Elisa Maria da Costa Guimarães Ferreira, GCC (born 17 October 1955) is a Portuguese politician and economist who has been serving as European Commissioner for Cohesion and Reforms in the administration of President Ursula von der Leyen since 2019. She previously served as vice-governor of the Bank of Portugal from 2016 until 2019.[1] She was as Member of the European Parliament (MEP) for the Socialist Party; part of the Party of European Socialists between 2004 and 2016.[2] In 2019, she was selected by Portugal to serve as a European Commissioner. Previously, she was in charge of the Ministries of Environment (1995-1999) and Public Works (1999-2001) during the governments of António Guterres.
Elisa Ferreira | |
|---|---|
_(cropped).jpg) Ferreira in 2023 | |
| European Commissioner for Cohesion and Reforms | |
| Assumed office 1 December 2019 | |
| President | Ursula von der Leyen |
| Preceded by | Corina Crețu (as Commissioner for Regional Policy) |
| Member of the European Parliament for Portugal | |
| In office 1 July 2004 – 19 June 2016 | |
| Succeeded by | Manuel António dos Santos |
| Minister of Planning | |
| In office 25 October 1999 – 6 April 2002 | |
| Prime Minister | António Guterres |
| Preceded by | João Cravinho |
| Succeeded by | Pedro Marques |
| Minister of the Environment | |
| In office 28 October 1995 – 25 October 1999 | |
| Prime Minister | António Guterres |
| Preceded by | Teresa Patrício Gouveia |
| Succeeded by | José Sócrates |
| Member of the Assembly of the Republic | |
| In office 4 April 2002 – 30 June 2004 | |
| Constituency | Braga |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Elisa Maria da Costa Guimarães Ferreira 17 October 1955 Porto, Portugal |
| Political party | Socialist Party |
| Other political affiliations | Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats Party of European Socialists |
| Education | University of Porto |
Political career edit
Member of the Portuguese Government, 1995–2002 edit
Ferreira served as Minister of Environment (1995–1999) and as Minister for Planning (1999–2001) in the government of António Guterres.
Member of the European Parliament, 2004–2016 edit
Ferreira was a Member of the European Parliament from the 2004 European election until her resignation in 2016. Throughout her time in parliament, she served as a member of the Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs. In this capacity, she drafted the committee's own-initiative report on closer coordination of economic policies, which calls for the European Central Bank (ECB) to be granted powers to monitor “financial stability in the euro-area” and to be involved “in EU-wide macroprudential supervision of systematically important financial institutions.”[3] She was also in charge of the parliament's report on the Macroeconomic Imbalance Procedure in 2011[4] and led the parliament's work on the Single Resolution Mechanism (SRM) in 2013.[5]
From 2004 to 2014, Ferreira was a member of the parliament's delegation to the ACP–EU Joint Parliamentary Assembly. In 2015, she joined the Special Committee on Tax Rulings and Other Measures Similar in Nature or Effect.
In 2012, Ferreira was part of the Socialists and Democrats (S&D) expert “alternative troika” sent to Greece to assess what measures can be taken to spur job growth.[6]
In addition to her committee assignments, Ferreira was a member of the European Parliament Intergroup on Long Term Investment and Reindustrialisation.[7] She also represented the Parliament at the 2007 United Nations Climate Change Conference in Bali[8] and the 2008 United Nations Climate Change Conference in Poznań.[9]
Banco de Portugal, 2016–2019 edit
In June 2016, Elisa Ferreira resigned from the European Parliament after she was nominated by the Portuguese Government to join the board of directors of the Bank of Portugal.[10] She was replaced by Manuel dos Santos.
European Commissioner, 2019–present edit
On 27 August 2019 Prime-Minister António Costa announced that Ferreira had been proposed as the Portuguese commissioner in Ursula von der Leyen's European Commission, to take office on 1 November 2019,[11] taking the portfolio of Cohesion and Reforms.[12] She became the first Portuguese woman to be put forward as commissioner.[13]
Other activities edit
- Instituto Nacional de Estatística (INE), Member of the Administrative Board (1989–1992)
- Associação Industrial Portuense, Executive Vice-President (1992–1994)
- Comissão de Coordenação da Região Norte, Vice-President (1988–1992)
References edit
- ^ Vice-Governor Elisa Ferreira | Banco de Portugal Archived 27 August 2019 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 1 December 2017.
- ^ "Elisa FERREIRA". www.europarl.europa.eu. Retrieved 19 September 2021.
- ^ Zoe Casey (11 February 2009), MEPs want economic policy co-ordinated European Voice.
- ^ Ian Wishart (13 April 2011), MEPs to back tougher rules on economic regulation European Voice.
- ^ Nicholas Hirst (17 December 2013), MEPs take a strong line on bank fund European Voice.
- ^ The shadow troika European Voice, 15 February 2012.
- ^ Members European Parliament Intergroup on Long Term Investment and Reindustrialisation.
- ^ Simon Taylor (21 November 2007), Bali-bound MEPs European Voice.
- ^ Jennifer Rankin (26 November 2008), MEPs flock to Poznań meeting European Voice.
- ^ Diogo Cavaleiro (16 June 2016), Governo oficializa nomeação de Elisa Ferreira e Máximo dos Santos no Banco de Portugal Jornal de Negócios.
- ^ "Costa diz que Elisa Ferreira terá pasta que "corresponde aos interesses de Portugal" na UE". Diário de Notícias (in Portuguese). Retrieved 27 August 2019.
- ^ "The von der Leyen Commission: for a Union that strives for more". European Commission. Retrieved 10 September 2019.
- ^ Meet the commissioners Politico Europe, September 9, 2019.
External links edit
- Personal profile of Elisa Ferreira in the European Parliament's database of members