Ana Maria Rosa Martins Gomes (born 9 February 1954), better known as Ana Gomes, is a Portuguese former diplomat and politician of the

Socialist Party Socialist Party is the name of many different political parties around the world. All of these parties claim to uphold some form of socialism, though they may have very different interpretations of what "socialism" means. Statistically, most of th ...

(PS). She earned wide recognition for her role in negotiating independence for

East Timor Timor-Leste, also known as East Timor, officially the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste, is a country in Southeast Asia. It comprises the eastern half of the island of Timor, the coastal exclave of Oecusse in the island's northwest, and ...

, a former Portuguese colony, and in the reestablishment of diplomatic relations between Portugal and

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania, between the Indian Ocean, Indian and Pacific Ocean, Pacific oceans. Comprising over List of islands of Indonesia, 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, ...

. She later suspended her career as a diplomat to enter

party politics ''Party Politics'' is a peer-reviewed academic journal that publishes papers in the field of political science. The journal's editor is Paul Webb of the University of Sussex, UK. It has been in publication since 1995 and is currently published b ...

, and served as a Member of the

European Parliament The European Parliament (EP) is one of the two legislative bodies of the European Union and one of its seven institutions. Together with the Council of the European Union (known as the Council and informally as the Council of Ministers), it ...

from 2004 until 2019, where she was an outspoken campaigner on corruption and human rights. On 10 September 2020, she officially announced her candidacy for the

2021 Portuguese presidential election Presidential elections were held in Portugal on 24 January 2021. The incumbent President of Portugal, President, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, was reelected for a second term. The elections were held during the COVID-19 pandemic in Portugal, COVID-19 ...

, without official support from the Socialist Party. She finished second, with 13% of the votes, the best result ever achieved by a woman in a presidential election in Portugal.

Education and early political career

Ana Gomes was born in 1954 in Alfredo da Costa Maternity Hospital, in the

Lisbon Lisbon ( ; ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 567,131, as of 2023, within its administrative limits and 3,028,000 within the Lisbon Metropolitan Area, metropolis, as of 2025. Lisbon is mainlan ...

parish of

São Sebastião da Pedreira São Sebastião da Pedreira (English: '' Saint Sebastian of the Quarry'') was a Portuguese parish (''freguesia'') in the municipality of Lisbon. With the 2012 Administrative Reform, the former ''São Sebastião da Pedreira'' parish merged with the ...

, and she grew up during the authoritarian '' Estado Novo'' regime. Her father, Jorge Pedro Martins Gomes, was an officer of the merchant marine and her mother, Maria Alice Rosa Gomes, a

homemaker Homemaking is mainly an American English, American and Canadian English, Canadian term for the management of a home, otherwise known as housework, housekeeping, housewifery or household management. It is the act of overseeing the organizational ...

. Both were politically minded and opposed the authoritarian regime. In her teenage years, she accompanied her father to the rallies of the opposition movements Democratic Unity Electoral Commission (CEUD, ''Comissão Eleitoral de Unidade Democrática'') and the Portuguese Democratic Movement/Democratic Electoral Commissions (MDP/CDE, ''Movimento Democrático Português/Comissões Democráticas Eleitorais'') that unsuccessfully ran in the fraudulent 1969 legislative election, amid extensive harassment of opposition candidates and voter manipulation. Her parents allowed her and her sister a liberal education, initially at Colégio da Baforeira, a

boarding school A boarding school is a school where pupils live within premises while being given formal instruction. The word "boarding" is used in the sense of "room and board", i.e. lodging and meals. They have existed for many centuries, and now extend acr ...

Parede Parede () is a former civil parish in the municipality of Cascais, Portugal. In 2013, the parish merged into the new parish Carcavelos e Parede. In 2001 its resident population was approximately 17,830 inhabitants, covering an area of 3.6 km2 ...

, and then the

lyceum The lyceum is a category of educational institution defined within the education system of many countries, mainly in Europe. The definition varies among countries; usually it is a type of secondary school. Basic science and some introduction to ...

São João do Estoril SAO or Sao may refer to: Places * Sao civilisation, in Middle Africa from 6th century BC to 16th century AD * Sao, a town in Boussé Department, Burkina Faso * Serb Autonomous Regions (''Srpska autonomna oblast'', SAO), during the breakup of Y ...

, and later still the Maria Amália Vaz de Carvalho Lyceum in

, where she became an activist of the Associative Movement of the Lisbon Secondary Education Students (MAEESL, ''Movimento Associativo de Estudantes do Ensino Secundário de Lisboa''), at the time led by Nuno Crato. In what she considered a "political act", Gomes formally requested to be released from

religious education In secular usage, religious education is the teaching of a particular religion (although in the United Kingdom the term ''religious instruction'' would refer to the teaching of a particular religion, with ''religious education'' referring to t ...

classes at school. She began attending the Faculty of Law of the

University of Lisbon The University of Lisbon (ULisboa; ) is a public university, public research university in Lisbon, and Portugal's largest university. It was founded in 1911, but the university's present structure dates to the 2013 merger of the former Universit ...

in 1972, a period marked by the regime's increasing academic repression climate in the aftermath of the student opposition resistance movement of the Academic Crisis in 1962, later revived by the international revolutionary movements of 1968; notably, 1972 was the year of the assassination of fellow law student Ribeiro dos Santos by agents of the

political police 300px, East_German.html" ;"title="Vladimir Putin's secret police identity card, issued by the East German">Vladimir Putin's secret police identity card, issued by the East German Stasi while he was working as a Soviet KGB liaison officer from 19 ...

