Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Cooperation and Communities - 19th Government

Ilza Maria dos Santos Amado Vaz is a São Toméan jurist and public official, whose career has been marked by a strong commitment to justice, human rights, good governance, diplomacy, and African regional integration.

She holds a Law degree from the University of Social Sciences of Toulouse, France, and a postgraduate qualification in Police, Security and Society from the Institute of Political Studies of Toulouse. She also obtained a specialised diploma in Customs Law from the National School of Customs in Neuilly-sur-Seine.

She served as Minister of Justice, Public Administration and Human Rights for two terms (2016–2018 and 2022–2024), as part of the 16th and 18th Constitutional Governments of São Tomé and Príncipe. During these periods, she led major structural reforms in the justice sector, civil registry and notary services, criminal investigation police, and public administration, in close collaboration with bilateral and multilateral development and cooperation partners.

She was elected Member of Parliament to the National Assembly in 1999 and again in 2018.

Between 1999 and 2016, she held senior roles within the Customs Administration of São Tomé and Príncipe, including Director-General, where she led an ambitious institutional modernisation process. In this capacity, she represented the country at the World Customs Organization and its African regional structure (AOC). She was also responsible, on behalf of the Ministry of Finance, for leading São Tomé and Príncipe’s accession process to the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) and contributed to the institutional reform process of the Economic Community of Central African States (ECCAS).

Throughout her career, she has undertaken extensive training in public administration and policy, commercial law, customs law, and industrial property. She has also participated in studies, consultancy assignments, and research projects related to public administration, human rights, women’s rights, and development cooperation.

She is the author of the articles “Gender in Foreign Trade – The Perspective of Women Traders in São Tomé and Príncipe” and “The WTO Trade Facilitation Agreement and the AfCFTA Treaty.” She is also co-author of the book “Women’s Political Participation in São Tomé and Príncipe” and a study on the domestication of African Union treaties (2020).

She stands out as an active voice in promoting gender equality, valuing human capital, advancing institutional reform and modernisation, engaging with global agenda issues, and addressing the challenges and opportunities faced by Small Island Developing States.