Margarida Blasco

Maria Margarida Blasco Martins Augusto (born 25 July 1956) is a Portuguese judge and politician. She has been Minister of Internal Administration since 2024, in the XXIV Constitutional Government, led by Luís Montenegro.^[1][2]

Margarida Blasco
Official portrait, 2024
Minister of Internal Administration
In office 2 April 2024 – 5 June 2025
Prime Minister	Luís Montenegro
Preceded by	José Luís Carneiro
Succeeded by	Maria Lúcia Amaral
Member of the Supreme Court of Justice
In office 8 May 2019 – 30 August 2021
President	António Piçarra Henrique Araújo
Inspector General of Internal Administration
In office 9 February 2012 – 4 May 2019
Minister	Miguel Macedo Anabela Miranda Rodrigues João Calvão da Silva Constança Urbano de Sousa Eduardo Cabrita
Preceded by	Mário Varges Gomes
Succeeded by	Anabela Cabral Ferreira
Director-General of the Security Information Service
In office 2004–2005
Prime Minister	José Manuel Barroso Pedro Santana Lopes
Preceded by	Domingos Jerónimo
Succeeded by	Júlio Pereira
Personal details
Born	(1956-07-25) 25 July 1956 (age 69) Castelo Branco, Portugal
Political party	Independent
Alma mater	University of Lisbon
Occupation	judge • politician

Before her ministerial appointment, Blasco served as General Director of the Security Information Service from 2004 to 2005 and was Inspector General of the Internal Administration from 2012 to 2019. Between 2019 and 2021, she was a member of the Supreme Court of Justice, retiring in 2021.

Early life

Blasco was born on 25 July 1956 in Castelo Branco.^[3] In 1978, she graduated from the Faculty of Law at the University of Lisbon.^[3]

Career

Between 1987 and 1991 she was chief of staff of the Assistant Secretary of State to the Minister of Justice.^[4] She was then, from 1991 to 1993, general coordinator of cooperation with Portuguese-speaking countries at the Ministry of Justice.^[3] After leaving this position, she became Vice-President of the Institute for Portuguese Cooperation between 1994 and 1996.^[3]

She was general director of the Security Information Service, being the first woman to hold the office from 2004 to 2005, and was Inspector General of Internal Administration (IGAI) between 2012 and 2019.^[5] At SIS, she initiated cases related to police abuse, especially with Polícia de Segurança Pública agents, which ended with questioning about excessive violence and racism by security forces.^[6]

Between 2019 and 2021 she was a member of the Supreme Court of Justice, having retired in 2021.^[6] When she was a judge, she dealt with cases involving the 1980 Camarate plane crash, Dona Branca, and Fernando Negrão.^[6]