, and early in the year that followed, the

Minister of Education An education minister (sometimes minister of education) is a position in the governments of some countries responsible for dealing with educational matters. Where known, the government department, ministry, or agency that develops policy and deli ...

Veiga Simão had "surveillers" (''vigilantes''; commonly referred to as the "gorillas") placed at the Faculty to enforce police control over students. Ana Gomes soon became active in student political activism against the regime as part of the underground Anti-Colonial Struggle Committees (CLAC; ''Comités de Luta Anti-Colonial''), groups with links to the Re-Organized Movement of the Party of the Proletariat (MRPP; ''Movimento Reorganizativo do Partido do Proletariado''), a clandestine communist party. As an

initiation Initiation is a rite of passage marking entrance or acceptance into a group or society. It could also be a formal admission to adulthood in a community or one of its formal components. In an extended sense, it can also signify a transformatio ...

, she was recruited to paint large murals against the

Colonial War Colonial war (in some contexts referred to as small war) is a blanket term relating to the various conflicts that arose as the result of overseas territories being settled by foreign powers creating a colony. The term especially refers to wa ...

. By the time of the

Carnation Revolution The Carnation Revolution (), code-named Operation Historic Turn (), also known as the 25 April (), was a military coup by military officers that overthrew the Estado Novo government on 25 April 1974 in Portugal. The coup produced major socia ...

that overthrew the dictatorial regime in 1974, Ana Gomes had been suspended from the Faculty of Law for "subversive activities"; she had been briefly arrested as an agitator, along with a group of fellow students, in December 1973 and was suspended the following month. At around this time, she was first employed part-time as a waitress at the restaurant Caldeiro owned by a popular actress of the time, Maria José Curado Ribeiro (she worked there alongside Rita Ribeiro and

Guida Maria Guida Maria (23 January 1950 – 2 January 2018) was a Portuguese actress. Her career spanned 60 years and included appearances on stage, in film and on television. Early life Maria was born in 1950 in Campo de Ourique, Lisbon. Her father, Lui ...

), and then as a translator for the exports department of the ''Companhia Portuguesa de Congelação'' (Portuguese Frozen Foods Company). She was present at the Largo do Carmo in the afternoon of the day of the revolution, 25 April 1974, when the forces of the

Armed Forces Movement 230px, A mural dedicated to the MFA, it reads: "Towards freedom. Long live the 25th of April!" The Armed Forces Movement (; MFA) was an organization of lower-ranking officers in the Portuguese Armed Forces. It was responsible for instigating th ...

led by Salgueiro Maia and a crowd of civilian supporters besieged the headquarters of the National Republican Guard, where Prime Minister

Marcelo Caetano Marcello José das Neves Alves Caetano (17 August 1906 – 26 October 1980) was a Portuguese politician and scholar. He was the second and last leader of the Estado Novo after succeeding António de Oliveira Salazar. He served as prime mini ...

had sought refuge, demanding he cede power. She later went to the Fort of Caxias to witness the release of the

political prisoner A political prisoner is someone imprisoned for their political activity. The political offense is not always the official reason for the prisoner's detention. There is no internationally recognized legal definition of the concept, although ...

s. She was preparing to marry a fellow law student and political activist, António Monteiro Cardoso, just as the revolution took place, but the marriage had to be postponed to the following month. She was elected to the Faculty's

student council A student council (also known as a student union, associated student body or student parliament) is an administrative organization of students in different educational institutes ranging from elementary schools to universities and research or ...

in the

electoral list An electoral list is a grouping of candidates for election, usually found in proportional or mixed electoral systems, but also in some plurality electoral systems. An electoral list can be registered by a political party (a party list) or can c ...

supported by MRPP in November 1974 (alongside

Durão Barroso Durão is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: *José Manuel Durão Barroso (born 1956), Portuguese politician and 115th Prime Minister of Portugal (2002–2004) and 11th President of the European Commission (2004–2014) *Joaquim Dur ...

and Garcia Pereira) as well as to the Faculty governing board. After the birth of her daughter in August 1975, she dropped out of law school and quit her job, and focused on working as a translator and interpreter for the press division of the Central Committee of MRPP. During the political tensions of the " Hot Summer" in 1975, during which the country was on the brink of civil war, culminating with the attempted Communist coup of 25 November, Ana Gomes was on the side of the democratic forces, supporting General

Ramalho Eanes Ramalho is a Portuguese surname. Ramalho may refer to: People *João Ramalho (1493–1580), Portuguese explorer *Ramalho Ortigão (1836–1915), Portuguese writer *Rosa Ramalho (1888–1977), Portuguese ceramist *José Ramalho (rower) (1901–1967) ...

and the

against the

Portuguese Communist Party The Portuguese Communist Party (, , PCP) is a Communism, communist and Marxism–Leninism, Marxist–Leninist List of political parties in Portugal, political party in Portugal. It is one of the strongest List of communist parties, communist par ...

