Isabel Alçada

Isabel Alçada

Born (1950-05-29) 29 May 1950
Lisbon, Portugal
Occupation
  • teacher
  • writer
  • politician
LanguagePortuguese
Alma materUniversity of Lisbon, Boston University
Genre
  • children's literature
  • young adult literature
Years active1982–present
Notable worksUma aventura series
Minister of Education
In office
2009–2011
Prime MinisterJosé Sócrates
Preceded byMaria de Lurdes Rodrigues
Succeeded byNuno Crato

Maria Isabel Girão de Melo Veiga Vilar GOIH GOIP (Lisbon, 29 May 1950), better known by her pen name, Isabel Alçada, is a Portuguese teacher, writer, and politician. As a writer, she is mainly dedicated to children's literature, being primarily known for writing the Uma aventura series of books with her writing partner Ana Maria Magalhães.

Alçada has also held a number of education-related government-appointed positions, including coordinator for the working group that would conceive the Portuguese school library network (1995-1996), and commissioner for the National Reading Plan (2006-2009). From 2009 to 2011 she was the Minister of Education in the XVIII Constitutional Government of Portugal.