Mércia Viriato Licá (born 1996/1997) is a Mozambican lawyer and politician who has been serving as a Member of the Assembly of the Republic since 13 January 2020. When she took office, she became the youngest MP in the country's history. She is a member of the ruling

FRELIMO FRELIMO (; from , ) is a democratic socialist political party in Mozambique. It has governed the country since its independence from Portugal in 1975. Founded in 1962, FRELIMO began as a nationalist movement fighting for the self-determination ...

party.

Biography

Mércia Viriato Licá was born without any upper limbs. Her father abandoned her when she was still young and her mother consequently raised her. In 2019, she obtained a law degree from the Maputo Pedagogical University. She met President

Filipe Nyusi Filipe Jacinto Nyusi (; born 9 February 1959) is a Mozambican politician who was the fourth president of Mozambique from 2015 to 2025. He has also served as the Chairman of the Southern African Development Community from 2020 to 2022. During his ...

through

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and he visited her family home in 2018. She lives with her mother and she performs routine tasks using her feet. In October 2019, she was elected an MP in the

general election A general election is an electoral process to choose most or all members of a governing body at the same time. They are distinct from By-election, by-elections, which fill individual seats that have become vacant between general elections. Gener ...

. She assumed the post in January 2020 and represents the

Tete Province Tete is a Provinces of Mozambique, province of Mozambique, located in the northwest of the country. It has an area of 98,417 km2 and a population of 2,648,941 (2017 census). Tete, Mozambique, Tete is the capital of the province. The Cahora ...

References

1997 births Living people FRELIMO politicians 21st-century Mozambican women politicians 21st-century Mozambican politicians {{Mozambique-politician-stub