. Shortly after, however, in January 1976, disillusioned with the party's disbelief in the

Portuguese transition to democracy Portugal's redemocratization process started with the Carnation Revolution, Carnation Revolution of 1974. It ended with the enactment of the Constitution of Portugal in 1976. Background: the Salazar-Caetano era The 28 May 1926 coup d'état ...

, she abandoned MRPP and active politics. She returned to work as a secretary for an import/export company and resumed her law degree after working hours, finally completing it in 1979. She was working as a

teaching assistant A teaching assistant (TA) or education assistant (EA) is an individual who assists a professor or teacher with instructional responsibilities. TAs include ''graduate teaching assistants'' (GTAs), who are graduate students; ''undergraduate teach ...

at the Faculty of Law and training to become a

lawyer A lawyer is a person who is qualified to offer advice about the law, draft legal documents, or represent individuals in legal matters. The exact nature of a lawyer's work varies depending on the legal jurisdiction and the legal system, as w ...

under Manuel Figueira, a specialist in

public international law International law, also known as public international law and the law of nations, is the set of Rule of law, rules, norms, Customary law, legal customs and standards that State (polity), states and other actors feel an obligation to, and generall ...

and

maritime law Maritime law or admiralty law is a body of law that governs nautical issues and private maritime disputes. Admiralty law consists of both domestic law on maritime activities, and private international law governing the relationships between pri ...

, when she was challenged by friends João Ramos Pinto and José de Freitas Ferraz to apply for the

diplomatic service Diplomatic service is the body of diplomats and foreign policy officers maintained by the government of a country to communicate with the governments of other countries. Diplomatic personnel obtain diplomatic immunity when they are accredited to o ...

. She came out on top of all applicants in the concours to gain access to the

Ministry of Foreign Affairs In many countries, the ministry of foreign affairs (abbreviated as MFA or MOFA) is the highest government department exclusively or primarily responsible for the state's foreign policy and relations, diplomacy, bilateral, and multilateral r ...

. * 1981 - Community Law Course, National Institute of Administration, Lisbon * 1988 - Summer course at the International Institute for Human Rights,

University of Strasbourg The University of Strasbourg (, Unistra) is a public research university located in Strasbourg, France, with over 52,000 students and 3,300 researchers. Founded in the 16th century by Johannes Sturm, it was a center of intellectual life during ...

Career in the diplomatic service

Ana Gomes became a career diplomat in 1980 and worked for the department of the

that dealt with the negotiations for the accession of Portugal to the

European Economic Community The European Economic Community (EEC) was a regional organisation created by the Treaty of Rome of 1957,Today the largely rewritten treaty continues in force as the ''Treaty on the functioning of the European Union'', as renamed by the Lisbo ...

. During the 1980 presidential election, Gomes was invited to join the National Commission to Support the Reelection of President Eanes (CNARPE; ''Comissão Nacional de Apoio à Reeleição do Presidente Eanes'') as a jurist. In 1982, she was chosen to replace

José Filipe Moraes Cabral José Filipe Moraes Cabral (born 6 December 1950) is a Portugal, Portuguese academic, author and diplomat who currently serves as the Portuguese Permanent Representative to the United Nations. Career in the Diplomatic Service Cabral joined Portu ...

as the diplomatic advisor to President

António Ramalho Eanes António dos Santos Ramalho Eanes (born 25 January 1935) is a Portuguese general and politician who was the 16th president of Portugal from 1976 to 1986. Background Born at Alcains, Castelo Branco, he is the son of Manuel dos Santos Eanes, ...

, and was in the position until the end of his term in 1986, additionally, she acted as the President's personal

interpreter Interpreting is translation from a spoken or signed language into another language, usually in real time to facilitate live communication. It is distinguished from the translation of a written text, which can be more deliberative and make use o ...

when meeting foreign dignitaries. Among the dossiers she at the time came into contact with was the unfinished business of the

decolonisation Decolonization is the undoing of colonialism, the latter being the process whereby Imperialism, imperial nations establish and dominate foreign territories, often overseas. The meanings and applications of the term are disputed. Some scholar ...

(formerly a Portuguese colonial possession, abandoned after the

, and subsequently invaded by Indonesia), with which she worked with the President's special advisor for East Timor, former

Prime Minister A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...

Maria de Lourdes Pintasilgo Maria de Lourdes Ruivo da Silva de Matos Pintasilgo (; 18 January 1930 – 10 July 2004) was a Portuguese chemical engineer and politician. She was the first and to date only woman to serve as Prime Minister of Portugal, and the second woman to ...

