Luísa Diogo

Luísa Diogo
Prime Minister of Mozambique
In office 17 February 2004 – 16 January 2010
President	Joaquim Chissano Armando Guebuza
Preceded by	Pascoal Mocumbi
Succeeded by	Aires Ali
Personal details
Born	11 April 1958
Political party	FRELIMO
Alma mater	Eduardo Mondlane University University of London

Luísa Dias Diogo (born 11 April 1958) was Prime Minister of Mozambique from February 2004 to January 2010. She replaced Pascoal Mocumbi, who had been Prime Minister for the previous nine years. Before becoming Prime Minister, she was Minister of Planning and Finance, and she continued to hold that post until February 2005.^[1] She was the first female Prime Minister of Mozambique. Diogo represents the party FRELIMO, which has ruled the country since independence in 1975.^[2]

Diogo studied economics at Maputo's Eduardo Mondlane University. She graduated with a bachelor's degree in 1983. She went on to obtain a master's degree in financial economics at the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London in 1992. In 1980, she began working in Mozambique's Finance Ministry. She became a department's head in 1986 and in 1989 became national budget director. Then she worked for the World Bank as program officer in Mozambique. In 1994 she joined the FRELIMO government as Deputy Minister of Finance.

In September 2005, she was the international guest speaker at the British Labour Party Conference.

Diogo has urged the African health ministers to offer reproductive and sexual health services free of charge throughout the continent. These services could reduce infant mortality by two thirds, reduce maternal mortality by three quarters, reverse the spread of AIDS, and promote gender equality and the empowerment of women. The target set by the UN is to achieve these goals by 2015.^[3]

Diogo lately has focused on gender equality and women's empowerment through a recently launched "Network of Women Ministers and Parliamentarians" (MUNIPA). The MUNIPA network aims to strengthen advocacy and lobbying activities so that policies and legislation are adopted favourable to gender equity and women's empowerment. Promoting equality between men and women is a central concern of the Mozambican government, which has been adopting instruments to promote women's empowerment at all levels [of government].^[4]

Diogo is a member of the Council of Women World Leaders, an international network of current and former women presidents and prime ministers whose mission is to mobilize the highest-level women leaders globally for collective action on issues of critical importance to women and equitable development.

See also

• Heads of Government of Mozambique

References

1. Mateus Chale, "Guebuza names cabinet to fight poverty", Reuters (IOL), February 4, 2005.
2. Skard, Torild (2014) "Luisa Diogo" in Women of power - half a century of female presidents and prime ministers worldwide, Bristol: Policy Press, ISBN 978-1-44731-578-0
3. "Mozambique; Diogo Calls for Free Reproductive Health Services." Africa News 21 September 2006 29 April 2008.
4. "Mozambique; Network of Women Ministers And Parliamentarians." Africa News 6 May 2007 29 April 2008 <http://www.lexisnexis.com/us/lnacademic/results/docview/docview.do?docLinkInd=true&risb=21_T3639212382&format=GNBFI&sort=RELEVANCE&startDocNo=1&resultsUrlKey=29_T3639212388&cisb=22_T3639212387&treeMax=true&treeWidth=0&csi=8320&docNo=14>.

External links

• Blazing a trail for Africa's women BBC