Translated from Portuguese. The Portuguese version prevails. Ler em português
Rui Constantino da Cruz Ferreira
First President of the Constitutional Court (2008–2018)
- 1958 — Born in Luanda on 23 January; he grew up in Benguela Province.
- 1985 — Graduated in Law from Agostinho Neto University. At the same institution where he had studied, he began teaching Constitutional Law, thus starting a teaching vocation that would span decades. Later, with the liberalisation of the practice of law, he was among the first lawyers registered with the Angolan Bar Association (OAA).
- 1987 — Appointed Secretary to the President of the Republic for Legal Affairs, a post he held until 1991.
- 1991–1992 — Coordinated the Commission that prepared the Constitutional Law and the basic legislation on fundamental rights, instruments that enabled the transition to the multi-party system and the enshrinement of civil liberties.
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1992–2008 — Served as Legal Adviser to the Presidency of the Republic and the Council of Ministers, providing high-level technical and legal advice to the executive for more than a decade and a half.
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1996 — Completed a Master's degree in Legal and Political Sciences at the Faculty of Law of the University of Coimbra.
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2001–2006 — Coordinated the Technical Commission responsible for preparing the preliminary draft of the current Constitution of the Republic of Angola, approved in 2010.
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2008 — By virtue of Resolution No. 14/08 of the National Assembly, he was elected a member of the Superior Council of the Judiciary. In April, he was appointed Coordinator of the Installation Commission of the Constitutional Court, which was formally installed on 25 June.
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2008–2018 — By Presidential Decree No. 7/08, he was appointed first President of the Constitutional Court of Angola. He swore in the Presidents of the Republic in 2012 and 2017, and carried out the prior abstract review of the Constitution in 2009 and 2010.
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2019 — Served as President of the Supreme Court of Angola, completing a career that took him through the three great pillars of Angolan justice: legal advice to the State, constitutional jurisdiction and ordinary jurisdiction.
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