Maria Helena Semedo

Maria Helena Semedo

Maria Helena Nobre de Morais Querido Semedo , short Maria Helena Semedo (born May 29, 1959 in the Portuguese overseas province of Cape Verde ) is a Cape Verdean economist, politician and former minister. Since June 2013 she has held the position of Deputy Director General of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO).

Life

Maria Helena Semedo was born on May 29, 1959 in the Cape Verde colony, which at that time still belonged to Portugal. After finishing school, Semedo studied economics at the Instituto Superior de Economia e Gestão (ISEG) in Lisbon from 1977 to 1982 . There she also completed a post-doc in economic planning in 1982/83.

After completing her academic training, in 1984 she moved to the planning department of the Cape Verdean Ministry of Planning and Cooperation as an economist. Just two years later, Semedo moved to the Central Bank of Cape Verde , where she worked as head of the organizational development department and stayed until 1991.

In 1991, Semedo rose and for the first time took over a political office as State Secretary in the Ministry of Fisheries. Following the constitutional amendments in 1993 - which strengthened the role of Prime Minister - she was promoted to Minister for Fisheries, Agriculture and Rural Affairs, making her the island nation's first ever female minister. From 1995 to 1998 she headed the department for maritime affairs. During this time she was, among other things, the Cape Verdean representative in the Standing Intergovernmental Committee to Combat Drought in the Sahel (CILSS) and was also responsible for reorganizing the committee. From 1998 to 2001, Semedo was Minister for Tourism, Transport and Maritime Affairs. From 2001 to 2003 she was a member of the Cape Verdean National Assembly . a. she was deputy head of the economic committee.

After her political career in the island nation , she changed her profession and joined the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). There she was initially FAO representative in Niger . In October 2008 she took over the deputy head of the African FAO area and the regional head for West Africa based in Accra , Ghana . In 2009 she became head of the African FAO division. In June 2013 FAO Director José Graziano da Silva appointed Semedo as FAO Deputy Director.

Individual evidence

1. ^ ^{A b} Appointment of the Deputy Director-General (Knowledge). (PDF) In: Hundred and Forty-sixth Session of the Council. FAO, April 26, 2013, accessed September 18, 2016 . 
2. ↑ ^{a b c} Semedo, Maria Helena. Bioversity International, accessed September 18, 2016 .