First Lady of Portugal

Maria Cavaco Silva, First Lady of Portugal

Professor of Portuguese Language and Culture, Dr. Maria Cavaco Silva has over the past decades devoted particular attention to issues around education and culture, but also to issues such as childhood or social solidarity.

The challenges that families and young people face in today’s world, and new requirements on welfare, have always been part of your business agenda, which is now more satisfied since President Anibal Cavaco Silva took up his current position in March 2006.

Participation in official events and institutions, as well as contact with organizations, associations and various civil society bodies, occupy a substantial part of your routine, as has happened in the ’80s and ’90s, when her husband was Prime Minister of Portugal.

Maria Cavaco Silva has a degree in Germanic Philology from the Faculty of Arts, University of Lisbon. His graduation thesis revolved around “The Poetry of Hölderlin in Saudade”, a subject analyzed in relation to Saudosismo Portuguese, especially with Teixeira de Pascoaes.

It has also the Course of Pedagogical Sciences, Faculty of Letters of Lisbon.

Maria Cavaco Silva began his teaching activity in 1960, the College of Dorothean. High schools also taught in Passos Manuel, Queen And Eleanor D. John de Castro, all in Lisbon.

In 1963, she accompanied her husband in Mozambique, living two years in Lourenço Marques (now Maputo), where he taught Portuguese and foreign languages in high schools and D. Salazar Ana da Costa Portugal.

Between 1971 and 1974, was in York, England, maintaining a liaison working with the Language Teaching Centre, where he attended courses in German and Italian. As there were no locally, lecturing official Portuguese language, taught in a private capacity to foreigners of various nationalities. Simultaneously, took the opportunity to deepen the knowledge of the English language and culture.

Took office in 1977 as conductor of the discipline of Portuguese Language Course of Philosophy at Catholic University in Lisbon. Since 1981, he conducted the same chair in the course of Theology and the discipline of Portuguese Language and Culture Course of Law, Faculty of Sciences at that University.

Still in the same Faculty, gave in July / August 1985, the summer course for Luso-Americans, with the theme “The Portuguese Language in Contemporary Portuguese novelistic.”

Began after the teaching of the Annual Course of Portuguese Language in the Socrates / Erasmus, an activity which lasted until 2006.

Currently, it maintains its connection to the Catholic University of extraordinary teaching Portuguese literature and culture, integrated in chairs of different courses.

In the academic year 1999/2000, he taught a class in Portuguese language courses in Social and Cultural Communication and Philosophy at the same University.

Has published articles on authors such as Luis de Camões, Gil Vicente, Bocage, Camilo Pessanha, Cesario Verde, Jose Regio, Natércia Freire, Ruy Belo, Virgil Fox and Sophia de Mello Breyner Andresen.

Published a study and gave a lecture on Sophia de Mello Breyner Andresen, and also presented a conference on women in the poetry of Cesario Verde.

During the trips he has done, has maintained contacts with the Portuguese lectureships in several countries and gave some lectures, in a private capacity, mainly in Brazil, on contemporary Portuguese authors.

Maria Alves da Silva Cavaco Silva was born on March 19, 1938, in S. Bartolomeu de Messines, Silves (Algarve). Married Anibal Cavaco Silva on 20 October 1963.

Cavaco Silva The couple has two children and five grandchildren.