Berta Cabral

Berta Maria Correia de Almeida de Melo Cabral (born 20 November 1952)^[2] is a Portuguese politician from Azores.

An economist by profession, Cabral received her degree in finance from the Lisbon School of Economics and Management at the Technical University of Lisbon in 1975.^[3] She served as regional director of treasury and transportation and communications for a time in the 1980s before being named to the government of Mota Amaral as regional secretary of Finance and Public Administration. Other public roles in the Azores which she has held include administrator of Eléctrica Açoriana, chair of the board of directors of SATA Air Açores, and a member of the Legislative Assembly of the Azores.^[4] In 2001 she became leader of the city council of Ponta Delgada, in the process becoming the city's first female mayor.^[5] In 2008 she was elected leader of the Azorean branch of the Social Democratic Party with 98.5% of the vote, having run unopposed in the election.^[4] She thus became the first woman to lead a political party in the archipelago.^[6] In 2012 she was nominated to lead the Ministry of National Defense in the cabinet of Pedro Passos Coelho, becoming the first woman to hold the post in the Portuguese cabinet.^[7] Between 2015 and 2019 she was a member of the Assembly of the Republic.^[8] Since 2022 she has been regional secretary of Tourism, Mobility and Infrastructure.^[9]

On 17 March 2026, Cabral's office as Regional Secretary of Tourism, Mobility and Infrastructure was searched by the Polícia Judiciária (Judiciary Police) as part of Operation Last Call, conducted by the National Unit for Combating Corruption.^[10][11]

The investigation centers on suspicions of favoritism toward the airline Ryanair by Azorean public entities, through alleged illegal financing in the awarding of contracts funded by the Azores 2030 Operational Programme.^[12] Authorities are investigating suspected crimes of subsidy or grant fraud, breach of duty, economic participation in business, and abuse of power.^[11]

The police operation included 14 search and seizure warrants at residences, public agencies, private law associations, and law offices on the islands of São Miguel, Terceira, and Faial, as well as in Lisbon, resulting in five individuals being formally named as suspects.^[10][13] The suspicions focus on the alleged use of the Visit Azores association as an intermediary to enter into contracts with Ryanair, purportedly aimed at covertly compensating the company for airport charges in the Azores.^[11] Cabral herself was not named as a suspect.^[12]