It is with heavy hearts that I inform you that Professor Manuela Silva passed away yesterday, October 7th.
ISEG pays tribute to her, publicly recognizing her special distinction as our student, visiting professor, president of the Pedagogical Council, director of the Journal of Economics Studies, founding member of CISEP and Doctor Honoris Causa by the then Technical University of Lisbon. In addition to holding relevant public positions, it is worth highlighting her rich civic intervention, of which the presidency of the National Justice and Peace Commission and the pioneering work developed in the study of poverty and inequalities in Portugal are examples.
I asked Prof. Carlos Farinha Rodrigues, whom I thank, to kindly send me a brief note of tribute to Prof. Manuela Silva, which is transcribed in full at the end of this briefing note.
The wake of Professor Manuela Silva will take place on Tuesday, October 8, in the late afternoon, at the Church of the Resurrection, in Cascais. The funeral takes place on Wednesday, October 9, at 14:00.
On behalf of ISEG, I extend my deepest condolences to the family of Professor Manuela Silva. ISEG also suffers today an important loss.
President of ISEG, Professor Clara Raposo
"Manuela Silva - Brief biographical note"
Manuela Silva had a degree in Economics from the Instituto Superior de Economia e Gestão (ISEG), University of Lisbon. She was a visiting professor at ISEG. In 2000, she was awarded the Grã-Cruz do Infante D. Henrique by President Jorge Sampaio. In 2013, she received an honorary doctorate from the Technical University of Lisbon.
Throughout her life she has held various positions in the Public Administration, having been Secretary of State for Planning in the First Constitutional Government (1976-77). She has been a member of different expert groups within the EU, Council of Europe and ILO.
Manuela Silva was president of the International Movement of Catholic Intellectuals, president of the National Justice and Peace Commission, founder and life president of the Betânia Foundation and coordinated the Economy and Society Group (GES).
She was a pioneer in the study of community development in Portugal and in the study of inequality and poverty. She was responsible for coordinating the first scientific studies on poverty carried out in Portugal in the 80s. Throughout her career, she has published several books and studies on the economy and society in Portugal, in which she has always shown a deep concern for the problems of development, inequalities, social injustice and the various forms of poverty and social exclusion.
At ISEG, she held several positions in addition to an intense teaching activity: President of the Pedagogical Council between 1982 and 1985; director of the Journal Estudos de Economia do ISEG, between 1982 and 1989; founding member and member of the first Directive Committee of the Research Center on Portuguese Economy (CISEP). She was also responsible for the creation of the master's degree course in Economics and Social Policy in the early 90s of the last century.
The legacy of Manuela Silva's intervention, as an economist, as a university professor and as a Catholic deeply marked by the social doctrine of the Church, has deeply marked ISEG, its students and the colleagues with whom she worked. Her vision of an economy at the service of people, the need for sustained and inclusive socio-economic development remains one of the pillars of ISEG's mission and, in particular, of the teaching provided here.
Carlos Farinha Rodrigues
(October 07, 2019)
