Suzi Barbosa

Suzi Carla Barbosa
Suzi Barbosa, 2023
Minister of Foreign Affairs
In office
3 July 2019 – 8 August 2023
President[[José Mário Vaz and Umaro Sissoco Embaló]]
Preceded byJoão Butiam Có
Succeeded byCarlos Pinto Pereira
Personal details
Born (1973-07-05) July 5, 1973
PartyMadem G15 (since 2022)
PAIGC (before 2022)
Children=

Suzi Barbosa is a Bissau-Guinean politician, who is currently board member of the Spain África Strategic Council, since 2025. She was former Special Adviser of the President of the Republic Umaro Sissoco Embaló, for Foreign Affairs, from 2023 to 2024. She was Senior Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs from 2019 to 2023 and was appointed Minister 4 times. Before she Secretary of State for International Cooperation, from 2015 to 2016. Before she was Diplomatic and Political Adviser for the Prime Minister Aristides Gomes, from 2018 to 2019. She was member of parliament elected 3 times and also Chair of the Women Parliamentarians Network of Guinea-Bissau.[1]She is also PhD student in African Studies in Portugal. In 2025, she was decorated by the Spanish government with the Order of Merit "Isabel la Católica"

Career

Barbosa is an advocate for the participation of women in the national political affairs of Guinea-Bissau. She was part of the feminist movement in Guinea-Bissau among women from Bafatá Region who avoided voting in elections if women were not featured on the contestants list. She indicated that "Guinea-Bissau has a population mostly made up of women and it is very sad to see that they do not have the same opportunities as men, especially in decision-making positions, if they had perhaps the country's situation in terms of stability would have been different”.[2][1]

She was a delegate at the first conference of Women's Circle of the National Assembly in Quebec City in 2017, made up of politicians from French speaking countries, gathered to build capacity for female world leaders.[3]

As of 2016, she was the Secretary of State for International Cooperation and Communities in Guinea-Bissau.[4]

On July 3, 2019, she became Minister of Foreign Affairs.[5]

She was the decorated in 2023 with the National Medal Colinas de Boé by His Excellency President Umaro Sissoco Embaló.

References

  1. 1 2 "Inspired by training on political participation, women from Bafatá region promise not to vote in political parties without women on the lists". UNIOGBIS. 2017-08-31. Retrieved 2017-11-21.
  2. ↑ Shryock, Ricci (2020-03-23). "From The Battlefield To The Ballot Box". Trix-Magazine.com. Retrieved 2023-11-13.
  3. ↑ "Women who rule: Female politicians gather in Quebec City for leadership conference". Montreal. 2017-03-10. Retrieved 2017-11-21.
  4. ↑ "China has new projects in Guinea-Bissau and Cabo Verde". Macauhub. 2016-01-10. Retrieved 2017-11-21.
  5. ↑ "Guinea-Bissau names gender-par cabinet after Ethiopia, South Africa". Africanews. 2019-07-05. Retrieved 2021-11-24.