Francisca Van Dunem

Francisca Eugénia da Silva Dias Van Dunem (born 5 November 1955, in Luanda, Angola) is an Angolan-Portuguese lawyer and politician who has been serving as the Portuguese Minister of Justice since 26 November 2015, in António Costa's XXI and XXII Constitutional Governments.[2] Van Dunem is Portugal's first black government minister in history.[3]

Her Excellency

Francisca Van Dunem
Minister of Justice
Assumed office
26 November 2015
Prime MinisterAntónio Costa
Preceded byFernando Negrão
Personal details
Born
Francisca Eugénia da Silva Dias Van Dunem

(1955-11-05) 5 November 1955
Luanda, Portuguese Angola
NationalityPortuguese, Angolan[1]
Political partyNo affiliation
Spouse(s)Eduardo Paz Ferreira
ChildrenOne child
ResidencePortugal
Alma materUniversity of Lisbon
WebsitePortuguese Government - Minister

Early life and education

Van Dunem was born in 1955 in Luanda, then the capital of the Portuguese Overseas Province of Angola. She went to Lisbon in the early 1970s in order to study law at the University of Lisbon. In April 1974, the Portuguese Estado Novo regime was overthrown by a left-wing military coup and in 1975 Angola become a newly independent communist state - the People's Republic of Angola. Her brother José Van Dunem was murdered in a purge occurred in Agostinho Neto's post-independence Angola that same year. Francisca did not return to Angola and pursued a family life and a professional career in Portugal.

Van Dunem holds a degree in Law from the Faculty of Law of the University of Lisbon, awarded in 1977. She was subject to competitive examination for the Portuguese Public Prosecutor's office in 1979.[4]

Professional career

Van Dunem's most relevant professional activities included judicial activities such as Trainee Deputy Public Prosecutor (Lisbon and Loures courts) (1979-1980); Deputy Public Prosecutor (Lisbon Labour Court) (1980-1983); Deputy Public Prosecutor (Lisbon Criminal Court) (1983-1985); Deputy Public Prosecutor (Lisbon Public Prosecution Service) (1987-1989); member of the Principal State Prosecutor's private law firm (1989-2001); and Deputy Principal State Prosecutor, Director of the Lisbon Public Prosecution Service (since 2001).[4]

Van Dunem first served as Minister of Justice in the 21st Portuguese government (2015-2019).

In early 2021, Van Dunem faced calls for resignation amid revelations that her ministry had overstated the qualifications of its nominee for Portugal’s seat at the European Public Prosecutor's Office (EPPO).[5]

Personal life

Van Dunem is married and has one son. They live in the Greater Lisbon area.

References
  1. "Van Dunem é a grande surpresa na Justiça". Jornal de Negócios. 25 November 2015.
  2. Portuguese government website
  3. Andrei Khalip (November 25, 2015), Bank of Portugal economist Centeno named finance minister Reuters.
  4. Election of a judge to the European Court of Human Rights with respect to Portugal Archived 2010-12-25 at the Wayback Machine, Council of Europe (4 June 2004)
  5. Paul Ames (January 4, 2021), Politico Europe.
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