Maria de Lurdes Rodrigues
Politician
Portuguese politician and educational reformer who served as Minister of Education of the 17th Constitutional Government from 2005-09. In 2010 she became the President of the Executive Council of the Luso-American Development Foundation.
She earned her Ph.D. in sociology from the ISCTE - Lisbon University Institute in 1996.
Her hotly debated educational policies resulted in increased test scores and a decreased dropout rate among Portuguese students.
She was born in Lisbon, Portugal.
She served as Minister of Education under the administration of Prime Minister Jose Socrates.