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António Vitorino

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António Vitorino
GCC
Vitorino in 2023
Director General of the International Organization for Migration
In office
29 June 2018 – 29 September 2023
Preceded byWilliam Lacy Swing
Succeeded byAmy Pope
European Commissioner for Justice and Home Affairs
In office
13 September 1999 – 31 October 2004
PresidentRomano Prodi
Preceded byAnita Gradin
Succeeded byFranco Frattini
Minister of the Presidency
In office
28 October 1995 – 25 November 1997
Prime MinisterAntónio Guterres
Preceded byFernando Nogueira
Succeeded byJorge Coelho
Minister of Defence
In office
28 October 1995 – 25 November 1997
Prime MinisterAntónio Guterres
Preceded byAntónio Figueiredo Lopes
Succeeded byJosé Veiga Simão
Judge of the Constitutional Court
In office
2 August 1989 – 10 March 1994
Appointed byAssembly of the Republic
Preceded byArmando Marques Guedes
Succeeded byMaria Fernanda Pereira
Member of the Assembly of the Republic
In office
10 March 2005 – 14 October 2009
ConstituencySetúbal
In office
31 October 1995 – 12 September 1999
ConstituencySetúbal
In office
5 October 1980 – 1 August 1989
ConstituencyPorto (1980–1985)
Braga (1985–1987)
Guarda (1987–1989)
Personal details
Born
António Manuel de Carvalho Ferreira Vitorino

(1957-01-12) 12 January 1957 (age 67)
Lisbon, Portugal
Political partySocialist Party
Children2
Alma materUniversity of Lisbon
OccupationLawyer • Politician

António Manuel de Carvalho Ferreira Vitorino (born 12 January 1957) is a Portuguese lawyer and politician of the Socialist Party (PS).[1]

Career

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Career in national politics

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Vitorino graduated in law from the University of Lisbon. A lawyer by training, he was first elected to the Assembly of the Republic (Portugal), the national parliament, in the 1980 elections. In 1983, he served as Secretary of State for Parliamentary Affairs, a junior minister role in the grand coalition government led by Prime Minister Mário Soares. After the government's defeat in the 1985 elections, Vitorino became a deputy secretary for the Governor of Macau.

In 1989, Vitorino returned to Lisbon to become a judge of the Constitutional Court, ending his term in 1994.[2]

In 1995, Vitorino became Minister for National Defence[3] and Deputy Prime Minister in the first government of António Guterres. He resigned in 1997 for being suspected of tax evasion.[4]

Member of the European Commission, 1998–2004

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Official portrait, 1999

After being cleared of the charges, Vitorino was appointed European Commissioner for Justice and Home Affairs, during the commission led by President Romano Prodi.[5] As a representative of the European Commission, he took part in the conversations that drew up the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union and the Convention on the Future of Europe. At the convention, he chaired a reflection group on the European Court of Justice.[6]

When Guterres ruled himself out of the contest for the role of President of the European Commission in June 2004, he instead threw his support behind Vitorino. The post eventually went to José Manuel Barroso.[7] José Sócrates become the new leader of the party instead of Vitorino, going on to win a majority in the 2005 general election.

Career in the private sector

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In 2005, Vitorino became a partner at Cuatrecasas, Gonçalves Pereira & Associados, one of the most influential law firms in the Iberian Peninsula. Between 2006 and 2007, he served as member of the Amato Group, a group of high-level European politicians unofficially working on rewriting the Treaty establishing a Constitution for Europe into what became known as the Treaty of Lisbon following its rejection by French and Dutch voters.

From November 2008 until June 2009, Vitorino served as member of a six-member panel of EU experts advising the Bulgarian government. Set up by Bulgaria's Prime Minister Sergei Stanishev, the advisory board was chaired by Dominique de Villepin and mandated to recommend ways to help the country adjust to EU membership.[8]

Vitorino was the President of Notre Europe, the European think tank founded by Jacques Delors, from 2011 until 2016. From December 2011 until May 2012, he served as member of the institute's Tommaso Padoa-Schioppa group, a high-level expert group to reflect on the reform of the Economic and Monetary Union of the European Union.[9]

Vitorino also had an ongoing role as commentator for RTP 1's programme Notas Soltas hosted by television journalist Judite Sousa [pt].[10]

In 2017 Vitorino was part of the advisory boards of the "International Migration Initiative" (Open Society Foundations) and the "Transatlantic Council on Migration" (Migration Policy Institute).[11]

International Organization for Migration, 2018–2023

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In December 2017, the Portuguese government under the leadership of Prime Minister António Costa put forward Vitorino for the post of Director General of the International Organisation for Migration (IOM), as successor of William Lacy Swing.[12][13] On 29 June 2018, the member states of IOM elected Vitorino as Director General, effective October 2018.[14] He was chosen over American Ken Isaacs, who was eliminated in early voting rounds, and by acclamation over the runner-up, Laura Thompson of Costa Rica.[15] When seeking a second term, he opted to step down after the first round of voting. Amy Pope of the United States subsequently became the first woman to be elected as Director General.

