Lígia Fonseca

Lígia Arcângela Lubrino Dias Fonseca (born 24 August 1963) is a Cape Verdean lawyer, activist, and politician who has served as the First Lady of Cape Verde since 2011. Fonseca became the first female president of the Cape Verdean Lawyers' Association (OAC), the country's national bar association, in 2001.[1][2][3] She is married to Cape Verdean President Jorge Carlos Fonseca.

Lígia Fonseca
First Lady of Cape Verde
Assumed office
9 September 2011
PresidentJorge Carlos Fonseca
Preceded byAdélcia Barreto Pires
Personal details
Born
Lígia Arcângela Lubrino Dias

(1963-08-24) 24 August 1963
Beira, Portuguese Mozambique
Political partyMovement for Democracy
Spouse(s)
​
​
(m. 1989)​
ChildrenThree
Alma materUniversity of Lisbon
ProfessionLawyer

Biography

Fonseca was born Lígia Arcângela Lubrino Dias in Beira, Portuguese Mozambique, on 24 August 1963, to Canta Dias and Máximo Dias.[3][4] Her father, Máximo Dias, was a Mozambican lawyer, politician and leader of the MONAMO political party.[3][4] In 1976, her family moved to Lisbon, Portugal, due to political instability in Mozambique.[3]

Dias remained in Lisbon, despite hopes of returning to Beira.[3] She enrolled in the Faculty of Law at the University of Lisbon, where she earned her law degree.[3][4] She met her future husband, Jorge Carlos Fonseca, who is Cape Verdean, in 1987 while attending the university.[3] The couple married on March 26, 1989, at a ceremony in Portugal.[3] They have three daughters.[4]

They then moved to Macau, where her husband had been hired as a law professor at the University of Macau.[3] The couple moved to Cape Verde in 1991, marking the first time she had lived in an African country since leaving Mozambique in 1976.[3]

On April 30, 2001, Fonseca became the first woman to be elected President of the Cape Verdian Lawyers' Association (Ordem dos Advogados de Cabo Verde).[1][2][5] A dissenting group of lawyers argued that she had not been a member of OAC for at least 10 years, but her election was upheld.[2] Fonseca's inauguration as the first female head of the OAC took place on 19 May 2001.[5] She served as President from 2001 until 2004, when she was succeeded by Dr. Carlos Alberto Veiga.[5]

Jorge Carlos Fonseca was elected President in the second round of the 2011 Cape Verdean presidential election, making Lígia Fonseca the fourth First Lady of Cape Verde.[4] Lígia Fonseca sought to focus on social issues during her tenure.[3][4] She continued to practice law as an active lawyer after becoming first lady.[3]

Honours

Foreign honours

References
  1. "Woman Heads Cape Verde's Lawyers Association". PanaPress. AllAfrica.com. 2 May 2001. Archived from the original on 5 May 2001. Retrieved 19 November 2017.
  2. "Woman heads Cape Verde's lawyers association". PanaPress. 2 May 2001. Archived from the original on 19 November 2017. Retrieved 19 November 2017.
  3. "Lígia Dias Fonseca — Dedicação e trabalho em prol do bem-estar social". Nós Genti. 28 July 2016. Archived from the original on 11 November 2017. Retrieved 19 November 2017.
  4. "Presidente-eleito de Cabo Verde é genro de Máximo Dias". Correio da Manhã. Jornal @Verdade. 24 August 2011. Archived from the original on 20 November 2017. Retrieved 19 November 2017.
  5. "Ordem dos Advogados de Cabo Verde breve historia". Cape Verdian Lawyers' Association. Archived from the original on 7 November 2017. Retrieved 19 November 2017.
  6. Presidencia
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