Carlos Miguel (politician)

Carlos Manuel Soares Miguel (born in 1957) is a Portuguese lawyer and politician serving as Deputy Minister for Regional Development in Prime Minister António Costa's second cabinet. Previously he was Secretary of State for Local Administration in Costa's first cabinet and Mayor of Torres Vedras. He is the first person of Romani ethnicity to become a cabinet member in Portugal.[1][2]

Carlos Miguel
Deputy Minister for Regional Development
Assumed office
26 October 2019
Prime MinisterAntónio Costa
Secretary of State for Local Administration
In office
26 November 2015 – 26 October 2019
Prime MinisterAntónio Costa
Mayor of Torres Vedras
In office
2004–2015
Personal details
Born1957
Torres Vedras, Portugal
Political partySocialist Party
Alma materUniversity of Lisbon
ProfessionLawyer
CabinetCosta's first and second

Education and career

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Miguel was born in Torres Vedras in 1957 to an ethnically Romani father and a non-Romani mother.[3]

He graduated in law at the University of Lisbon in 1982, having specialised in Legal-Economic Sciences. He worked as a lawyer for seventeen years, until 2001. In his hometown of Torres Vedras, he was alderman, president of the Municipal Assembly, deputy mayor and, finally, mayor, having held this position from 2004 to 2015.[4][5][6]

Miguel was chairman of the Board of Administration of the Water and Sanitation Municipal Services company, member of the Board of Administration of Águas do Oeste SA, chairman of the general assembly of Valorsul SA, president of the Oeste Region Intermunicipal Community and member of the Advisory Body for the Integration of Romani Communities of the Portuguese High Commission for Migrations (Grupo Consultivo para a Integração das Comunidades Ciganas do Alto Comissariado para as Migrações).[7][6]

References

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  1. ^ Rosa, Carlos (5 December 2015). "Pelo menos, três Secretários de Estado são do Oeste" [At least three Secretaries of State are from the Oeste] (in Portuguese). Revista Festa. Archived from the original on 1 March 2017. Retrieved 17 May 2020.
  2. ^ Christiana Martins (25 November 2015). "O secretário de Estado cigano de pai" [The Secretary of State that's Gypsy from his father's side] (in Portuguese). Expresso. Archived from the original on 25 July 2017. Retrieved 17 May 2020.
  3. ^ Martins, Christiana; Antunes, Marisa (27 November 2015). "Carlos Miguel. "Sou cigano, não tenho culpa"" [Carlos Miguel. “I'm a gypsy, it's not my fault”] (in Portuguese). Expresso. Retrieved 17 May 2020.
  4. ^ "Carlos Miguel – Secretary of State of Local Administration 2015–2017". Portuguese Government. Retrieved 17 May 2020.
  5. ^ "Carlos Miguel – Secretary of State of Local Administration 2017–2019". Portuguese Government. Retrieved 17 May 2020.
  6. ^ a b "Carlos Miguel – Deputy Minister for Regional Development". Portuguese Government. Retrieved 17 May 2020.
  7. ^ "Carlos Miguel, um autarca há mais de 20 anos" [Carlos Miguel, a local elected official for more than 20 years]. Diário de Notícias. 25 November 2015.