Born in 1941. A career magistrate, he is a retired judge from the Supreme Court of Justice. From 1980 to 1996, he served successively as Director of the Judicial Studies Center, Secretary of State for Judicial Administration, Minister of Justice and Member of Parliament. Between 2003 and 2006, he held the position of Minister of the Republic for the Autonomous Region of the Azores. With intense civic activity, he is a leading member, among others, of associations such as APAV and CRESCER-SER, of which he is a founding member. With published articles and numerous lectures, he is the author of books such as A Justiça e os Justos (1999), Palácio da Justiça (2007), Educação, Arte e Cidadania” (2008), O Julgamento – Uma Narrativa Crítica da Justiça (2012), Levante-se o Véu, this one in co-authorship (2011), and also the novels O Chamador (2014), O Homem Que Escrevia Azulejos (2016) and O Beca da Liberdade (2019). Awarded in the area of Psychology, he was given the Medal of Recognition in 2016 by the Regional Council of Porto of the Bar Association; and in 2017, by the Pro-Inclusion Association, the Medal of Merit. He was awarded the Grand Cross of the Order of D. Raimundo de Peñaforte by His Majesty, the King of Spain, for his actions as Minister of Justice within the European Union; and by His Excellency, the President of the Portuguese Republic, with the Grand Cross of the Order of Christ, for his actions as Minister of the Republic. Between 2013 and 2017, he was President of the General Council of the University of Minho. He is an Elected Member of the International Academy of Portuguese Culture. In February 2019 he was awarded the title of Doctor Honoris Causa in Education Sciences by the University of Minho.
