Mozambique’s Joaquim Chissano, Sao Tome’s Maria Silveira win 2025 CPLP award

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Mozambique’s Joaquim Chissano, Sao Tome’s Maria Silveira win 2025 CPLP award

6:15 CAT | 06 Jun 2025

File photo: CPLP

Former Mozambican president Joaquim Chissano and former executive secretary of the Community of Portuguese Language Countries (CPLP) Maria do Carmo Silveira have won this year’s Aparecido de Oliveira Prize, it was announced on Friday.

“The Community of Portuguese Language Countries (CPLP) awards the 7th edition of the José Aparecido de Oliveira Prize, ex-aequo, to Mozambican citizen Joaquim Chissano and São Tomé and Principe citizen Maria do Carmo Silveira,” the organisation announced in a statement.

According to the CPLP, the jury “recognised the merit and value of the candidates in bringing the peoples of the community closer together, as well as in promoting peace, democracy and sustainable development through the defence of public causes and leadership of regional processes on the African continent, with international recognition”.

The decision was taken on June 3 by acclamation by the jury, made up of the Permanent Representatives of the Member States to the CPLP, which also recognised the “high merit” of the other candidates.

The José Aparecido de Oliveira Prize will be awarded to Joaquim Chissano, former president of Mozambique, and Maria do Carmo Silveira, former executive secretary of the CPLP, in a public and solemn ceremony to be held on the sidelines of the 15th Conference of Heads of State and Government of the CPLP, which will take place on July 18, in Guinea-Bissau, it added.

🏆 «Prémio José Aparecido de Oliveira» atribuído, ex-aequo, a Joaquim Chissano e Maria do Carmo Silveira!👍🥇
➡️ Mais informação: https://t.co/2sVnF3ta9w #CPLP #JoséAparecidoOliveira #Prémio #PremioJAO pic.twitter.com/luNqB4EyvA

— CPLP (@_CPLP) June 6, 2025

Created in 2011 and awarded every two years, the José Aparecido de Oliveira Prize aims to recognise and honour individuals and institutions that have distinguished themselves in the defence, enhancement and promotion of the principles, values and objectives of the CPLP, as well as in the conduct of studies and research in this field.

Candidates for the award are nominated by member states, associate observers and consultative observers of the CPLP.

Previous winners include João Lourenço, President of Angola, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, Portuguese Head of State, António Guterres, Secretary-General of the United Nations (UN), Jorge Sampaio, former President of the Portuguese Republic, Carlos Lopes, former Executive Secretary of the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa and Lauro Moreira, career diplomat from Brazil and first Permanent Representative to the CPLP (ex-aequo), as well as Kay Rala Xanana Gusmão, former President of Timor-Leste, and the Catholic Church of Timor-Leste – Episcopal Centre of Timor-Leste (ex-aequo) and Lula da Silva, President of Brazil.

The creator and founder of the CPLP, José Aparecido de Oliveira was Brazilian ambassador to Portugal, former Minister of Culture in the José Sarney government and former governor of the Federal District. He died in 2007 at the age of 78.

The Community of Portuguese Language Countries (CPLP) was created on July 17, 1996, at the Lisbon Constitutive Summit. It comprises Brazil, Angola, Cabo Verde, Guinea-Bissau, Equatorial Guinea, Mozambique, Portugal, Sao Tome and Principe, and Timor-Leste.

Source: Lusa