João António Portugal was born in Leiria on the 27th January, 1965. He holds a degree in Law (Political and Legal Sciences) from the Faculty of Law of the University of Lisbon. He was a trainee assistant professor in Political Science, Constitutional Law and Public International Law. Since 1993, he has been working at the Ombudsman. From 1998 till 2022, he has been in charge of coordinating the Unit on Rights, Freedoms and Guarantees, Health, Education and Constitutionality issues. He was also a member of the Coordination Commission of the National Preventive Mechanism. Since April 2022 he has been coordinating the Triage Unit, as well as the Child, Elderly and Disabled Persons Department.