Vera Duarte


Vera Valentina Benrós de Melo Duarte Lobo de Pina, also known as Vera Valentina Benrós de Melo Duarte Lobo de Pina and Vera Duarte Martins, is a Cape Verdean human rights activist, government minister and politician.

Biography

Duarte was born in Mindelo on the island of São Vicente. She spend her first years of school in Cape Verde. She studied abroad in Portugal at the University of Lisbon.
She returned to Praia in Cape Verde and became a counsellor judge at the Supreme Court. She later became and advisoress to the President of the Republic.
Duarte was the recipient of the inaugural North–South Prize in 1995, along with musician, Peter Gabriel. The North–South Prize is awarded annually to recipients in the field of human rights by the North–South Centre of the Council of Europe. She is also a founding member of the Lisbon Forum.
Duarte is the only Capeverdean to have the U Tam'si Prize for African Poetry won in 2001.
Duarte co-founded and chaired the National Commission for Human Rights and Citizenship of Cape Verde in 2003. Most recently, Duarte has served as the Cape Verdean Minister of Education.

Works

Poems