. Subsequently, she served in the Portuguese Missions at the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

, and also in the Embassies in

Geneva Geneva ( , ; ) ; ; . is the List of cities in Switzerland, second-most populous city in Switzerland and the most populous in French-speaking Romandy. Situated in the southwest of the country, where the Rhône exits Lake Geneva, it is the ca ...

Tokyo Tokyo, officially the Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan, capital and List of cities in Japan, most populous city in Japan. With a population of over 14 million in the city proper in 2023, it is List of largest cities, one of the most ...

and

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

. After Indonesian President

Suharto Suharto (8 June 1921 – 27 January 2008) was an Indonesian Officer (armed forces), military officer and politician, and dictator, who was the second and longest serving president of Indonesia, serving from 1967 to 1998. His 32 years rule, cha ...

's fall from power in 1998, Ana Gomes was part of the diplomatic talks about East Timor between the Portuguese authorities led by

Jaime Gama Jaime José de Matos da Gama (born 8 June 1947) is a Portugal, Portuguese former politician. In the Government of Portugal, Portuguese government, he served as Ministry of Internal Administration (Portugal), Minister of Internal Administration ...

, and Indonesian authorities led by

Ali Alatas Ali Alatas ( '; 4 November 193211 December 2008) was an Indonesian diplomat of Ba 'Alawi sada descent, who served as the country's foreign minister from 1988 to 1999. He was Indonesia's longest serving foreign minister. Education and early care ...

. When it was decided Portugal would set up an

Interests Section A protecting power is a country that represents another sovereign state—the protected power—in a third country where the protected power lacks its own formal diplomatic representation (e.g., lacks an embassy or consulate). It is common fo ...

Jakarta Jakarta (; , Betawi language, Betawi: ''Jakartè''), officially the Special Capital Region of Jakarta (; ''DKI Jakarta'') and formerly known as Batavia, Dutch East Indies, Batavia until 1949, is the capital and largest city of Indonesia and ...

(with the

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

acting as

protecting power A protecting power is a country that represents another sovereign state—the protected power—in a third country where the protected power lacks its own formal diplomatic representation (e.g., lacks an embassy or consulate). It is common fo ...

), she was chosen to head it. In 2000, with the reestablishment of bilateral relations with Indonesia, Ana Gomes was the first Portuguese Ambassador in Jakarta, having played an important role both in the process leading up to the independence of

and in the reestablishment of diplomatic relations between Portugal and Indonesia. According to ambassador Fernando de Oliveira Neves, as relayed in his work ''O Negociador'' (2019), Gomes showed "unusual professionalism" and had an "extraordinary role" in the negotiations, and became a friend of Ali Alatas who came to admire her. *1980 - Entered the Diplomatic Service through public competition, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Lisbon *1982-1986 - Diplomatic Advisor of the President of the Republic, General

, Lisbon *1986-1989 - First Secretary at the Portuguese Permanent Representation at the UN and other International Organisations (responsible for Human Rights and Humanitarian Law), Geneva *1989-1991 - Counsellor at the Portuguese Embassy in Tokyo *1991-1994 - Political Counsellor at the Portuguese Embassy in London *1992 - Member of the European Union Presidency team working on the Middle East Peace Process *1992 -1994 - Member of the Portuguese Delegation at the UN Human Rights Commission in Geneva *1994 - Head of the Europe Unit, Political Affairs Department,

, Lisbon *1995 -1996 - Chief of Staff of the Secretary of State for European Affairs, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Lisbon *1997-1998 - Coordinator of the Portuguese Delegation at the

UN Security Council The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations (UN) and is charged with ensuring international peace and security, recommending the admission of new UN members to the General Assembly, an ...

, New York *1999 - 2000 - Director of the Portuguese Interests Section at the Embassy of the Netherlands, Jakarta *2000 - 2003 - Ambassador of Portugal in Indonesia, Jakarta

Political career

Early beginnings

In December 2001, following the resignation of Socialist Prime Minister

António Guterres António Manuel de Oliveira Guterres (born 30 April 1949) is a Portuguese politician and diplomat who is serving as the ninth and current secretary-general of the United Nations since 2017. A member of the Socialist Party (Portugal), ...

, President

Jorge Sampaio Jorge Fernando Branco de Sampaio (; 18 September 1939 – 10 September 2021) was a Portuguese lawyer and politician who was the 18th President of Portugal from 1996 to 2006. Sampaio was a member of the Socialist Party, a party which he ...

dissolved the Assembly of the Republic and called for fresh legislative elections; the

, led by Ferro Rodrigues, then lost the 2002 election to

Social Democratic Party The name Social Democratic Party or Social Democrats has been used by many political parties in various countries around the world. Such parties are most commonly aligned to social democracy as their political ideology. Active parties Form ...

