Contributors

EurAfrican 2024

Paulo Portas

Former Minister of Foreign Affairs, Portugal

Paulo Portas was Portugal’s Minister of Foreign Affairs and Deputy Prime Minister, responsible for economic coordination, investment, and exports between 2011 and the end of 2015. He also served as Minister of Defense (2002-2005). He led the center-right CDS-PP party for 16 years, eight of which he was in government. He served as a Member of Parliament for eight terms.

Paulo Portas holds a law degree from the Catholic University of Lisbon and has taught History of Political Thought. He teaches Geoeconomics and International Relations at Universidade Nova, the Emirates Diplomatic Academy (Abu Dhabi), and direct seminars on Economic Diplomacy for multinational companies.

In 2016, he retired from party politics and returned to the private sector. He became Chairman of the International Strategic Council of Mota-Engil, the largest Portuguese infrastructure company, for Latin America and Africa. He is also a member of the international board of PemexGas (Mexico) and vice president of the Portuguese Chamber of Commerce and Industry. He is a founding partner of Vinciamo Consulting (strategic analysis and business intelligence), focused on advising on business internationalization in Africa, Latin America, GCC, and Asia. He is also a regular commentator on international politics on Portugal’s main television network and a frequent speaker at international conferences.

He is fluent in Portuguese, English, Spanish, French, and Italian.