Luís de Matos Monteiro da Fonseca (born 17 May 1944 in Santo Antão,

Portuguese Cape Verde Cape Verde was a colony of the Portuguese Empire from the initial settlement of the Cape Verde Islands in 1462 until the independence of Cape Verde in 1975. History 15th century The islands of Cape Verde were discovered in 1460-62 by Pri ...

) is a

Cape Verde Cape Verde or Cabo Verde, officially the Republic of Cabo Verde, is an island country and archipelagic state of West Africa in the central Atlantic Ocean, consisting of ten volcanic islands with a combined land area of about . These islands ...

an diplomat and civil servant. He served as the

Executive Secretary Secretary is a title often used in organizations to indicate a person having a certain amount of authority, power, or importance in the organization. Secretaries announce important events and communicate to the organization. The term is derive ...

of the

Community of Portuguese Language Countries The Community of Portuguese Language Countries (; : CPLP), also known as the Lusophone Commonwealth or Lusophone Community (), is an international organization and political association of Lusophone nations across four continents, where Portug ...

between 2004 and 2008.

Biography

Early life

Matos Monteiro was a member of the

African Party for the Independence of Guinea and Cape Verde The African Party for the Independence of Guinea and Cape Verde (, PAIGC) is a political party in Guinea-Bissau. Originally formed to peacefully campaign for independence from Portugal, the party turned to armed conflict in the 1960s and was o ...

(PAIGC), which was an underground party. He was imprisoned several times at

Tarrafal camp Tarrafal was a concentration camp located in the village of Chão Bom, in the Municipality of Tarrafal, on the island of Santiago in Cape Verde. It was established in 1936, during a reorganization process of the Portuguese Estado Novo priso ...

. He worked at a fishing company named Congel in the island of São Vicente. Between 1973 and 1974, he was secretary general of the Barlavento Commercial, Industrial and Agricultural Association.

Career

After independence in 1975, he became a member of the PAIGC and PAICV party and was deputy of the National Assembly in 1975, 1980 and 1985. He worked for the Cape Verdean Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Fonseca has taken positions as the ambassador to 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 ...

and

European 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 ...

from 1987 to 1991, then

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

(1991-1994), in

Ukraine Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which Russia–Ukraine border, borders it to the east and northeast. Ukraine also borders Belarus to the nor ...

Надзвичайний і Повноважний Посол Кабо-Верде в Україні (за сумісництвом) Луїс де Матос Монтейру Да Фонсека вручив вірчі грамоти президенту України Леоніду Кравчуку. Київ. 1993 рік. Фото Володимира Самохоцького. Із фондів Укрінформу.
/ref> (1993-1994) and the

Commonwealth of Independent States The Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) is a regional organization, regional intergovernmental organization in Eurasia. It was formed following the dissolution of the Soviet Union, dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991. It covers an ar ...

(CIS) (1991-1994), to

Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...

(1999-2001) and the United Nations (2001-2004). From July 2004 to 2008, da Fonseca was the executive secretary of the Community of Portuguese Speaking Countries. From 1995 to 1997, he served as director general for Political and Cultural Affairs. Then from 1997 to 1999, da Fonseca was the Director General for Foreign Policy. He is married and has two children.

References

External links

United Nations biography
Executive secretaries of the Community of Portuguese Language Countries 1944 births Living people People from Santo Antão, Cape Verde Ambassadors of Cape Verde to the Netherlands Ambassadors of Cape Verde to the European Economic Community Ambassadors of Cape Verde to Russia Ambassadors of Cape Verde to Ukraine Permanent representatives of Cape Verde to the United Nations {{Africa-diplomat-stub