. Ana Gomes was indignant Ferro Rodrigues, who she regarded as an honest politician, lost the election, and joined the Socialist Party the day after the election, on 18 March 2002. Later that same year, she was invited to positions in the party leadership and to join the party's

s for the

. She was elected Member of the European Parliament in the

2004 election The following elections occurred in the year 2004. Africa * 2004 Algerian presidential election * 2004 Botswana general election * 2004 Cameroonian presidential election * 2004 Comorian legislative election * 2004 Equatorial Guinean legislativ ...

, and served for three terms (reelected in 2009 and in 2014). Political responsibilities: *2002 - Elected Member of the National and Political Committees of the Socialist Party *2003 - 2004 - National Secretary for External Relations of the Socialist Party *2004 - ongoing - Member of the National Committee of the Socialist Party

Member of the European Parliament, 2004–2019

In parliament, Gomes served on the Committee on Foreign Affairs (2004–2014), its

Subcommittee on Security and Defence The Subcommittee on Security and Defence (SEDE) is a subcommittee of the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the European Parliament. It is responsible for European security and defence policy, including institutions, capabilities and operations, as we ...

(2004–2019), its

Subcommittee on Human Rights The Subcommittee on Human Rights (DROI, after the French name ''Sous-commission des droits de l'homme du Parlement européen'') is a subcommittee of the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the European Parliament. It is responsible for issues of human ...

(2009–2014) and the

Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs A committee or commission is a body of one or more persons subordinate to a deliberative assembly or other form of organization. A committee may not itself be considered to be a form of assembly or a decision-making body. Usually, an assembly o ...

(2014–2019). From 2006 until 2007, Gomes was also a member the

Temporary Committee on the alleged use of European countries by the CIA for the transport and illegal detention of prisoners The Temporary Committee on the alleged use of European countries by the CIA for the transport and illegal detention of prisoners, widely referred to as the CIA committee, was a Committee of the European Parliament that was set up in 2006 to investi ...

. She authored a 2008 report on China's role in Africa, which criticised Chinese imports of natural resources from the continent. In 2018, she chaired a delegation of the European Parliament to investigate the rule of law and money laundering in Malta. In addition to her committee assignments, Gomes was part of the parliament's delegations to the

ACP–EU Joint Parliamentary Assembly The ACP–EU Joint Parliamentary Assembly was created to bring together the elected representatives of the European Union (the Members of the European Parliament) and the elected representatives of the African, Caribbean and Pacific states ("ACP ...

(2004–2009) and for relations with Iraq as well as of the Intergroup on

Western Sahara Western Sahara is a territorial dispute, disputed territory in Maghreb, North-western Africa. It has a surface area of . Approximately 30% of the territory () is controlled by the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR); the remaining 70% is ...

and the Group of Friends European Parliament/

. She also participated in a number of European Parliament missions to Afghanistan, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Chad, China, Democratic Republic of Congo, East Timor, Kosovo, Lebanon, Indonesia (including Aceh), Iraq, Israel, Palestine, Sudan (Darfur), Turkey, USA, etc. She took part in the following Election Observation Missions (EOM): :*

Ethiopia Ethiopia, officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country located in the Horn of Africa region of East Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the north, Djibouti to the northeast, Somalia to the east, Ken ...

(2005) - Head of the EU's EOM :*

Democratic Republic of Congo The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), also known as the DR Congo, Congo-Kinshasa, or simply the Congo (the last ambiguously also referring to the neighbouring Republic of the Congo), is a country in Central Africa. By land area, it is t ...

(2006) - Member of the

's EOM :*

(2007) - Head of the European Parliament's EOM :*

Angola Angola, officially the Republic of Angola, is a country on the west-Central Africa, central coast of Southern Africa. It is the second-largest Portuguese-speaking world, Portuguese-speaking (Lusophone) country in both total area and List of c ...

(2008) - Member of the European Parliament's EOM

Political positions and controversy

During her time in the European Parliament, Gomes' main areas of activity were:

migration Migration, migratory, or migrate may refer to: Human migration * Human migration, physical movement by humans from one region to another ** International migration, when peoples cross state boundaries and stay in the host state for some minimum le ...

, human rights, security and defence,

international relations International relations (IR, and also referred to as international studies, international politics, or international affairs) is an academic discipline. In a broader sense, the study of IR, in addition to multilateral relations, concerns al ...

gender issues Gender is the range of social, psychological, cultural, and behavioral aspects of being a man (or boy), woman (or girl), or third gender. Although gender often corresponds to sex, a transgender person may identify with a gender other than ...

and development. In 2010 she signed the

Spinelli Group The Spinelli Group is an initiative founded with a view to reinvigorate the endeavour for federalisation of the European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic uni ...

manifesto supporting a federal Europe. In 2012, Gomes argued she was held at

Bahrain International Airport Bahrain International Airport (, romanized: ''Maṭār al-Baḥrayn al-dwalī'') is the international airport of Bahrain. Located on Muharraq Island, adjacent to the capital Manama and the city of Muharraq, it serves as the hub for the nation ...

for over seven hours despite holding a

diplomatic passport A passport is an official travel document issued by a government that certifies a person's Identity (social science), identity and nationality for international travel. A passport allows its bearer to enter and temporarily reside in a foreign ...

when she tried to enter Bahrain during a stopover on the way to

Benghazi Benghazi () () is the List of cities in Libya, second-most-populous city in Libya as well as the largest city in Cyrenaica, with an estimated population of 859,000 in 2023. Located on the Gulf of Sidra in the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean, Ben ...

