Portuguese government proposes Albuquerque as commissioner candidate

The Portuguese government has proposed former finance minister Maria Luís Albuquerque as its choice for European commissioner, Prime Minister Luís Montenegro announced on Wednesday (28 August).

Montenegro announced the pick in a statement at the official residence in São Bento without allowing press questions.

In the brief statement, the prime minister said he had chosen Albuquerque with the support of the entire government and highlighted her credentials as a former finance minister under the Coelho government.

"Given her profile and my direct and personal knowledge of her abilities, I know that she will honour Portugal," he said.

The 56-year-old was finance minister when Portugal was under the EU's 'troika' bailout system, succeeding Vítor Gaspar in July 2013 and remaining until the end of the government led by former prime minister Pedro Passos Coelho.

She was vice-president of the PSD under Coelho's leadership and head of the PSD's list of candidates for the Setúbal Assembly in 2011 and 2015.

She is currently a member of the PSD National Council - the second name on Montenegro's list after Carlos Moedas - and a member of the supervisory board of the European subsidiary of the US firm Morgan Stanley.

Albuquerque is the seventh woman to have so far been proposed for a post in the new European Commission, with 17 EU countries proposing male commissioners.

At the time of writing, only Belgium, Italy, and Bulgaria have yet to propose names before Friday's (31 August) deadline.

[Edited by Daniel Eck]