Luísa Dias Diogo (Co-Chair)
Prime Minister, Mozambique
As of 2004, Ms. Luísa Dias Diogo is the first woman ever to hold the position of Prime Minister
in Mozambique. She began working in Mozambique’s Finance Ministry as the National Budget
Director in 1982, held the office of Deputy Minister of Finance & Planning from 1994 to 2000, and
Minister from 2000 to 2005. Ms. Diogo received her Bachelor’s degree from Maputo’s Eduardo
Mondlane University, and her Master’s degree in Financial Economics from the University of London,
after which she worked for the World Bank as programme officer in Mozambique. In 1994, as
Deputy Finance Minister in the FRELIMO government, she was a key player in drafting the first
five-year development plan with a focus on cementing peace within Mozambique’s borders. In
1999, Ms. Diogo was promoted to Minister of Finance, where she focused on poverty and economic
growth, and secured numerous grants from international finance institutions. In July 2004, Ms.
Diogo officially launched an AIDS Emergency Programme, focused on educating citizens about
AIDS prevention, providing income for people and infected with HIV, and giving assistance to
people living with AIDS. In the January 2004 issue of The Banker, she was named Finance Minister
of the Year for Africa. She was also distinguished by Times Magazine as one of the world’s 100
most influential personalities in 2004, as well as one of the world’s 100 most powerful women by
Forbes Magazine in 2004 and 2005.