The 37-year-old Vera Esperança dos Santos Daves De Sousa, popularly known as Vera Daves,  is the first woman to hold the position of Minister of Finance in Angola assumed office on the 8th of October 2019.

Vera who first served as Secretary of State for Finance  is now now tasked with reviving an oil-based economy suffering its worst recession since the civil war ended in 2002.

Born in Luanda and has a degree in Economics from the Catholic University of Angola (UCAN), she also has several certificates in finance, management, and leadership and is the co-author of a book on Public Finance.

In 2011, she was the Head of Research for a Local Bank, and became a regular commentator on TV discussing finance and the economy.

Vera was appointed head of Luanda’s Capital Markets Commission in 2016 which she served excellently.

She is an Ex-Officio Member of the Board of Governors of African Development Bank (AfDB),  since 2019.

She is also serving as Ex-Officio Member of the Board of Governors of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank respectively, since 2019.

And in 2020, Vera Daves was listed in the second publication of 100 Most Influential African Women by Avance Media.