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 postgraduate degree in European Studies from the European Institute of the same Faculty. She began her career as a lawyer and subsequently held technical and management positions at various levels within the Public…

Miguel Feldmann was born in Lisbon on 18 October 1967. He graduated in Law from the Faculty of Law of Universidade Católica Portuguesa in Lisbon and attended the Institute for European Studies at the Université Libre de Bruxelles. A legal adviser and lawyer, he served as an Adviser to the Ombudsperson from 1999 to 2007. After serving as an Assistant…

Catarina Sampaio Ventura was born in Coimbra in 1971. She graduated in Law from the Faculty of Law of the University of Coimbra in 1995, where she also completed the taught component of a Master’s degree in Legal and Political Sciences (1998–1999) and a postgraduate degree in Medical Law (2003–2004). She was also a Trainee Assistant at the Faculty, teaching…

Elsa 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 at the…

João 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, he…

Pedro 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 of Hong Kong…

Maria 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 working in the Ombudsman’s Office…

Afonso Brás holds a degree in Law (2014) and a Master’s degree in Law, with a specialisation in Constitutional Law (2023), from the University of Lisbon School of Law, where he is a Guest Lecturer and a PhD candidate. He is also a Guest Lecturer at ISEG – Lisbon School of Economics and Management. His main research areas are Constitutional…

Elda Morais holds a Law degree from the Faculty of Law of the University of Lisbon (1985-1990).With a professional career in the Portuguese Public Administration that began in 1994, she has held technical, middle-management, and senior leadership positions, with a particular focus on human resources, performance evaluation, planning, and management. Throughout her career, she has led multidisciplinary teams and represented…

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…

Catarina Carreira holds a degree in Sociology and a Master’s degree in E-learning Systems Management from NOVA University Lisbon, Faculty of Social and Human Sciences. She has held middle-management and technical positions in the Portuguese Public Administration, developing her professional career in the field of official statistics on science and technology. She has represented Portugal in various national and international…

Eva Gaspar has a degree in Economics from the Instituto Superior de Economia e Gestão of Universidade Técnica de Lisboa. She was a correspondent for Diário Económico (1994-2002) and RDP-Antena 1 (1999-2002) for the European Union institutions in Brussels. She was chief editor and columnist for Jornal de Negócios (2003-2017). She collaborated with TSF, SIC, RTP and Sábado magazine, and…

Lina 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 project…

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…