Manuel Pinho

Manuel Pinho
Minister of Economy and Innovation
In office
14 March 2005 – 2 July 2009
President Jorge Sampaio
Aníbal Cavaco Silva
Prime Minister José Sócrates
Preceded by Álvaro Barreto (as Minister of Economy)
Graça Carvalho (as Minister of Innovation)
Succeeded by Fernando Teixeira dos Santos
Personal details
Born 28 October 1954
Lisbon, Portugal
Nationality Portuguese
Political party Independent
Spouse(s) Alexandra Pinho
Alma mater Technical University of Lisbon
Paris West University Nanterre La Défense
Profession Economist
Professor

Manuel António Gomes de Almeida de Pinho (born Lisbon, Campo Grande, 28 October 1954) is a Portuguese economist and a former Minister of Economy with no political affiliation. He is an Adjunct professor and Senior Research Scholar at the School of International and Public Affairs, Columbia University in the US and a Guest professor at Beijing Foreign Studies University in China. He is currently a Visiting Professor at the University of Queensland in Australia.

Early life

Pinho was born in Lisbon and graduated from the Technical University of Lisbon in 1975.[1] He completed his doctoral degree in economics at Université Paris X Nanterre in 1982.[1] After receiving his doctorate, he became a professor at the Technical University of Lisbon and the Catholic University of Portugal;.[1] He has also been a visiting scholar at the New York University Stern School of Business.[2] He left academia to join the staff of the International Monetary Fund in Washington, D.C. from 1984-1988.[2]

Pinho was a top civil servant in the early 1990s and is credited with the reform of Portugal's public debt market. He had a seat on the Portuguese Economic and Social Council, and served as the director-general of the Treasury and chairman of the public credit board.[2] He was also Vice chairman of the advisory board of the Stock Exchange Commission[3] and chairman of the audit committee of Caixa Geral de Depósitos.[2] He was also a director of the European Investment Bank and represented Portugal on the monetary committee of the European Union.[2] He left these positions in 1994 to follow a career in banking.[2] He was a director of Banco Espírito Santo, and held positions at several of its subsidiaries, between 1994 and 2005.[2]

Political career

After a career in international institutions, at Treasury and in banking, he entered politics as the top candidate of the Socialist Party list for district of Aveiro in the 2005 elections running as an independent.[4] His term in parliament was very short, as he was nominated as Minister of Economy and Innovation by the new prime-minister José Sócrates, office which he occupied from 2005 until his resignation in July 2009.[5] As Minister, Pinho was responsible for the energy policy that saw Portugal become a leader in renewable energy.[6] Pinho was an architect of the European Union's Strategic Energy Technology Plan, a blueprint for European development of low-carbon energy production.[7] In 2007 he chaired the EU Council of Competitiveness Ministers[8] and the Transatlantic Economic Council.[9]

Controversy and resignation

In 2 July 2009, during the State of the Nation debate in the Assembly of the Republic, Pinho made a gesture directed to MPs of the extreme left and Portuguese Communist Party. These parties protested against the gesture, and Pinho left the debate earlier than expected. Later the same day, it was announced by the government that Pinho had resigned as minister.

After politics

Following his resignation, and given the proximity of elections, the prime-minister decided to give Pinho's portfolio to Fernando Teixeira dos Santos, the Finance Minister.[10] A group of workers of the Aljustrel Mines in the Alentejo made a public statement to express their gratitude for Pinho's support,[11] and one year after his resignation, the new Mayor of Aljustrel named the town municipal park after Pinho.

Since 2010 he is at Columbia University School of International and Public Affairs, Columbia University, where he teaches a course on Global energy policy at SIPA and is the director of the China Energy and Sustainability program me at the Earth Institute.[12] In 2012, he was a Senior Fellow of the Jackson Institute at Yale and a professor at Yale School of Management. He is currently a Visiting Professor at the University of Queensland in Australia.He is also a guest professor at Beijing Foreign Studies University and a senior international adviser to Roland Berger Strategy Consultants.

Personal life

He is married to Alexandra, a contemporary art curator.

Lives in New York City.

Has been warded honors by the governments of Spain, Brazil, France, Germany, Sweden and Norway.

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 "Portal do Governo - Manuel Pinho". portais.gov.pt. Retrieved 14 February 2010.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 "OECD - Manuel Pinho" (PDF). Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. Retrieved 14 February 2010.
  3. ↑ "Manuel Pinho" (PDF). energy-conference.org. Retrieved 20 August 2010.
  4. ↑ "Eleição para a Assembleia da República – 20 Fevereiro 2005 listas de candidatos" (PDF) (in Portuguese). parlamento.pt. Retrieved 14 February 2010.
  5. ↑ "PINHO, Manuel António Gomes de Almeida" (in Portuguese). Instituto de História Contemporãnea. Retrieved 14 February 2010.
  6. ↑ "Staking all on a renewable future". BBC News. 22 February 2008. Retrieved 14 February 2010.
  7. ↑ Manuel Pinho (2008). "Europe's new energy era" (PDF). Ministry of Economy and Innovation. Retrieved 14 February 2010.
  8. ↑ "Manuel Pinho chairs the Competitiveness Council that adopts important conclusions on determinant competitiveness policies and, particularly, on SME policies". eu2007.pt. 26 November 2007. Retrieved 20 August 2010.
  9. ↑ "VP Verheugen chairs first meeting of Transatlantic Economic Council on 9th November". europa.eu. 8 November 2007. Retrieved 20 August 2010.
  10. ↑ "Portuguese minister resigns after making cuckold gesture to opposition MP". The Daily Telegraph. 3 July 2009. Retrieved 20 August 2010.
  11. ↑ "Mineiros de Aljustrel defendem Manuel Pinho em abaixo-assinado" (in Portuguese). Sol. 21 July 2009. Retrieved 20 August 2010.
  12. ↑ "Global Leader in Renewable Energy Will Teach at SIPA". School of International and Public Affairs, Columbia University. Retrieved 20 August 2010.

External links