The Team

João Lázaro holds a degree in Law and a postgraduate qualification in Victim-Offender Mediation and Restorative Justice. He served as Secretary-General of APAV from 1995 to 2007, as Vice-President and Executive Director from 2007 to 2012, and as Chief Executive Officer from 2012 to 2026, a position he held until his appointment as Deputy Ombudsman. He practised as a lawyer…

Tiago Fidalgo de Freitas holds an LL.M. from New York University School of Law (New York, USA) and the European University Institute (Florence, Italy). He is an Invited Assistant Professor at the University of Lisbon School of Law, where he obtained his law degree, and has been an Assistant Researcher and Executive Coordinator of the Lisbon Public Law Research Centre…

Sofia Amaral do Nascimento Rodrigues Câmara holds a Bachelor’s degree in Law and a Master’s degree in Financial Law, as well as a postgraduate qualification in Education for Sustainable Global Peace, under the UNESCO Chair programme. Her professional career includes experience at the Bank of Portugal and the Portuguese Securities Market Commission (CMVM), as well as serving as Head of the…

Helena Afonso was born in Mozambique in 1967. She holds a degree in Law from the Faculty of Law of the University of Lisbon (1985/1990) and a post-graduate degree in European Studies from the European Institute of the same Faculty. She has first practiced as a lawyer, and then has held technical, intermediate and senior management positions in the Public…

Miguel Feldmann was born in Lisbon on 18th October 1967. He graduated in Law from the Faculty of Law of the Universidade Católica de Lisboa and attended the Institute of European Studies of the Université Libre de Bruxelles. Jurist and lawyer, he performed functions as Advisor to the Ombudsman between 1999 and 2007. Having integrated the office of the Secretary…

Born in Coimbra in 1971. Graduated in Law from the Faculty of Law of the University of Coimbra (1995), where she completed the academic part of the Masters’ in Legal and Political Sciences (1998-1999) and the postgraduate degree in Medical Law (2003-2004). There she was also Trainee-Assistant, in the subjects of Constitutional Law and Political Science and Public and European…

Elsa Maria Henriques Dias was born in Alverca do Ribatejo on the 10 March, 1966. She holds a degree in Law from the Faculty of Law of the University of Lisbon, with postgraduate degrees in European Studies and on Organizations’ Fiscal Management. She was legal advser at the Office of the Chief Financial Officer of Lisbon and was a lawyer…

João António Portugal was born in Leiria on the 27th January, 1965. He holds a degree in Law (Political and Legal Sciences) from the Faculty of Law of the University of Lisbon. He was a trainee assistant professor in Political Science, Constitutional Law and Public International Law. Since 1993, he has been working at the Ombudsman. From 1998 till 2022,…

Pedro Miguel Vicente Pereira de Sena was born in Vila Franca de Xira on 18 November 1970. He holds a PhD with a specialisation in International Migration Law from the University of Amsterdam (2023), as well as masters’ degrees in Public International Law from the University of London (2014) and in Information Technology and Intellectual Property Law from the University…

Maria Teresa de Lemos dos Santos Bessa was born in Coimbra, on January 5th, 1968. She has a degree in Law from the Faculty of Law of the University of Lisbon and a post-graduate degree in Political-Administrative Sciences (administrative branch) from the same Faculty. She practiced law and was Sub-Inspector General in the General Inspection of Justice Services. She began…

Mariana Melo Egídio has a degree in Law, with a specialisation in Legal and Political Sciences, from the Faculty of Law of the University of Lisbon (2009), and is a Guest Lecturer and PhD student at the same institution. Her main research interests are in the areas of Constitutional Law, Fundamental Rights, Constitutional Justice, Administrative Law, Data Protection, Access to…

Lina Rocha Mascarenhas was born in Lisbon on the 22 June, 1963. She studied Secretarial Techniques and attended the Translators and Interpreters Course of the Superior Institute of Languages and Administration. She entered the Ombudsman’s Office in 1996 and since then has worked as Personal Secretary of successive Ombudspersons. Previously, she had been the Secretary of the Office of the…

Sara Patrícia Santos Duarte was born in Coimbra on the 6th December, 1976. She holds a degree in Modern Languages and Literature from the Faculty of Arts of the University of Coimbra (2001). She has been Secretary to the Office of the Ombudsman since 2013, accumulating, since 2016, the same function in the National Prevention Mechanism. Between 2009 and 2013…