The XII Regional Government of the Azores, which will take office next Friday, November 4, in the city of Horta, has the following composition:
President of the Government
Vasco Ilídio Alves Cordeiro
Vice-President of the Government
Sérgio Humberto Rocha de Ávila
He is 47 years old. He holds a degree in Economics from Nova School of Business and Economics of Universidade Nova de Lisboa (New University of Lisbon).
He has served as Vice-President of the IX, X and XI Governments of the Azores since 2004.
He holds the position of Assistant Administrative Inspector of the Regional Administrative Inspection.
He was a Member of Parliament from October 1995 to November 1996 and a member of the Board of the Parliamentary Group of PS, where he was in charge of the areas of Economic Affairs and Finances and the relations with Autonomous Regions.
He was the coordinator of the Studies Centre of the Socialist Party at the National Assembly.
He served as Regional Director for Social Security from November 1996 to December 1997 in the VII Regional Government.
He also served as Mayor of Angra do Heroísmo City Hall from December 1997 to November 2004.
From 1999 to 2004, he was the President of the Island Council of Terceira Island.
From 1999 to 2004, he held the position of President of the Administration Board of the former Port Authorities of Angra do Heroísmo.
Regional Secretary for Social Solidarity
Andreia Martins Cardoso da Costa
She is 40 years old. She graduated in Economics from the School of Economics and Management of the Technical University of Lisbon.
She was appointed Regional Secretary for Social Solidarity of the XI Regional Government of the Azores in July 2014.
She has held the position of Vice-Ombudsperson of "Santa Casa da Misericórdia" of Angra do Heroísmo, where she was responsible for the financial management of the Elderly Home. She has exercised public duties as Councillor and Mayor of Angra do Heroísmo City Hall, and as member of the respective Municipal Assembly.
She also served as Regional Director for Solidarity and Social Security as well as President of the Social Work Institute and of the Financial Management Centre at the Social Security between 2004 and 2008. As a member of the Legislative Assembly of the Autonomous Region of the Azores from 2000 to 2004, she took part in the Specialised Standing Committee on Economic Affairs as rapporteur. She also served as Vice-President of the Parliamentary Group of the Socialist Party.
Regional Secretary for Education and Culture
Avelino de Freitas de Meneses
He is 57 years old. He holds a Doctorate degree in Modern and Contemporary History from the University of the Azores, where is a Full Professor. He is the President of the Scientific Commission of the Portuguese Centre for Overseas History - CHAM - Universidade Nova de Lisboa (New University of Lisbon) and University of the Azores.
He was appointed Regional Secretary for Education and Culture of the XI Regional Government of the Azores in July 2014.
He served as Dean of the University of the Azores from 2003 to 2011. During his academic path, he performed other duties as President of the Scientific Council, Head of the Department of History, Philosophy and Social Sciences of the University of the Azores, and as Head of the Gaspar Frutuoso Studies Centre at the same University.
He is the author of about one hundred works, including books, chapters and articles on the subject of Portuguese, Azorean and Atlantic History that have been published in several journals.
He was distinguished with the Grand Cross of the Order of Public Instruction and the Autonomic Commendation of Recognition.
Regional Secretary for the Sea, Science and Technology
Gui Manuel Machado Menezes
He is 49 years old. He holds a Doctorate degree in Marine Ecology from the University of the Azores and a degree in Biology from the Faculty of Sciences of the University of Lisbon.
He works as Assistant Researcher at the Department of Oceanography and Fisheries (DOP) of the University of the Azores, which he joined in 1993. His research work has addressed several fields, especially those related to demersal and deep-sea fish species as well as the ecology of the deep sea in general. He has been in charge of coordinating the annual campaigns to monitor the abundance of demersal and deep-sea species in the Azores since 1996.
He participated as coordinator or member of research teams in numerous regional, national and international research projects as well as in several national and international research campaigns in the Atlantic, namely in the Azores, Madeira and Cape Verde; most of which were focused on the study of demersal and deep-sea fish species.
He is the author or co-author of over 60 scientific articles already published or under publication, mostly in international journals with peer review. He was also responsible for the organisation of conferences and workshops, having participated as speaker in numerous scientific conferences and meetings.
In 2008, he won the BES 2008 National Innovation Contest (4th Edition) in the area of Trade and Services, an initiative organised by Banco Espírito Santo on an annual basis. Following this award, he was distinguished by the Horta City Hall with the Golden Municipal Merit Medal in 2009.
He was a member of several reflection groups on fisheries and science by appointment of the Regional Government of the Azores. In the last four years, he was the regional representative at the Economic and Social Council (CES) by appointment of the Legislative Assembly of the Autonomous Region of the Azores. He was the national representative of the Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT) in the European strategic group - SCARFish, included in SCAR (Standing Committee on Agricultural Research).
Over the years, he has participated in various working groups of ICES (International Council for the Exploration of the Sea) as well as in several Regional Fisheries Councils.
He is a member of the board of the research centre FCT - MARE (Marine and Environmental Sciences Centre). For several years, he was a member of the governing bodies of IMAR (Institute of Marine Research), OMA (Azores Sea Observatory) and other local institutions.
Regional Secretary for Transport and Public Works
Vítor Manuel Ângelo de Fraga
He is 46 years old. He graduated in Electrical and Computer Engineering from Instituto Superior Técnico (School of Engineering). He also holds a Master's degree in Marketing and Sales as well as in Service Quality, Leadership and Team Motivation from the Catholic University.
He served as Regional Secretary for Tourism and Transport of the XI Government of the Azores.
He held the positions of administrator and manager at regional, national and international companies. He was also a member of the Administration Board of Grupo SATA, being in charge of the entire operational area, purchasing, logistics and the launching of the Azores Aviation Training Centre on Santa Maria Island.
