Nelson de Souza

Nelson de Souza was born in India, in 1954. He graduated in Finance from Instituto Superior de Economia.

Nelson de Souza has a deep knowledge of the Portuguese business fabric, as well as of the national and European support programs for companies and the economy.

He was manager of Compete/QREN Program and PRIME, member of the board of IAPMEI (National Agency for Competitiveness and Innovation) and Program Manager at PEDIP (Specific Programme for the Development of Portuguese Industry).

He was Secretary of State for Small and Medium Enterprises, Trade and Services between 1999 and 2002, and Chief of Staff for the Minister of Economy between 1995 and 1999.

He held the position of General Director at the Portuguese Industrial Association until the end of 2013, where he had previously joined the Executive Commission, between 2002 and 2005.

He was Municipal Director of Finance at the Lisbon City Hall, from February 2014 until November 2015, where he was also advisor of the Mayor.

He was Secretary of State for Development and Cohesion from 2015 until February 2019, and Minister of Planning until October 2019.