Biographical Note

FRANCISCO SEIXAS DA COSTA OF PORTUGAL ELECTED CHAIRMAN OF SECOND COMMITTEE

Francisco Seixas da Costa, the Permanent Representative of Portugal to the United Nations, was today elected Chairman of the Second Committee (Economic and Financial) for the General Assembly’s fifty-sixth session.

Prior to his appointment as the Permanent Representative of Portugal, Mr. da Costa was Secretary of State for European Affairs in the Portuguese Government.  He was in charge of European Union affairs, bilateral relations with European countries, the European Union enlargement process, the internal market, Mediterranean cooperation and the Schengen Agreement. 

Mr. da Costa previously served as Deputy Director-General for European Union Affairs (1994-1995) and deputy representative of Portugal to the European Union (1990-1992).  He was also Director of the Cabinet of Studies of the Institute for Economic Cooperation in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (1989-1990), and head of the Portuguese negotiating team for the accession to the Lomé III Convention and for the negotiation of Lomé IV (1987-1990). 

Having joined the Portuguese Foreign Service as a career diplomat in 1975, Mr. da Costa also served in his country’s embassies in Oslo, Luanda and London.  He has headed the Development Cooperation Department in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and was deputy representative of Portugal to the seventh session of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD VII) in 1987.

Born on 28 January 1948, Mr. da Costa has a degree in social and political sciences from the University of Lisbon.

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