Regional Secretary for Health
Rui Duarte Gonçalves Luís
He is 46 years old. He holds a Doctorate degree from the University of Las Palmas of Gran Canaria. He graduated in Business Organisation and Management at the University of the Azores. He also holds a Postgraduate degree in Nature Management and Conservation from the University of the Azores.
He has been the President the Administration Board of Santo Espírito Hospital on Terceira Island since April 2016. He is a Senior Technician of the Public Administration, which he joined in 1996.
He is a member of the Portuguese Economists' Associations and was guest lecturer at the invitation of the University of the Azores, where he taught at the Department of Economics and Business Management, the Department of Agricultural Sciences and at the Angra do Heroísmo Nursing School.
He was a member of the Regional Legislative Assembly of the Azores from 1992 to 1996 and rapporteur of the Committee on Economic Affairs, Finance and Planning during his parliamentary term.
He also served as President of the Supervisory Council of the Portuguese League Against Cancer - Azores in the period 2013 - 2015.
He has participated as speaker in various conferences/seminars/congresses in his area of expertise as well as in the area of entrepreneurship; his numerous scientific publications are focused on his area of research.
Regional Secretary for Energy, Environment and Tourism
Marta Isabel Vieira Guerreiro
She is 39 years old. She graduated in Economics at the Nova School of Business and Economics of Universidade Nova de Lisboa (New University of Lisbon). She is a full member of the Portuguese Economists' Association, being registered in the college of Political Economy.
From May 2013 to December 2015, she held the position of Commercial Director of the Business Department of the Azores at Banco Santander Totta and the position of Director of the Business Department of São Miguel and Terceira at Banif.
In addition to several training courses in banking, she participated in the “Leadership in the 21st Century: Chaos, Conflict and Courage” programme, taught by the Harvard Kennedy School, Executive Education. This initiative was promoted by the Luso-American Foundation for Development in partnership with the Regional Government of the Azores. As head of Banif team, she took part in the 2010 edition of Global Management Challenge - strategy and management competition organised in Portugal by SDG - Simulators and management Models, S.A. in partnership with "Expresso" newspaper.
Regional Secretary for Agriculture and Forestry
João António Ferreira Ponte
He is 49 years old. He graduated in Electrical and Computer Engineering at Instituto Superior Técnico (School of Engineering) in Lisbon. He has advanced training in Management for Executives, taught by the Católica Lisbon School of Business & Economics at the Portuguese Catholic University.
He has held the position of President of the Administration Board of the public maritime transport company Atlânticoline S.A. since March 2015.
He served as Mayor of Lagoa City Hall between 2005 and 2015 and had held the Vice-presidency of that municipality from 2002 to 2004.
He was member of the Governing Council of the National Association of Portuguese Municipalities between 2009 and 2013. He also served as Regional Director for Public Works and Land Transport in 2003 and 2004.
His professional experience also includes the positions of Managing Director of Norma Açores - Society of Studies and Support to Regional Development between 1997 and 2002, and senior technician at the company Eletricidade dos Açores from 1990 to 1997.
Regional Assistant Secretary of the Presidency for Parliamentary Affairs
Berto José Branco Messias
He is 34 years old. He attended the course of International Relations at the University of Coimbra. Currently, he is enrolled in a Major in European Studies with a Minor in Economics, Law and Sociology at Universidade Aberta (Portuguese Open University).
He has been a member of the Legislative Assembly of the Autonomous Region of the Azores since November 2008 and, from that date to November 2010, he served as Vice-President of the Parliamentary Group of the Socialist Party. He was also a member of the Parliamentary Committee on Social Affairs and the Standing Committee of the Legislative Assembly of the Azores.
He was elected President of the Parliamentary Group in November 2010, a position he held until the end of the IX Legislative period and during the X Legislative period.
From November 2005 to November 2008, he served as Head of the Cabinet of the Mayor of Praia da Vitória City Hall. He is also a member of the Municipal Assembly of Praia da Vitória.
Regional Assistant Secretary of the Presidency for External Relations
Rui Jorge da Silva Leite de Bettencourt
He is 60 years old. He holds a Master's degree in Educational Sciences - Pedagogical Supervision and is a Doctoral student in Management Sciences at the Conservatoire National des Arts et Métiers. He holds a Postgraduate degree in Organisational Prospective and Strategy and in Adult Education.
From 2007 to 2015, in addition to being a member of the Political Bureau of the Assembly of European Regions (AER), he served as Secretary General of the Programme of the Assembly of European Regions - Eurodyssée. He was also the Azores representative at several conferences held by the International Labour Organisation (ILO) in Geneva.
Since November 2013, he has been the Territorial Director at the Conseil Régional of the Paris Region, Île-de-France, where has been responsible for the Economic Development, Innovation and Internationalisation Strategies as well as for the Vocational Training and Guidance Plan, and the Analysis on the impact of different development strategies in the region.
He took part in the assessment of the impact on employment and qualifications of the New Grand Paris (NGP).
He was a member of the Cabinet of the President of the Government of the Azores between 2012 and 2013. From 1997 to 2012, he served as Regional Director for Youth, Employment and Vocational Training, being responsible for the management of ESF and the Operational Programme - PROEMPREGO.
From 1982 to 1996, he worked as teacher and coordinator of learning and planning of educational actions at Ecole Fénelon. He taught Mechanical Sciences at the Conseil National des Professions de l'Automobile in Paris.
He has published various works on strategic prospective and public policies in several countries, including " Políticas para a empregabilidade" (2014), "La Prospective Stratégique au cœur des Politiques d’emploi in La Prospective stratégique en action" (2014) or "Strategic Prospective in the implementation of employment Policies.(2010).