Margarida Balseiro Lopes

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Margarida Balseiro Lopes
Minister of Youth and Modernization
Assumed office
2 April 2024
Prime MinisterLuís Montenegro
Preceded byPosition established
Vice President of the Social Democratic Party
Assumed office
3 July 2022
PresidentLuís Montenegro
Preceded byAntónio Maló de Abreu
President of the Social Democratic Youth
In office
15 April 2018 – 26 July 2020
Preceded bySimão Ribeiro
Succeeded byAlexandre Poço
Member of the Assembly of the Republic
In office
23 October 2015 – 28 March 2022
ConstituencyLeiria
Personal details
Born
Ana Margarida Balseiro de Sousa Lopes

(1989-09-24) 24 September 1989 (age 34)
Marinha Grande, Portugal
Political partySocial Democratic
Other political
affiliations
Social Democratic Youth
Alma materUniversity of Lisbon
OccupationJuristPolitician

Ana Margarida Balseiro de Sousa Lopes (born 24 September 1989) is a Portuguese jurist and politician. She was a member of the Assembly of the Republic of Portugal as a member of the liberal-conservative Social Democratic Party (PSD) and a former president of Social Democratic Youth (JSD), the youth wing of the PSD. Following the 2024 national election she was appointed as Minister of Youth and Modernization by the Prime Minister, Luís Montenegro.[1]

Early life and politics[edit]

Margarida Balseiro Lopes was born in Marinha Grande in the Leiria District on 24 September 1989. She has a degree in law from the law faculty of the University of Lisbon, and a master's degree in law and management from the Catholic University of Portugal. She is studying for a doctorate. From her time at school she was active in politics, being president of the students' union. Marinha Grande has a strong left-wing tradition and the youth wing of the liberal-conservative PSD was not functioning there. Lopes was responsible for restarting it. At university she was a student representative on the academic council of the law faculty.[2][3][4]

Political career[edit]

Beginning her political career in Marinha Grande, Lopes then became active in the JSD in Leiria District. She was also a councillor on the Marinha Grande municipal council. In 2015 she was elected as a deputy to the Assembly of the Republic on the PSD list for the Leiria constituency and was re-elected in 2019. In 2017 she went to the United States as part of the Department of State's International Visitor Leadership Program. She has served on the Budget and Finance Committee of the parliament and has been an alternate on the Education, Science, Youth and Sport Committee. In April 2018 she was elected president of the JSD nationally, a position she relinquished in 2020.[2][3][4] She was not a candidate in the 2022 legislative election.

Lopes has been a regular contributor of articles to national Portuguese newspapers, particularly Correio da Manhã.[5]

References[edit]

  1. ^ Donn, Natasha (28 March 2024). "Portugal's new government inches closer to 'touchline'". Portugal Resident. Retrieved 29 March 2024.
  2. ^ a b "Biografia: Ana Margarida Balseiro de Sousa Lopes". Assembleia da República. Retrieved 16 June 2021.
  3. ^ a b "Margarida Balseiro Lopes". Partido Social Democrata. Retrieved 16 June 2021.
  4. ^ a b "O meu percurso". Margarida Balseiro Lopes. Retrieved 16 June 2021.
  5. ^ "Margarida Balseiro Lopes". Correio da Manhã. Retrieved 16 June 2021.