Libya Libya, officially the State of Libya, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to Egypt–Libya border, the east, Sudan to Libya–Sudan border, the southeast, Chad to Chad–L ...

. Gomes faced accusations of

antisemitism Antisemitism or Jew-hatred is hostility to, prejudice towards, or discrimination against Jews. A person who harbours it is called an antisemite. Whether antisemitism is considered a form of racism depends on the school of thought. Antisemi ...

for inviting anti-Israel speakers to the European Parliament and allegedly referring to Jewish organizations as a "perverse lobby". Her

activism Activism consists of efforts to promote, impede, direct or intervene in social, political, economic or environmental reform with the desire to make Social change, changes in society toward a perceived common good. Forms of activism range from ...

and membership in the migration focused

NGO A non-governmental organization (NGO) is an independent, typically nonprofit organization that operates outside government control, though it may get a significant percentage of its funding from government or corporate sources. NGOs often focus ...

Friends of Europe were commented upon in an interview by the Romanian prime-minister Viorica Dancila as "totally uninspired". Two requests made by the Deputy Attorney General of

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. Featuring Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point in continental Europe, Portugal borders Spain to its north and east, with which it share ...

in 2014 and 2017 to waive Ana Gomes' parliamentary immunity with respect to criminal proceedings against her in connection with statements made by her in a television debate and in an interview with the Portuguese Journal "Diário de Noticias" whereas the newspaper article indicated that investigations were under way in relation to the Viana shipyards and in this connection Gomes commented that "something was starting to happen with regard to a case of blatant corruption" have both been decided against by the

Defamation law suits

Mário Ferreira vs. Ana Gomes 2019

In April 2019 Gomes referred on

Twitter Twitter, officially known as X since 2023, is an American microblogging and social networking service. It is one of the world's largest social media platforms and one of the most-visited websites. Users can share short text messages, image ...

to the CEO of Douro Azul,

Mário Ferreira Mário Nuno dos Santos Ferreira (born 1968) is a Portuguese businessman and entrepreneur.. He is the chairman of Media Capital, a major Portuguese media company with holdings including CNN Portugal. In March 2024, he acquired a 4.6% stake in Sava ...

, as a "crook" in connection with the shipyard case in Viana do Castelo. This case involved allegations of irregularities and corruption in the shipyard industry, which attracted significant media attention and public scrutiny. Gomes derogatory remarks about Ferreira led to a legal dispute. A court in

Porto Porto (), also known in English language, English as Oporto, is the List of cities in Portugal, second largest city in Portugal, after Lisbon. It is the capital of the Porto District and one of the Iberian Peninsula's major urban areas. Porto c ...

ultimately ruled in favor of the CEO and found Gomes guilty of defamation and insulting behavior. As a result, she was ordered to pay an indemnity of EUR 10,000 in damages to the CEO as compensation for the harm caused by her statements.

Mário Ferreira vs. Ana Gomes 2024

In January 2024, Gomes faced trial at the Bolhão Court in Porto, in a case involving allegations of aggravated defamation against entrepreneur Mário Ferreira. This marked the fourth legal proceeding initiated by Mário Ferreira against Ana Gomes. The charges stem, once again, from statements made by Gomes X (formerly Twitter) in March 2021, following a report by

Expresso Expresso may refer to: * Espresso, a coffee beverage * eXpresso, a hosted workspace for Microsoft Office communities * Expresso (Donkey Kong), a character in the ''Donkey Kong Country'' series * ''Expresso'' (newspaper), based in Lisbon, Portug ...

detailing Mário Ferreira's investments, including private aviation. This occurred just one month after an OMNI aircraft, purportedly returning to Portugal, was intercepted in

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

with over 500 kilograms of drugs on board. In one of her online posts, Ana Gomes wrote:

How interesting! Thanks to Expresso, we discover that the multifaceted shipowner Mário Ferreira is now investing not only in Media Capital/TVI but also in another struggling profit business: private aviation... Will he be flying to Brazil, following the OMNI's footsteps?

During the trial, Gomes emphasized that her intention had been solely to highlight the lack of control at national aerodromes, where various irregularities are known to occur, while at the same accusing Mário Ferreira of being a

straw man A straw man fallacy (sometimes written as strawman) is the informal fallacy of refuting an argument different from the one actually under discussion, while not recognizing or acknowledging the distinction. One who engages in this fallacy is said ...

for foreign investors engaged in

money laundering Money laundering is the process of illegally concealing the origin of money obtained from illicit activities (often known as dirty money) such as drug trafficking, sex work, terrorism, corruption, and embezzlement, and converting the funds i ...

