Maria João Rodrigues

Education and Awards

Maria João Rodrigues holds three master's degrees and a PhD in economics from the University of Paris 1 Pantheon-Sorbonne as well as a Degree in Sociology from the University of Lisbon.

She was decorated notably with:

- Nominated for the Gaetan Pirou Award (Economic Science Award given by French universities at national level), 1986.

- Gulbenkian Science and Technology National Award in Portugal, 1986 for her PhD thesis on the Employment System

- Highly mentioned in the Boa Esperança Science and Technology Award in Portugal, 1992.

- Ordre de la Couronne de Chêne au grade de Commandeur of the Grand-Duchy of Luxembourg for her contribution to the promotion of social Europe, 2000.

- Ordem do Infante Dom Henrique, Grand Official of the Portuguese Republic for her academic and public service functions and for her European contribution, 2003.

- Légion d’Honneur – Chevalier of the French Republic for her role in the European integration and the EU Lisbon Strategy for Growth and Jobs, 2005. Promotion to the degree of Officier for her role in the EU Presidency and the Lisbon Treaty, 2008.

Political career

Professor of Economics at the University Institute of Lisbon (ISCT-IUL) since 1987, Maria João Rodrigues started her career in public affairs in 1993 as a consultant in the Ministry of Employment and Social Security, then headed by José Falcão e Cunha in the conservative government of Prime Minister Aníbal Cavaco Silva. Following the victory of the Socialist Party in the 1995 general elections, she was appointed Minister for Qualifications and Employment by Prime Minister António Guterres on 28 October 1995. She completed a major reform in the management of the European Social Fund and held this office until 25 November 1997, when she was dismissed. After she stepped down, the ministry was abolished and the constituent parts were reallocated to other ministries. In the current government, the responsibilities of the former Minister for Qualifications and Employment have been reallocated to the Secretary of State for Employment and Vocational Training within the Ministry of Labour and Social Solidarity.

Maria João Rodrigues was elected for the European parliament in the 2014 European Parliament election. In 2014-06-25 she was elected vice-president of the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats group, along with other nine MEPs.

After the 2014 European Parliament election, Maria João Rodrigues was mentioned to be appointed as an European Commissioner. In spite of a public push for the political appointment, Carlos Moedas was appointed instead.

The Lisbon Strategy

Maria João Rodrigues remained close to Prime Minister Guterres, and was appointed special adviser and Head of the Prime Minister's Forward Studies Unit in 1998. In this capacity, she played a dramatic role during the Portuguese Presidency of the European Union, in the first semester of 2000. The Portuguese Presidency notably succeeded in securing a compromise on the so-called Lisbon Strategy, a comprehensive plan that was aimed at boosting growth and employment level in the EU. The strategy was adopted at an extraordinary European Council meeting in Lisbon in March 2000, a meeting in which Maria João Rodrigues acted as a sherpa for the Prime Minister. She notably contributed to build a compromise between the delegations of the British and French governments, by resorting to the open method of coordination. Maria João Rodrigues continued to monitor closely the developments of the Lisbon Strategy, in particular as Special Advisor to the Luxembourg Presidency of the European Union for the Mid-term Review of the Lisbon Strategy (2005) and special advisor to the European Commission and Jean-Claude Juncker on the Lisbon strategy.

Looking back on this experience in 2010, Maria João Rodrigues wrote "Even if there were clear failures, the implementation of the Lisbon strategy should not be considered a failure.". The Lisbon strategy is largely considered to have failures but also some achievements. In 2007, the EU average Growth Rate was 2.7% and 16 million jobs have been created.

In 2007, she was appointed by Prime Minister José Socrates as special adviser for the European Union Presidency dealing with the Lisbon Treaty, the Lisbon strategy and EU Summits with international partners China, India, Brazil, Russia and Africa. This mission came to end on 1 January 2008, when the rotating presidency of the European Union was handed over to Slovenia. Maria João Rodrigues has also started a process of "Dialogues for Sustainable Development", sponsored by Gulbenkian Foundation.

Post-Lisbon Strategy career

The Lisbon Strategy was succeeded by another EU plan for "smart, sustainable and inclusive economic growth" in 2010: the Europe 2020 strategy. Although not acting in any official capacity anymore, Maria João Rodrigues previous experiences with the Lisbon strategy meant that her viewpoint on the Europe 2020 was highly valued all across the political spectrum.

Until 2014, Maria João Rodrigues was also a Professor at the Université libre de Bruxelles and the University of Lisbon. She is also active in several think tank and research institutions, notably as member of the Governing Board of the European Policy Centre, Notre Europe and of Jacques Delors Institute. She was until 2006 the chair of the advisory Group to the European Commission for Social Sciences and Humanities.

In September 2011, she was defeated in her bid to become Deputy Secretary-General of the OECD by the former Belgium Prime Minister (at the time still acting Prime Minister) Yves Leterme. Despite being supported by "two Portuguese governments", both centre-left and centre-right, Maria João Rodrigues was compelled to withdraw her candidacy when Leterme voiced his interest for the position. A Portuguese newspaper wrote that "preference was given to political experience". Maria João Rodrigues remained a member of the OECD's Innovation Strategy Expert advisory group.

Recent research interest

Maria João Rodrigues has also been developing a policy response to the Eurozone crisis, notably with respect to the European Financial Stability Facility and the economic governance of the European Union.

In October 2010, she published in European current affairs online newspaper EurActiv a "short theatre piece" summing up her thoughts on the issue of European Economic Governance, and several other policy papers, reports and books followed.

In December 2011, she has been arguing for the use of a "big bazooka" to address the eurozone crisis, in the form of a large scale government debt purchase by the European Central Bank.

In 2012, she took a new role in the coordination of the Europe wide project "New Pact for Europe", sponsored by the most relevant European Foundations.

In 2015, she led the S&D Group in the European Parliament to adopt detailed positions on the Greek Crisis and on the reform of the Economic and Monetary Union. She was then appointed to chair this debate with the Social Democratic leaders in Europe.