Other activities

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Corporate boards

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  • Banco Caixa Geral Angola (BCGA), Chairman of the Shareholders' General Meeting[16]
  • Áreas Portugal, chairman of the Board
  • Siemens Portugal, Non-Executive Director
  • Brisa, President of the General Assembly (since 2007)[17]
  • Novabase, Chairman of the Shareholders Meeting[18]
  • Tabaqueira Indústria, Chairman of the Supervisory Board
  • Banco Santander Totta, Chairman of the Shareholders Meeting (2005-2016), Member of the Board of Directors[19]
  • CTT Correios de Portugal, S.A., Member of the Board (until 2016)[19]

Non-profit organizations

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Recognition

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Personal life

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Vitorino is married and has two sons.[27]

References

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  1. ^ "Veteran public official from Portugal elected to lead UN migration agency". UN News. 29 June 2018. Retrieved 16 September 2022.
  2. ^ "Advogados - António Vitorino - Cuatrecasas, Gonçalves Pereira". Cuatrecasas, Gonçalves Pereira. Retrieved 20 December 2015.
  3. ^ Experts, Disha (19 November 2018). Quarterly Current Affairs Vol 3 - July to September 2018 for Competitive Exams. Disha Publications. ISBN 978-93-88240-84-0.
  4. ^ "Portuguese Prime Minister Accepts Aide's Resignation". Washington Post. 23 November 1997. Archived from the original on 31 January 2013. Retrieved 14 June 2010.
  5. ^ "EC call for Euro green card". CNN. 12 July 2001. Retrieved 14 June 2010.
  6. ^ Dana Spinant (12 February 2003), Convention split over powers for Court European Voice.
  7. ^ Guterres excludes himself from president contest European Voice, 2 June 2004.
  8. ^ Tony Barber (21 June 2009), Bulgaria risks shifting into Moscow's orbit, EU is told Financial Times.
  9. ^ Tommaso Padoa-Schioppa Group Archived 30 December 2016 at the Wayback Machine Jacques Delors Institute.
  10. ^ "As Notas Soltas de António Vitorino". Archived from the original on 2 April 2008. Retrieved 14 June 2010.
  11. ^ "Portugal enters race for IOM leadership". Archived from the original on 28 January 2018. Retrieved 2 February 2019.
  12. ^ Candidatura de António Vitorino a Diretor-Geral da Organização Internacional para as Migrações Government of Portugal, press release of 12 December 2017.
  13. ^ João Pedro Henriques (30 December 2017), Vitorino na OIM. Um impulso de fora para dentro Diário de Notícias.
  14. ^ "António Manuel de Carvalho Ferreira Vitorino Elected as New Director General of UN Migration Agency".
  15. ^ UN migration agency picks new, Portuguese leader Associated Press, 29 June 2018.
  16. ^ Bodies Archived 30 June 2018 at the Wayback Machine Banco Caixa Geral Angola (BCGA).
  17. ^ Organizational Chart Brisa.
  18. ^ António Vitorino Novabase.
  19. ^ a b António Vitorino deixa os CTT a caminho do Santander Totta Diário de Notícias, 30 May 2016.
  20. ^ Members International Gender Champions (IGC).
  21. ^ Board of the International Migration Initiative Archived 22 April 2019 at the Wayback Machine Open Society Foundations.
  22. ^ Advisory Group New Pact for Europe.
  23. ^ "Honorary Chairs – World Justice Project". Archived from the original on 2 October 2010. Retrieved 30 August 2010.
  24. ^ Transatlantic Council on Migration Migration Policy Institute (MPI).
  25. ^ Membership Archived 1 February 2019 at the Wayback Machine Trilateral Commission.
  26. ^ Sérgio C. Andrade (23 June 2010), Manuel Pinho substitui António Vitorino na Fundação Arpad Szenes-Vieira da Silva Público.
  27. ^ "Director General".
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