. Gomes ended up being accquited from her charges she was facing from Mário Ferreira.

Personal life

Ana Gomes civilly married a colleague of the Faculty of Law of the

, António Monteiro Cardoso (whom she called "Toné") on 20 May 1974, shortly after the

, in a

register office A register office, commonly referred to unofficially as a registry office or registrar's office is an office in the United Kingdom, Republic of Ireland and some Commonwealth countries responsible for the civil registration of births, deaths, marri ...

in Alcântara,

. The couple then had lunch in a nearby restaurant, Galão, with their parents, the groom's sister, and the

best man A groomsman or usher is one of the male attendants to the groom in a wedding ceremony. Usually, the groom selects close friends and relatives to serve as groomsmen, and it is considered an honor to be selected. From his groomsmen, the groom usuall ...

, António Luís Cotrim. According to Gomes, the whole affair was brief and there was not even a picture taken of the event ("we did not care for such bourgeois vices"), as the couple were then busy actively engaged with political work with

MRPP The Portuguese Workers' Communist Party/Re-Organized Movement of the Party of the Proletariat (, PCTP/MRPP) is a Maoist political party in Portugal. History and overview The party was founded in 1970 as the (MRPP), led by Arnaldo de Matos. ...

party as the country was transitioning to democracy. The marriage was happy and produced one daughter, Joana, but was ultimately broken off about one year later. She later married fellow diplomat António Franco in 1994, whom she had met in 1983 while working for President

. Franco died in 2020. She currently lives in

Cascais Cascais () is a town and municipality in the Lisbon District of Portugal, located on the Portuguese Riviera, Estoril Coast. The municipality has a total of 214,158 inhabitants in an area of 97.40 km2. Cascais is an important tourism in Port ...

Electoral history

Sintra City Council election, 2009

, - ! colspan="2" , Party ! Candidate ! align="center" style="width: 50px", Votes ! align="center" style="width: 50px", % ! align="center" style="width: 50px", Seats ! align="center" style="width: 50px", +/− , - , style="background:;", , align="left",

PSD PSD may refer to: Educational bodies * Poudre School District, a school district in Larimer County, Colorado Government and military * Payment Services Directive, EU regulation for payment services * Pesticides Safety Directorate, UK * President ...

/ CDS–PP/ PPM/ MPT , align=left ,

Fernando Seara Fernando is a Spanish and Portuguese given name and a surname common in Spain, Portugal, Italy, France, Switzerland, and former Spanish or Portuguese colonies in Latin America, Africa and Asia (like the Philippines, India, and Sri Lanka). It is e ...

, , 62,314 , , 45.3 , , 6 , , ±0 , - , style="background:;", , align="left", PS , align=left , Ana Gomes , , 46,458 , , 33.7 , , 4 , , ±0 , - , style="background:;", , align="left", CDU , align=left , José Baptista Alves , , 15,293 , , 11.1 , , 1 , , ±0 , - , style="background:;", , align="left", BE , align=left , André Marona Beja , , 8,121 , , 5.9 , , 0 , , ±0 , - , style="background:;", , align="left",

PCTP/MRPP The Portuguese Workers' Communist Party/Re-Organized Movement of the Party of the Proletariat (, PCTP/MRPP) is a Maoist political party in Portugal. History and overview The party was founded in 1970 as the (MRPP), led by Arnaldo de Matos. ...

, align=left ,

José Mestre José Mestre (1956 – December 17, 2021) was a man known for having a , haemangioma tumor on his face. The tumor started forming on his lips when he was 14. Mestre had not received treatment for the tumor due to "years of medical misinformatio ...

, , 1,497 , , 1.1 , , 0 , , ±0 , - , colspan="3" align="left", Blank/Invalid ballots , 4,016 , , 2.9 , , – , , – , - style="background-color:#E9E9E9" , colspan="3" align="left", Turnout , 137,699 , , 47.92 , , 11 , , ±0 , - , colspan="7" align=left, Source: Autárquicas 2009

Presidential election, 2021

, - ! colspan="2" , Candidate ! Votes ! align="center" style="width: 50px", % , - , style="background:;", , align=left ,

Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa Marcelo Nuno Duarte Rebelo de Sousa (; born 12 December 1948) is a Portuguese politician and academic who is the president of Portugal since 2016. He is a member of the Social Democratic Party, though he suspended his party membership for the ...

, , 2,531,692 , , 60.7 , - , style="background:;", , align=left , Ana Gomes , , 540,823 , , 13.0 , - , style="background:#202056;", , align=left ,

André Ventura André Claro Amaral Ventura (; born 15 January 1983) is a Portuguese far-right politician, former sports pundit and trainee priest, and founder of the right-wing populist political party Chega. He acts as the leader of the opposition since Cheg ...

, , 497,746 , , 11.9 , - , style="background:;", , align=left ,

João Ferreira João Ferreira may refer to: * Bigode (João Ferreira, 1922–2003), Brazilian footballer * João Augusto Ferreira de Almeida (1873–1917), executed Portuguese soldier * João Ferreira (politician) (born 1978), Portuguese politician * João Fe ...

