The news was initially reported by the Abrantes newspaper and confirmed by the Ministry of Labor, Solidarity and Social Security.
Holding a degree in Organization and Business Management from the Higher Institute of Economics at the Technical University of Lisbon, Octávio Oliveira has been the president of the Social Security Institute since May 22, 2024. He succeeded Ana Vasques, who resigned over the issue of withholding tax on pensions, feeling the government showed “a lack of confidence” in her work.
According to the biographical note released at the time of his appointment by the Ministry of Labor, Solidarity and Social Security, Octávio Oliveira served as Secretary of State for Employment between 2013 and 2015 under the governments of Pedro Passos Coelho. He headed the Executive Board of the Institute for Employment and Vocational Training (IEFP) from 2011 to 2013.
“In this capacity, he represented Portugal at the OECD, LEED Committee, Advisory Committee on the Free Movement of Workers, and the EU Employment Committee,” the MTSSS noted.
The same note stated that Octávio Félix de Oliveira joined the IEFP as a senior technician in 1987, where he held “various managerial roles, both in the central unit and in regional centers.”
He was the director of the Vocational Training Center for the Ceramics Industry in Caldas da Rainha from 2005 to 2011 and director of the Vocational Training Center for the Electronics, Energy, Telecommunications, and Information Technology Industries from 2016 to 2024.
The ministry also mentioned that “throughout his professional life, he served in teaching positions as a trainee assistant at the University Institute of Beira Interior from 1985 to 1987 and at the Management School of the Polytechnic Institute of Santarém in 1994, 1997, and 1998.”
