Maria Cavaco Silva
| Maria Cavaco Silva | |
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Maria Cavaco Silva in a State Dinner at the Palace of Ajuda, 2014
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| First Lady of Portugal | |
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In role 9 March 2006 – 9 March 2016 |
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| President | Aníbal Cavaco Silva |
| Preceded by | Maria José Ritta |
| Succeeded by | Position vacant |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
19 March 1938 São Bartolomeu de Messines, Silves, Algarve, Portugal |
| Nationality | Portuguese |
| Spouse(s) | Aníbal Cavaco Silva (m. 1963) |
| Children | Bruno and Patrícia Maria |
| Residence | Palácio de Belém (official) |
| Alma mater | University of Lisbon |
| Signature |  |
Maria Alves da Silva Cavaco Silva (born São Bartolomeu de Messines, 19 March 1938) is the wife of Aníbal Cavaco Silva, the 19th President of the Portuguese Republic and, as such, was the First Lady of Portugal from 2006 until 2016.
A Professor of Portuguese Language and Culture, Maria Cavaco Silva has been dedicating her attention to education and culture issues, but also to social solidarity and cohesion.
Maria Cavaco Silva was born Maria Alves da Silva, to Francisco dos Santos Silva and Adelina de Jesus Pincho, on 19 March 1938, in São Bartolomeu de Messines, Silves (Algarve). Her mother died in her youth, and she ended up being raised by her uncle and aunt in Lisbon.
She Licentiated in Germanic Philology from the University of Lisbon in 1960. Her final thesis was about "Yearning (saudade) in Hölderlin's Poetry". She also has a degree in Pedagogical Sciences from that same University, and began working as a teacher in 1960, in the Colégio das Doroteias. She has also taught in the Liceu Passos Manuel, Liceu Rainha D. Leonor and Liceu D. João de Castro, all of them in Lisbon.
It was while holidaying in the Algarve that she met Aníbal Cavaco Silva, whom she married on 20 October 1963. Later that same year, her husband was summoned for military duty in the Colonial War, in the then-Portuguese Overseas Province of Mozambique, and Maria Cavaco Silva accompanied him. She lived in Lourenço Marques (modern-day Maputo), where she taught Portuguese language and foreign languages at Liceu Salazar and Liceu D. Ana da Costa Portugal. In 1971, they both moved to York, in England, while her husband studied Economics in the University of York. Once there, Maria Cavaco Silva attended German and Italian courses at the Language Teaching Centre, and taught Portuguese privately to foreigners. Simultaneously, she enjoyed the opportunity to deepen her knowledge of English culture and language. The Cavaco Silvas returned to Portugal in 1974.
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