, , 179,764 , , 4.3 , - , style="background:;", , align=left ,

Marisa Matias Marisa Isabel dos Santos Matias (born 20 February 1976) is a Portuguese sociologist and politician. She is a member of the Assembly of the Republic since 2024. She was also a Member of the European Parliament, between 2009 and 2024. She current ...

, , 165,127 , , 4.0 , - , style="background:;", , align=left , Tiago Mayan Gonçalves , , 134,991 , , 3.2 , - , style="background:#00939d;", , align=left , Vitorino Silva , , 123,031 , , 3.0 , - , colspan="2" align="left", Blank/Invalid ballots , 85,182 , , – , - style="background-color:#E9E9E9" , colspan="2" align="left", Turnout , 4,258,356 , , 39.26 , - , colspan="4" align=left, Source: Comissão Nacional de Eleições

Publications

Numerous articles published in the ''Courrier Internacional'', ''

Diário de Notícias () is a Portuguese weekly newspaper published in Lisbon, Portugal. Established since 1864, the paper is considered a newspaper of record for Portugal. History and profile ''Diário de Notícias'' was first published in Lisbon on 29 December 1 ...

'', ''

'', ''Jornal de Leiria'', ''Jornal de Notícias'', '' Público'' and ''Visão''. Book ''Todo-o-Terreno - 4 Anos de Reflexões'' (RCP Edições, November 2008, Lisbon)

Other activities

*Member of the Student Union, Classical

, Lisbon (1974–1976) *Member of the Board of the Union of Portuguese Diplomats (1982–1986 and 1994–1996) *Deputy-Chair of Parliamentarians for Nuclear Nonproliferation and Disarmament, European Parliament Section *Member of the Portuguese chapter of

Amnesty International Amnesty International (also referred to as Amnesty or AI) is an international non-governmental organization focused on human rights, with its headquarters in the United Kingdom. The organization says that it has more than ten million members a ...

*Member of International Development NGOs

CIDAC Centro de Investigacion para el Desarrollo A.C. is a non-profit independent think tank devoted to the study and interpretation of Mexican reality and the presentation of viable proposals for the development of Mexico in the medium and long term. ...

and Engenho & Obra *Member of the Portuguese Association of Women Jurists

Recognition

National orders

Grand Cross of the

Military Order of Christ The Military Order of Christ is a Honorific orders of Portugal, Portuguese honorific order. It is the former order of Knights Templar as it was reconstituted in Portugal. Before 1910, it was known as the Royal Military Order of Our Lord Jesus Chr ...

(9 June 2000) * PRT Order of Prince Henry - Grand Officer BAR

Grand Officer of the

Order of Prince Henry The Order of Prince Henry () is a Portuguese order of knighthood created on 2 June 1960, to commemorate the quincentenary of the death of the Portuguese ''infante'' Prince Henry the Navigator, one of the main initiators of the Age of Discovery. M ...

(18 March 1986) * POR Ordem do Merito Comendador BAR

Commander of the

Order of Merit The Order of Merit () is an order of merit for the Commonwealth realms, recognising distinguished service in the armed forces, science, art, literature, or the promotion of culture. Established in 1902 by Edward VII, admission into the order r ...

(27 April 1993)

Foreign orders

*Insígnia of the

Order of Timor-Leste The Order of Timor-Leste () is the highest Order (honour), honour currently awarded by Timor-Leste. Established in 2009, the order was created after the original honours granted by Timor-Leste. It is of a more general and broader nature than the ...

(2009)''Decreto do Presidente da República n.° 25/2014 de 27 de Agosto''
retrieved 18 September 2019.

Awards

*''Ruth Pearce Award'' for Human Rights by Human Rights NGOs, Geneva, 1989 *''Personality of the Year Award - 1999'',

weekly newspaper, Lisbon, 1999 *''Personality of the Year Award - 1999'', Association of International Correspondents, Lisbon, 1999 *''Human Rights Award of the Assembly of the Republic (Portuguese parliament)'', 1999 *''Activist of the Year - 2008'',

The Parliament Magazine ''The Parliament Magazine'' is a monthly EU politics, policy and culture magazine. Its website, www.theparliamentmagazine.eu, is a forum for discussion on the latest developments in EU politics and policy, featuring regular contributions from pr ...

, Brussels, 2008

References

External links

* *

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gomes, Ana Maria 1954 births Living people Ambassadors of Portugal to Indonesia Grand Crosses of the Order of Christ (Portugal) Grand Officers of the Order of Prince Henry Socialist Party (Portugal) MEPs MEPs for Portugal 2004–2009 MEPs for Portugal 2009–2014 MEPs for Portugal 2014–2019 21st-century women MEPs for Portugal Politicians from Lisbon Diplomats from Lisbon People from Cascais Portuguese women diplomats Portuguese women ambassadors Portuguese human rights activists Candidates for President of Portugal Portuguese women activists Women human rights activists