Verónica Nataniel Macamo Dlhovo (born November 13, 1957) is a Mozambican politician who has served as the

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, ...

since 2020. She served as the President of the

Assembly of the Republic of Mozambique The Assembly of the Republic () is the unicameral legislative body of the Republic of Mozambique, established in 1977. The current parliament has 250 members, who are directly elected through a system of party-list proportional representation ...

from 2010 to 2020. Dlhovo is a member of

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 ...

. She started her career as a politician in

Gaza Province Gaza is a province of Mozambique. It has an area of 75,709 km2 and a population of 1,422,460 (2017 census), which is the least populous of all the provinces of Mozambique. Xai-Xai is the capital of the province. Inhambane Province is t ...

as a member of

Organization of Mozambican Women The Organization of Mozambican Women ( ''OMM'') is the women's section of FRELIMO. Founded in 1973, during the Mozambican War of Independence, in recognition of women's growing roles in the conflict against Portuguese colonialism, the OMM was creat ...

and got to the peak of her career when she became the first female president of the Assembly since Mozambique gained independence.

Early life, education and personal life

Veronica Nataniel Macamo Dlhovo was born on 13 November 1957, in Bilene, Gaza Province. She is married and has 3 children. Dlhovo earned a degree in Law from the

Eduardo Mondlane University The Eduardo Mondlane University (; UEM) is the oldest and largest university in Mozambique. The UEM is a secular public university, unaffiliated with any religion, and does not discriminate on the basis of gender, race, ethnicity, or religion. The ...

in 1994.

Work experience and politics

Dlhovo started working for Frelimo even before independence and after Mozambique became independent, she worked in many areas for the party. She has been involved in social work working in the Political Commission of the Military Political Preparation in Moamba 1975 to 1977, as the Legal Advisor of Companies since 1994, Councilor for Justice from 2005 to 2007, and as Justice Counselor and Chairman of the Board of the Tourism Fund from 2000 to 2009. She also worked with women's organizations working as the Nacional Secretary for Formation of the Organization of Mozambican Women from 1985 to 1989, she was elected the Honorary Member of the Mozambican Women's Organization and Head of the Women's Department at Headquarters of the Central Committee, from 1994 to 1995. As a politician, Dlhovo was elected to the assembly in 1999 from the

. In 1999 she was elected the Vice-President of the National Assembly. In 2004, she was elected as a member of the

Pan-African Parliament The Pan-African Parliament (PAP), also known as the African Parliament, is the legislative body of the African Union. It held its inaugural session in March 2004. The Parliament exercises oversight, and has advisory and consultative powers, ha ...

from Mozambique. Dlhovo was elected as the first female president of the Assembly in 2010, with 192 total votes out of 194. As the President of the assembly, Dlhovo was known for her strong personality. She gave her opinion in topics related to politics in Mozambique and played an important role in the creation of laws, including laws concerning teenage marriage and child abuse. She was re-elected as speaker in 2015. On 17 January 2020, 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 ...

appointed her as the Minister of Foreign Affairs in his new cabinet.

References

Sources

Results of the 1999 Legislative election in Mozambique
{{DEFAULTSORT:Macamo, Veronica 1957 births Living people Presidents of the Assembly of the Republic (Mozambique) Members of the Pan-African Parliament from Mozambique Members of the Assembly of the Republic (Mozambique) Ministers of foreign affairs of Mozambique FRELIMO politicians 20th-century Mozambican women politicians 20th-century Mozambican politicians 21st-century Mozambican women politicians 21st-century Mozambican politicians Women members of the Pan-African Parliament Female foreign ministers Women legislative speakers