Maria da Assunção Esteves

Maria da Assunção Andrade Esteves^[2] (born 15 October 1956) is a Portuguese politician who was President of the Assembly of the Republic of Portugal from 2011 to 2015. She was a Member of the European Parliament for the Social Democratic Party–People's Party coalition, part of the European People's Party–European Democrats group,^[4] from 2004 to 2009.

In this Portuguese name, the first or maternal family name is Andrade and the second or paternal family name is Esteves.

Her Excellency Assunção Esteves GCC
Esteves in 2015
President of the Assembly of the Republic
In office 21 June 2011 – 22 October 2015[1]
Preceded by	Jaime Gama
Succeeded by	Eduardo Ferro Rodrigues
Member of the Assembly of the Republic[2][3]
In office 22 June 2011 – 22 October 2015
Constituency	Lisbon
In office 5 April 2002 – 20 June 2004
Constituency	Vila Real
In office 13 August 1987 – 2 August 1989
Constituency	Vila Real
Member of the European Parliament
In office 20 June 2004 – 13 July 2009
Constituency	Portugal
Justice of the Constitutional Court
In office August 1989 – March 1998
Preceded by	Raul Mateus da Silva
Succeeded by	Paulo Mota Pinto
Personal details
Born	(1956-10-15) 15 October 1956 (age 68) Valpaços, Portugal
Political party	Social Democratic Party
Spouse	José Lamego (divorced)
Alma mater	Catholic University of Portugal
Profession	Jurist

Life and career

Born in Valpaços, Valpaços, Assunção Esteves holds both a bachelor's degree and a master's degree in law from the Faculty of Law of the University of Lisbon, where she was an assistant between 1989 and 1999. During that time, she was also a Justice of the Portuguese Constitutional Court from 1989 to 1998.

On 21 June 2011 she became the first female President of the Assembly of the Republic.^[5] At the time, being unable to receive both her salary of €5,219.15 as President of the Assembly and her retirement pension of €7,255, which she started receiving at the age of 42, for having been a Justice of the Portuguese Constitutional Court, she chose to keep her retirement pension. Additionally, she received €2,133 for work expenses.^[6][7]

Honours

National

• Grand Cross of the Order of Christ (11 November 2015^[8])

Foreign

•  Mexico: Sash of the Order of the Aztec Eagle (17 August 2015)^[9]
•  Peru: Grand Cross of the Order of the Sun (26 July 2013)^[9]