Luísa Dias Diogo (born 11 April 1958) is a Mozambican politician who served as Prime Minister of Mozambique from February 2004 to January 2010. She replaced Pascoal Mocumbi, who had been prime minister for the previous nine years. Before becoming prime minister, she was Minister of Planning and Finance, and she continued to hold that post until February 2005.[1]
She was the first female prime minister of Mozambique. Diogo represents the party FRELIMO, which has ruled the country since independence in 1975.[2]
Diogo began working in the Mozambique Finance Ministry in 1980 while she was still a college student. She became head of department in 1986 and national budget director in 1989. She then went to work for the World Bank, as the programme officer in Mozambique.[3] In 1994 she joined the FRELIMO government as Deputy Minister of Finance under Mozambican President Joaquim Chissano.
After reports that some farmers were refusing to leave their livestock in areas threatened by the 2007 Mozambican flood, Diogo ordered forcible evacuations of citizens in low-lying areas of the Zambezi valley.[8]
During her time in office, Diogo urged the African health ministers to offer reproductive and sexual health services free of charge throughout the continent. These services could reduce infant mortality by two thirds, reduce maternal mortality by three quarters, reverse the spread of AIDS, and promote gender equality and the empowerment of women. The target set by the UN was to achieve these goals by 2015.[9]
Diogo also focused on gender equality and women's empowerment through a recently launched "Network of Women Ministers and Parliamentarians" (MUNIPA). The MUNIPA network aims to strengthen advocacy and lobbying activities so that policies and legislation are adopted favourable to gender equity and women's empowerment. Promoting equality between men and women is a central concern of the Mozambican government, which has been adopting instruments to promote women's empowerment at all levels [of government].[10]
In 2014, Diogo came second to Filipe Nyusi in FRELIMO’s elections for candidate in that year’s general elections.[11] At the time, she was backed by a party faction led by Chissano.[12]
^Skard, Torild (2014), "Luisa Diogo", in Women of Power - half a century of female presidents and prime ministers worldwide, Bristol: Policy Press, ISBN978-1-44731-578-0.
