Carmen Freire Da Costa

Carmen Freire Da Costa is Corporate Secretary and Head of the Institutional team of the African Legal Support Facility. She has been with the ALSF since its inception, being responsible for corporate secretariat and legal advisory services to the statutory bodies, relations with member states and institutions, as well as assisting the Director in resource mobilization activities.

Prior to joining the ALSF, Mrs. Freire da Costa practised corporate business and civil law in a prominent Portuguese law firm. Following the experience in the private sector, she was seconded by the Portuguese government to the Office of the General Counsel and Legal Affairs Department of the African Development Bank Group, where, among other responsibilities, she assisted the Office of the General Counsel in its relations with Portuguese-speaking African countries. Mrs. Freire da Costa started her professional career at the Council of Ministers of the European Union in Brussels, Belgium, working as a junior lawyer (trainee), researching and drafting memoranda on European Community law rules and procedures.

Mrs. Freire da Costa holds a Law degree from the University of Coimbra, Portugal, and a Master’s degree in European Studies from the University of Siena, Italy, in cooperation with the “Institut des Hautes Etudes Européennes”, Strasbourg, France. She is a member of the Lisbon Bar Association since 2005.