Sofia Moreira de Sousa

Sofia Moreira de Sousa is the Head of the EU Commission Representation in Portugal, a position she took in September 2021 after ending her four years mandate as the EU Ambassador and Head of the EU Delegation to the Republic of Cabo Verde.

Prior to that she was Deputy Head of the EU Delegation to the Republic of South Africa. Until 2014 she was the senior adviser to the European Union’s Deputy Secretary General and Corporate Board member dealing with Iran negotiations and EU’s relations with Eastern Partners, a post she took after being the deputy head of the Unit in the European External Action Service dealing with policy coordination, working on the preparation of all foreign affairs Council meetings and political guidance for EU delegations around the world.

From 2009-2011 Ms Moreira de Sousa was political counsellor at the EU Delegation to the African Union in Addis Ababa, following closely African regional integration and the implementation of the EU-Africa strategic partnership. Prior to that she was detached to the Portuguese Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Lisbon, notably on the preparation and follow up of the EU-Africa summit in Lisbon in 2007 and the establishment of the EU-Africa partnership.

Before that, Ms Moreira de Sousa was senior adviser to the EU Special Representative for the Caucasus from 2005-2006 travelling extensively in the region, and worked in the close team of the EU High Representative Javier Solana from 2003 to 2007 on EU relations with Russia and relations with Ukraine, being part of the EU team involved in the facilitation of the mediation of the Ukrainian Orange Revolution in 2004.

Earlier in her career Ms Moreira worked at the international relations department of the European Space Agency, dealing with the external aspects of the Galileo satellite navigation system. Ms Moreira de Sousa also worked as course director at the European Law Academy in Trier, where she was responsible for training programs for judges and magistrates on European law and jurisprudence. Before that she worked two years in law firm in her home town of Porto, Portugal. Ms Moreira de Sousa studied law in Portugal and holds an LLM in International Law and International Relations by the University of Hamburg, Germany.