Portuguese ...
purchased five
KC-390 The Embraer C-390 Millennium is a medium-size, twin-engine, jet-powered military transport aircraft designed and produced by the Brazilian aerospace manufacturer Embraer. It is the heaviest aircraft the company has constructed to date. Work on ...
military transport aircraft and a flight simulator from Brazilian aerospace company
Embraer Embraer S.A. () is a Brazilian multinational aerospace corporation. It develops and manufactures aircraft and aviation systems, and provides leasing, equipment, and technical support services. Embraer is the third largest producer of civil air ...
for 827 million euros ($932 million) in 2019. In 2020, Cravinho announced Portugal's army would help
Mozambique Mozambique, officially the Republic of Mozambique, is a country located in Southeast Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, Tanzania to the north, Malawi and Zambia to the northwest, Zimbabwe to the west, and Eswatini and South Afr ...
 train local soldiers, marines and other forces to tackle an
insurgency in Cabo Delgado The insurgency in Cabo Delgado is an ongoing Islamism, Islamist insurgency in Cabo Delgado Province, Mozambique, mainly fought between militant Islamism, Islamists and Jihadism, jihadists attempting to establish an Islamic state in the region, a ...
. By May 2021, Cravinho and his Mozambican counterpart
Jaime Neto Jaime is a common Spanish and Portuguese male given name for Jacob (name), James (name), Jamie, or Jacques. In Occitania Jacobus became ''Jacome'' and later ''Jacme''. In east Spain, ''Jacme'' became ''Jaime'', in Aragon it became ''Chaime'', and i ...
signed an agreement in which Portugal committed to increasing its number of troops in Mozambique to 80 by 2026 and training Mozambican soldiers to tackle the insurgency, share intelligence and help the country use drones to track the militants' movements.


Education

* 1991–1995 Doctorate: D.Phil., St. Antony’s College, University of Oxford. ** Title of thesis: ''Modernizing Mozambique: Frelimo Ideology and the Frelimo State'' * 1986–1987 Master's degree: M.Sc.(Econ),
London School of Economics The London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), established in 1895, is a public research university in London, England, and a member institution of the University of London. The school specialises in the social sciences. Founded ...
** Course: ''Politics of the World Economy'' * 1983–1986 Bachelor’s degree: B.Sc.(Econ), London School of Economics ** Course: ''International Relations'' * 1980–1982 International Baccalaureate, United World College of the Atlantic


Other activities

*
European Council on Foreign Relations The European Council on Foreign Relations (ECFR) is a pan-European think tank with offices in seven European capitals. Launched in October 2007, it conducts research on European foreign and security policy and provides a meeting space for decis ...
(ECFR), Member of the CouncilMembers of the Council
European Council on Foreign Relations The European Council on Foreign Relations (ECFR) is a pan-European think tank with offices in seven European capitals. Launched in October 2007, it conducts research on European foreign and security policy and provides a meeting space for decis ...
(ECFR).


Honours


Foreign honours

*: Commander of the
Order of Central African Merit The Order of Central African Merit is the highest civil decoration of the Central African Republic. It was instituted on 20 June 1959, with the Grand Officer class being added on October 13, 1961. It is awarded for special merit in the humanitari ...
(19 December 2019) *: Commander of the National Order of Legion of Honour (16 September 2021)


References


External links


Government of Portugal: João Gomes Cravinho, Minister of National Defence
1964 births Living people Ambassadors of the European Union to India Ministers of foreign affairs of Portugal Independent politicians in Portugal Ministers of national defence of Portugal People educated at Atlantic College Portuguese diplomats {{Portugal-diplomat-stub Portuguese people of British descent