High-Level Representatives

Maria do Rosario Sambo

Minister of Higher Education, Science, Technology and Innovation
Angola

Minister Sambo took office in 2017. She earned her medical degree from the Faculty of Medicine of the Univ. Agostinho Neto, Angola, in 1983, received her Neurology speciality in 1997 from the Egas Moniz Hospital, Portugal and obtained her PhD degree in Medicine, Genetics Specialty from the Univ. of Lisbon and the Gulbenkian Inst. of Science in 2010. From 2011 to 2015, Minister Sambo was the Dean of the Faculty of Medicine of Univ. Katyavala Bwila, Benguela, Angola, and the Rector of Univ. Agostinho Neto, from 2015 to 2017.

Marcelo Morales

Secretary of Research and Scientific Formation of the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation
Brazil

Post-graduation in Medicine (1995), PhD in Biological Sciences (Biophysics, 1998) and Post-Doctorate by Johns Hopkins University (2002). Member of IUPAB Council (since 2009), former president and general secretary of LAFeBS, former president and current subordinate general of the SBBF, former coordinator of CONCEA/MCTI, former president of IUPAB, secretary of FESBE, and Director at CNPq/MCTI. Associate Professor at the UFRJ, research line focusing on Biophysics, with emphasis on Cell Biophysics and Molecular Biology.

Paulo Veiga

Minister of Maritime Economy
Cabo Verde

Minister Paulo Veiga took office in January 2020 after serving for two years as Assistant Secretary of State for Maritime Economy. He has academic training in the areas of Business Management and Marketing at the Univ. of Arizona, USA, and more than twenty years of experience in management and administration of relevant companies and entities in Cabo Verde, in the areas of real estate, civil construction, food products, media and communication, sports, associations and social initiatives.

Pavel Dolecek

Deputy Minister of Education, Youth and Sports
Czech Republic

Mr Pavel Doleček has been working at the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports (MEYS) since 2014, from 2015 to 2016 as Head of the Conceptual Unit of Higher Education Institutions. From 2016 to 2017, he served as Vice-Deputy Minister for Higher Education, Science and Research. Since the end of 2017, he was in the position of Acting Deputy Minister, officially appointed Deputy Minister in July 2019. He is in charge of conception and implementation of the higher education, research and development policy under the authority of the MEYS, including the international cooperation, legislative framework and funding policy.

Bernadette Jordan

Minister of Fisheries, Oceans and the Canadian Coast Guard (South Shore—St. Margarets)

Canada

Minister Jordan was 1st elected as the Member of Parliament for South Shore—St. Margarets in 2015. Prior to entering politics, Minister Jordan was a development officer for the Health Services Foundation in Bridgewater, Nova Scotia, where she was part of a team raising millions of dollars for health care in the region. She has been involved in her community for years, holding positions such as President of the Atlantic Community Newspapers Association and Chair of the Earth Day Challenge Committee. Abandoned and derelict vessels have been a major issue and concern in coastal communities, and Minister Jordan’s work on this issue helped lead to the development of the Oceans Protection Plan. She also had the privilege of serving as Chair of the Standing Committee on Fisheries and Oceans.

Mabel Torres Torres

Minister of Science, Technology and Innovation
Colombia

Pedro Duque

Minister of Science and Innovation
Spain

Pedro Duque is an astronaut and aeronautics engineer who serves as Minister of Science since 2018. Prior to his current position, Mr Duque worked in the space industry and science, holding several coordination positions at GMV, NASA, ESA and Deimos Imaging. He also underwent training in Russia and the US before qualifying for assignments in space. He flew into space twice as a mission specialist, in 1998 aboard the space shuttle Discovery on STS-95 and in 2003 as flight engineer on Soyuz TMA-3.

Simon Harris

Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science
Irlanda

Simon Harris

Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science

Ireland

“Simon is a native of County Wicklow and has been involved in the community all his life.
Simon first became involved in politics through his work as a disability advocate. Before entering politics, Simon established the Wicklow Triple A Alliance, a charity to support children and families affected by Autism. He was first elected to Dáil Éireann in the 2011 General Election and was the youngest member of the 31st Dáil. During that Dail term, Simon served as a member of the Public Accounts Committee, Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, Secretary of the Fine Gael Parliamentary Party and Co-Convenor of the Oireachtas Cross Party Group on Mental Health, before being appointed in July 2014 as Minister of State in the Departments of Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform and the Department of the Taoiseach with Special Responsibility for OPW, Public Procurement and International Banking (including IFSC).
Simon was re-elected as TD for Wicklow and East Carlow in the February 2016 General Election and subsequently appointed Minister for Health.
Prior to his election to Dáil Éireann, Simon was a member of both Wicklow County Council and Greystones Town Council, having been elected in the 2009 Local Elections with the highest percentage vote of any candidate in the country. He has also served his community as Chairperson of the County Wicklow Policing Committee, Chairperson of the Dublin-Mid Leinster Regional Health Forum, Board Member of Wicklow Tourism and Member of Wicklow Vocational Educational Committee.”

