Ricardo Serrão Santos – Portugal’s Minister of Maritime Affairs

Ricardo Serrão Santos was born in 1954. Lives in the portuguese Autonomous Region of Azores.

Doctor in Biology and Animal Ecology he is Principal Researcher at the University of the Azores, Pro-Rector of the University of the Azores and President of IMAR – Institute of Marine Research.

He was Director of the Department Oceanography and Fisheries of Unniversity of Azores.

Ricardo Serrão Santos has been dedicated to the study of marine biodiversity and ocean ecosystems, and has more than 400 hundred published works of which more than 200 papers in SCI journals included in the Web of Knowledge. He is co-editor of a book on “Seamounts: Ecology, Fisheries and Conservation”, and co-author of a Virtual Centre of Marine Interpretation (CIMV).

During his academic career coordinated and chaired several scientific organizations of the EU, Portugal and the Azores. He holds positions in several scientific advisory bodies and committees among which the Oceanographic Institute of Paris. He is Specialty Chief Editor of Frontiers in Marine Science/ Deep-Sea Environments and Ecology.

Ricardo Serrão Santos is member of the Portuguese Academy of Sciences and Emeritus Member of the Portuguese Navy Academy.

He has received several honorable mentions and awards, among which a «Gift to the Earth» by WWF in 2002, the “Insígnia Autonómica de Reconhecimento” awarded by the Legislative Parliament of the Azores and the Azores Government in 2012, commended “Chevalier de l’Ordre de Saint Charles” by SAS Prince Albert II of Monaco in 2013, awarded the Prize “Excellence Mare” awarded by PwC Portugal in 2017.

He was also Member of the European Parliament between 2014 and 2019.