Education

Jorge Fonseca completed primary and secondary education between Praia and Mindelo, and later, his higher education in Lisbon, Portugal. He graduated in Law and a Master in Legal Sciences Faculty of Law.

Career

He served as Minister of Foreign Affairs from 1991 to 1993. He was Director General of Emigration in Cape Verde from 1975 to 1977 and Secretary General of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Cape Verde from 1977 to 1979. Between 1991 and 1993 he was Minister of Foreign Affairs in the first government of the Second Republic.

Subsequently he stood unsuccessfully as a presidential candidate in the 2001 election.

In August 2011, he again sought the presidency, this time backed by the MpD. He took office as President on 9 September 2011, becoming Cape Verde"s fourth president since independence in 1975. Fonseca was assistant professor and chairman of the board of the Institute for Law and Social Sciences in Cape Verde.

Fonseca has written several books and published over fifty scientific and technical works on law, and also two books of poetry. He has been awarded several times by the State of Cape Verde, is also holder of the status of Freedom Fighters of the Country.

Achievements

• Supported by the Movement for Democracy (MpD), he won the 2011 presidential election in a second round of voting. He is also founder and Chairman of the Board of Directors of the “Direito e Justiça” Foundation, founder and director of the magazine “Direito e Cidadania”, collaborator to the magazine “Revista Portuguesa de Ciência Criminal”, and a member of the editorial board of “Revista de Economia e Direito” of the Universidade Autónoma de Lisboa.

Politics

He placed first in the first round, receiving 38% of the votes. In the second round, he faced the candidate backed by the African Party for the Independence of Cape Verde (PAICV), Manuel Inocêncio Sousa, and prevailed.