Maria Teresa Cárcomo Lobo

She was born in Malanje, Angola, on 18 February 1929, and was of Indian descent.²¹ A law graduate, she taught in Macau, spent time in Mozambique and headed the Economic and Financial Studies office of the Banco Nacional Ultramarino (National Overseas Bank).¹

In August 1970, Marcelo Caetano appointed her Under-Secretary of State for Health and Welfare: she was the first woman to be part of a government in Portugal. The evening paper A Capital reported it on 20 August under the headline “A lady (for the first time) a member of the Government” (Uma senhora (pela primeira vez) membro do Governo). She was sworn in at the Palácio de Belém and stayed in the government until the reshuffle of November 1973.¹ Her image, the ambassador Francisco Seixas da Costa recalled in 2018, “filled the newspapers and television at the time”, as “proof” of Caetano’s “opening”.¹ She was also a deputy in the National Assembly, where she chaired the Health and Welfare Committee.¹

After 25 April she moved to Brazil, where she was a federal judge in Rio de Janeiro until she retired, in 1999.¹ She died in Rio de Janeiro on 8 December 2018, aged 89.²¹