The government proposes Maria Luis Albuquerque for the post of European Commissioner. “She has outstanding qualities and skills that will bring prestige to Portugal,” the Prime Minister stressed.

Prime Minister Luis Montenegro announced on Wednesday the selection of Maria Luis Albuquerque as candidate for the post of European Commissioner.

“I would like to inform the Portuguese men and women that I have decided, on behalf of and with the support of the entire Government, to propose to the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, Dr. Maria Luis Albuquerque, to join the new College of European Commissioners representing Portugal,” he said.

In a short statement, the prime minister said he chose María Luis Albuquerque with the support of the entire government in a process that took place with “modesty” and highlighted the authority of former Minister of State and Finance Pedro Passos Coelho.

“Dr. María Luis Albuquerque is a person of recognized academic, professional, political and civil merit,” he said, recalling that she has served, among other things, as a university professor, Secretary of State for the Treasury, Minister of State and Finance, member of the Assembly of the Republic, as well as “various functions in the public, private and social sectors.”

“Extraordinary qualities and skills”

The Prime Minister also stressed that the former governor had accumulated “vast and interesting experience working with European institutions” and their supporters.

“She has exceptional qualities and skills that will bring prestige to Portugal and enrich the European Commission,” the Prime Minister stressed.

Montenegro also mentioned its confidence in Portugal’s candidacy: “DI place all my hope and trust in her.”

The prime minister, who did not speak about the portfolio that will pass to Portugal, stressed that the European Union is entering a new cycle “aimed at stimulating the internal market, the competitiveness of the European economy, defining a new multiannual financial framework, to which are added the enormous challenges of security and defense, as well as new horizons in the enlargement of the European Union.”

“It is important that each EU member state uses its best strengths to work for the benefit of all Europeans. As Prime Minister, I believe that Dr. María Luis Albuquerque respects this profile,” he said, expressing “all the confidence and all the hope” for the former ruler.

The Albuquerque Experience

Maria Luis Albuquerque, 56, was minister of state and finance during Portugal’s troika bailout, replacing Vitor Gaspar in July 2013 and remaining until the end of the executive led by Pedro Passos Coelho.

In the PSD, he was vice-president during the leadership of Passos Coelho and headed the list of PSD parliamentary candidates in Setúbal in 2011 and 2015.

He is currently a member of the National Council of the PSD (second name on Luis Montenegro’s leadership list, just after Carlos Moedas) and a member of the supervisory board of the European branch of the North American company Morgan Stanley.

The European Commission president’s proposal for the composition of her new College of Commissioners is due to be made public in mid-September, following country nominations and interviews with the person in charge, with a view to taking office by the end of the year.

Of the EU’s 27 member states, four have yet to announce their choice: Belgium, Bulgaria, Italy and Denmark. The official deadline is next Friday, August 30.

The request for countries to submit names was made in letters sent in late July by the President of the European Commission to EU heads of government and state, in which the person in charge defended a “gender-balanced College of Commissioners”.

The President of the European Commission is responsible for the selection and allocation of the various portfolios, taking into account the geographical size of the country, the skills of the candidates and their preferences following the nomination of candidatures by countries.