Cristina Messa

Minister of University and Research
Italy

Prof. Messa was appointed Minister of University and Research in Feb. 2021. A professor of Diagnostic Imaging, she previously served as Rector of Milano-Bicocca Univ.(2013-2019),as VP of the National Research Council (2011-2015),as Board member of the Conference of Italian Univ. Rectors, and as MIUR Delegate for Research Infrastructures in H2020 Program. She has widely published and lectured on diagnostic imaging, nuclear medicine and healthcare. With a global h-index of 53, she authored over 180 papers.

Owen Bonnici

Minister for Research & Innovation and the Coordination of the Post-Covid19 Strategy
Malta

“Owen Bonnici A Lawyer by profession(born 24 May 1980) is a Maltese politician who was the Minister for Education & Employment from 15 January 2020 to November 2020 and currently serving in the new created portfolio Ministry for Research, Innovation and the Coordination of the Post-COVID-19 Strategy appointed in November 2020. Following the March 2013 General Elections, he was appointed as Parliamentary Secretary for Justice. After a cabinet reshuffle he was made Minister of Justice, Culture and Local Government in March 2014.”

Saaid Amzazi

Minister of National Education, Vocational Training, Higher Education and Scientific Research
Morocco

Saaïd Amzazi was appointed to his current position in 2018 and as Government Spokesperson in 2020. Previously, he served as the president of Mohammed V Univ. in Rabat, held senior academic management positions and headed or been a member of several research units. He holds a PhD in Immunology-Molecular Biology and a Doctorate in Biology. He has been the recipient of numerous grants and funds as Principal Investigator, published extensively and holds two patent applications from the Moroccan Industrial and Commercial Property Office.

Ogbonnaya Onu

Ministry of Science and Technology
Nigeria

Heinz Fassmann

Minister of Education, Science and Research
Austria

Manuel Heitor

Minister of Science, Technology and Higher Education
Portugal

Ricardo Serrão Santos

Minister of Maritime Affairs
Portugal

José Manuel Bolieiro

President of Azores Government
Portugal

José Manuel Bolieiro, a Law graduate from the University of Coimbra, has been the President of PSD/Açores since December 14, 2019, and of the XIII Government of the Azores since November 24, 2020. He has been a member of the Council of State since November 2020 and presides over the Conference of Outermost Regions, whose term of office runs from November 2020 to November 2021.

José Manuel Bolieiro was a member of the Legislative Assembly of the Autonomous Region of the Azores (1998-2009), having served as President of the Parliamentary Group of PSD and of the Permanent Committee on General Policy. He also served as President of the Municipal Assembly of Povoação (2002-2009), Mayor of Ponta Delgada City Council (2012-2020); President of the Board of Directors of the Association of Municipalities of São Miguel Island and member of the Board of Directors of the National Association of Portuguese Municipalities.

Franklin García Fermin

Minister of Higher Education, Science and Technology
Dominican Republic

Ľudovít Paulis

State Secretary of Education, Science, Research, and Sport
Slovakia

Blade Nzimande

Minister of Higher Education, Science and innovation
South Africa

Jane Lubchenco

Deputy Director for Climate and Environment in the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy
USA

Odd Emil Ingebrigtsen

Minister of Fisheries and Seafood in the Norwegian Ministry of Trade, Industry and Fisheries
Norway

Odd Emil Ingebrigtsen was appointed to his current position in 2020. Before he was appointed state secretary, he worked as a CEO for the energy company Indre Salten Energi AS. Ingebrigtsen held several leading positions and board memberships in private sector in his hometown of Bodø. Political experience include 24 years in Bodø municipal council. Ingebrigtsen has a degree in fishery economics from Bodø University College he almost finished in 1986, but instead he travelled to Oslo to work as a general secretary for Norwegian Young Conservatives.