Maria da Graça Martins da Silva Carvalho (born 9 April 1955) is a Portuguese

professor Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an Academy, academic rank at university, universities and other tertiary education, post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin ...

engineer Engineers, as practitioners of engineering, are professionals who Invention, invent, design, build, maintain and test machines, complex systems, structures, gadgets and materials. They aim to fulfill functional objectives and requirements while ...

, and

politician A politician is a person who participates in Public policy, policy-making processes, usually holding an elective position in government. Politicians represent the people, make decisions, and influence the formulation of public policy. The roles ...

of 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 Form ...

who has been serving as Minister of Environment and Energy in the

government A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a State (polity), state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive (government), execu ...

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 ...

Luís Montenegro Luís Filipe Montenegro Cardoso de Morais Esteves (; born 16 February 1973) is a Portuguese politician and lawyer serving as the prime minister of Portugal since April 2024. He is the president of the Social Democratic Party (Portugal), Social De ...

since 2024. She was a

member of the European Parliament A member of the European Parliament (MEP) is a person who has been Election, elected to serve as a popular representative in the European Parliament. When the European Parliament (then known as the Common Assembly of the European Coal and S ...

in the 2019-2024 term, having held office in the 2009-2014 legislature.

Early life and education

Carvalho has a degree in

Mechanical Engineering Mechanical engineering is the study of physical machines and mechanism (engineering), mechanisms that may involve force and movement. It is an engineering branch that combines engineering physics and engineering mathematics, mathematics principl ...

from the

Instituto Superior Técnico The Instituto Superior Técnico (IST, also known as Técnico, and stylized TÉCNICO LISBOA; English: ) is the school of engineering and technology of the University of Lisbon. It was founded as an autonomous school in 1911, and was integrated in ...

of the

University of Lisbon The University of Lisbon (ULisboa; ) is a public university, public research university in Lisbon, and Portugal's largest university. It was founded in 1911, but the university's present structure dates to the 2013 merger of the former Universit ...

and a Ph.D. from the Imperial College of Science, Technology, and Medicine in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

Early career

Carvalho was a

at the

in the Department of Mechanical Engineering, in the area of

energy Energy () is the physical quantity, quantitative physical property, property that is transferred to a physical body, body or to a physical system, recognizable in the performance of Work (thermodynamics), work and in the form of heat and l ...

, environment,

climate change Present-day climate change includes both global warming—the ongoing increase in Global surface temperature, global average temperature—and its wider effects on Earth's climate system. Climate variability and change, Climate change in ...

and

sustainable development Sustainable development is an approach to growth and Human development (economics), human development that aims to meet the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.United Nations General ...

Career in national politics

From 2003 to 2005, Carvalho was a member of Portugal's government, first as Minister of Science and Higher Education and later as the Minister of Science, Innovation and Higher Education in the cabinets of successive

prime ministers 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 rat ...

José Manuel Barroso José Manuel Durão Barroso (; born 23 March 1956) is a Portuguese politician and law professor. He previously served from 2002 to 2004 as the List of Prime Ministers of Portugal, 114th prime minister of Portugal and from 2004–2014 as the 11 ...

(2003–2004) and

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

(2004–2005).

Career in the European Commission

Carvalho acted as adviser to

Durão Barroso Durão is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: *José Manuel Durão Barroso (born 1956), Portuguese politician and 115th Prime Minister of Portugal (2002–2004) and 11th President of the European Commission (2004–2014) *Joaquim Dur ...

in his capacity as

President of the European Commission The president of the European Commission, also known as president of the College of Commissioners is the Head of government, head of the European Commission, the Executive (government), executive branch of the European Union (EU). The president ...

from 2006 to 2009.

Member of the European Parliament, 2009–2014

In 2009, Carvalho was elected Member of the

European Parliament The European Parliament (EP) is one of the two legislative bodies of the European Union and one of its seven institutions. Together with the Council of the European Union (known as the Council and informally as the Council of Ministers), it ...

for the

, a position she held until 2014. Carvalho first served as a

Member of the European Parliament A member of the European Parliament (MEP) is a person who has been Election, elected to serve as a popular representative in the European Parliament. When the European Parliament (then known as the Common Assembly of the European Coal and S ...

from 2009 to 2014 as a representative of Portugal's

(PSD). She was a member of the Parliament's

Committee on Industry, Research and Energy A committee or commission is a body of one or more persons subordinate to a deliberative assembly or other form of organization. A committee may not itself be considered to be a form of assembly or a decision-making body. Usually, an assembly o ...

(ITRE). In this capacity, she was also the Parliament's

rapporteur A rapporteur is a person who is appointed by an organization to report on the proceedings of its meetings. The term is a French-derived word. For example, Dick Marty was appointed ''rapporteur'' by the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Eur ...

on the

Horizon 2020 The Framework Programmes for Research and Technological Development, also called Framework Programmes or abbreviated FP1 to FP9, are funding programmes created by the European Union/European Commission to support and foster research in the Europe ...

research framework program (2014–2020). In addition to her committee assignments, she was a member of the Parliament's delegation to the

ACP–EU Joint Parliamentary Assembly The ACP–EU Joint Parliamentary Assembly was created to bring together the elected representatives of the European Union (the Members of the European Parliament) and the elected representatives of the African, Caribbean and Pacific states ("ACP ...

Return to the European Commission

From November 2014 until December 2015, Carvalho served as an adviser to

European Commissioner for Research, Innovation and Science The Commissioner for Research, Science and Innovation was a portfolio within the European Commission. In 2019, the portfolio was merged with the Commissioner for Education, Youth, Sport and Culture to form the role of European Commissioner for Inn ...

