Rosa, Humberto Delgado

(1960- )

   Biologist, environmental activist, and public servant. Born in Lisbon in 1960, a grandson of the exiled General Humberto Delgado, Rosa received a biology degree from the Faculty of Sciences, University of Lisbon in 1983 and a Ph.D. in evolutionary biology from the same institution in 1995. He served as a faculty member in the animal biology department of his alma mater, as well as a researcher. He also served as advisor on the environment to several prime ministers beginning in 1995. In February 2005, Rosa was elected to the Assembly of the Republic as a member of the Socialist Party, and he was named Secretary of State for the Environment the same year.

   In his term as one of his country's principal civil servants and academic authorities concerned with ecology and the environment, Rosa has confronted important issues and problems in his area of expertise including recycling, incineration, climate change questions, and air quality. He is an important advocate and leader in renewable energy activities, and has supported greater emphasis on wind energy in Portugal. An active public speaker, Rosa has been a prolific researcher and author of works on biodiversity, bioethics, biotechnology, and the environment. He edited a book on bioethics for the natural sciences in 2004, in addition to publishing scores of articles in periodicals and chapters in books on these topics. He has also been a leader in various organizations concerned with the ecology and biology in the European Union as well as in Portugal.