Maria Leonor Couceiro Pizarro Beleza de Mendonça Tavares GCC GCIH (born 23 November 1948) is a Portuguese lawyer and politician.

Career

She is daughter of José Júlio Pizarro Beleza and Maria dos Prazeres Lançarote Couceiro da Costa. Her brother is former Minister of Finance Miguel Beleza and her sisters are Maria dos Prazeres Beleza, a former judge in the Portuguese Supreme Court, and Teresa Pizarro Beleza, the first woman to head the Faculty of Law at NOVA University Lisbon. Member of the Social Democratic Party, she served twice as Minister of Health in the Portuguese government. She is the 1st President of the Champalimaud Foundation. Leonor Beleza is a graduate 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 ...

Law School, where she has also worked as an assistant professor. During a distinguished professional career she has held a number of high-profile public offices. Among other positions, she was Secretary of State of the Presidency of the Cabinet (1982–1983), Secretary of State for Social Security (1983–1985), and Minister of Health (1985–1990) in the Portuguese Government. She has been elected as a Member of Parliament on several occasions and on two occasions she has served as Vice President of the Assembly of the Republic (1991–1994, 2002–2005). In addition to her prominent role in public affairs Mrs Beleza has also played an active role in the private sector. Leonor Beleza is currently the Chairman of the Portuguese League for People with Physical Disabilities, chairman of the advisory board of the D. Pedro IV Foundation, and a member of the General Councils of the CEBI Foundation and of the Gil Foundation. She is also a vigorous campaigner for women's rights, a cause she has supported for many years. In 2004, Leonor Beleza was appointed Chairman of the Champalimaud Foundation by the will of

António Champalimaud António de Sommer Champalimaud (19 March 1918 in Lapa (Lisbon), Lapa, Lisbon – 8 May 2004 in Lapa, Lisbon) was a Portuguese people, Portuguese banker and industrialist. He was the wealthiest man in Portugal, gaining his fortune through insuran ...

. Leonor Beleza headed the ''Banco Totta & Açores'' Supervisory Board (1995–1998) and member of the BCP's (''Banco Comercial Português'') General Council and Supervisory Board (2011–2013).

Marriage and issue

She married Diogo de Mendonça Rodrigues Tavares and had two children: * Mariana da Conceição Beleza de Mendonça Tavares (born

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 ...

, 4 December 1975); by Bernardo Maria Correia Mendes Pinheiro Torres (born Lisbon, 29 February 1976) she had one daughter Maria Beatriz Beleza Tavares Pinheiro Torres (born Lisbon, 13 October 1999) * Miguel Couceiro Beleza de Mendonça Tavares (born 8 March 1979)

AIDS scandal

In 2001, a Portuguese court indicted Beleza propagating a contagious disease during her time as Health Minister during the 1980s. More than 100 Portuguese haemophiliacs had become infected with the

AIDS The HIV, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is a retrovirus that attacks the immune system. Without treatment, it can lead to a spectrum of conditions including acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). It is a Preventive healthcare, pr ...

virus after receiving transfusions of contaminated plasma that had been imported and distributed by the public health service, part of the larger worldwide contaminated haemophilia blood products scandal.

Honours

Portuguese National Honours

Grand-Cross of the Order of Christ, Portugal (9 June 2005) * PRT Order of Prince Henry - Grand Cross BAR

Grand-Cross 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 ...

, Portugal (5 September 2017)

Foreign Honours

ISL Icelandic Order of the Falcon - Grand Cross BAR

Grand-Cross of the

Order of the Falcon The Order of the Falcon () is the only order of chivalry in Iceland, founded by Christian X of Denmark, King Christian X of Denmark and Iceland on 3 July 1921. The award is awarded for merit for Iceland and humanity and has five degrees. Nowaday ...

Iceland Iceland is a Nordic countries, Nordic island country between the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic and Arctic Oceans, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge between North America and Europe. It is culturally and politically linked with Europe and is the regi ...

(25 February 1994)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Beleza, Leonor Living people 1948 births Social Democratic Party (Portugal) politicians Health ministers of Portugal Contaminated haemophilia blood products 20th-century Portuguese women politicians Women government ministers of Portugal