Carlos Moedas Carlos Manuel Félix Moedas (born 10 August 1970) is a Portuguese civil engineer, economist and politician of the Social Democratic Party (Portugal), Social Democratic Party (PSD), who is the current Mayor of Lisbon. From 2014 until 2019, Moeda ...

. She later moved as a staff member to the Commission's

Directorate-General for Research and Innovation The Directorate-General for Research and Innovation (DG RTD) is a Directorate-General of the European Commission, located in Brussels, and responsible for the European Union's research and innovation policy and coordination of research and innovati ...

, until 2019.

Member of the European Parliament, 2019–2024

In 2019, Carvalho was again elected to the European Parliament for the 9th parliamentary term (2019-2024). She integrated the

European People’s Party The European People's Party (EPP) is a European political party with Christian democracy, Christian democratic, liberal conservatism, liberal-conservative, and conservative member parties. A transnational organisation, it is composed of other p ...

(EPP) group. She was Vice-President of the Committee on Fisheries (PECH). She was a full member of the Industry, Research, and Energy Committee (ITRE) where she was elected Vice Coordinator for the

EPP Group The European People's Party Group (EPP Group or simply EPP) is a political group of the European Parliament consisting of deputies (MEPs) from the member parties of the European People's Party (EPP). Sometimes it also includes independent MEP ...

. She was a full member of the Committee on Women's Rights and Gender Equality (FEMM), the Special Committee on Artificial Intelligence in the Digital Age (AIDA), and the Delegation for Relations with the United States of America. She was an alternate member of the Internal Market and Consumer Protection Committee (IMCO), the Delegation for Relations with the countries of Central America, the Delegation to the Euro-Latin American Parliamentary Assembly, and the Delegation for Relations with the countries of Central Asia. Carvalho and Von der Leyen

In the mandate in the European Parliament (2019-2024), she was rapporteur for the Strategic Programme of the European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT), the Single Basic Act covering nine partnerships with industry under the Horizon Europe framework program, the European Partnership for High-Performance Computing and the opinions on the New European Industrial Strategy and the Data Regulation, among others. She was the lead rapporteur for the Regulation on the Protection of the Union against manipulating the wholesale energy market (REMIT). In addition, she was the EPP negotiator of the European Electricity Market Design. In her activity in this legislature, she had been committed to gender equality issues, having been a negotiator for the

European People's Party Group The European People's Party Group (EPP Group or simply EPP) is a political group of the European Parliament consisting of deputies (MEPs) from the member parties of the European People's Party (EPP). Sometimes it also includes independent ME ...

regarding the directive on the participation of women on the boards of directors of listed companies (Women on Boards) and rapporteur, for the FEMM committee, of the report on the Digital Divide between Men and Women, in addition to being involved in several actions aimed at promoting gender equality in all sectors of society.

Return to national politics

On April 1, 2024 she resigned as an MEP to become Minister of Environment and Energy in the

Other activities

* European Network of European Foundations, Advisory Board (since 2023) Roberta Metsola

Wilfried Martens Centre for European Studies The Wilfried Martens Centre for European Studies, also known as the Martens Centre and previously as the ''Centre for European Studies'', is a think tank and European political foundation affiliated to the European People's Party (EPP). The Mart ...

, Member of the Executive Board * Instituto Francisco Sá Carneiro, Chair of the Board of Directors (since 2020) * Re-Imagine Europa, Member of the Task Force on Sustainable Agriculture and Innovation (since 2020) * International Centre for Sustainable Development of Energy, Water and Environment Systems, Member of the International Scientific Committee

Recognition

On 8 March 2002, on International Women's Day, Carvalho was decorated with the rank of Grand Officer of the Order of Public Instruction by

Jorge Sampaio Jorge Fernando Branco de Sampaio (; 18 September 1939 – 10 September 2021) was a Portuguese lawyer and politician who was the 18th President of Portugal from 1996 to 2006. Sampaio was a member of the Socialist Party, a party which he ...

. She was made a Member of the Council of the Orders of Civil Merit on 9 June 2016. Carvalho is also the recipient of the following awards: * 2022 - Winner of the award for the best Member of the European Parliament in the Future of the EU and Innovation category at ''

The Parliament Magazine ''The Parliament Magazine'' is a monthly EU politics, policy and culture magazine. Its website, www.theparliamentmagazine.eu, is a forum for discussion on the latest developments in EU politics and policy, featuring regular contributions from pr ...

s annual MEP Awards * 2021 – Femina Prize of Honour * 2016 – Prize

Maria de Lourdes Pintasilgo Maria de Lourdes Ruivo da Silva de Matos Pintasilgo (; 18 January 1930 – 10 July 2004) was a Portuguese chemical engineer and politician. She was the first and to date only woman to serve as Prime Minister of Portugal, and the second woman to ...

, a career prize to honor outstanding women scientists and engineers * 2016 – IUMRS International Union of Materials Research Societies Global Leadership and Service Award * 2012 – Medal of Merit of the City of Beja * 2011 – Prize for the best Member of the European Parliament in the area of Research and Innovation * 2008 – CIRCE Prize, CIRCE Foundation, Saragossa * 2005 – Portuguese Great Cross-Chancellery of the International Order of Merit of the Discoverer of Brazil

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Carvalho, Maria da Graca 1955 births Academic staff of the University of Lisbon Living people MEPs for Portugal 2009–2014 MEPs for Portugal 2019–2024