Portuguese minister resigns after daughter's illegal entry into medical school

By Tiago Villanueva Lisbon

Portugal's foreign minister, António Martins da Cruz, has resigned after accusations that he abused his position to help his daughter sidestep normal entrance requirements to study medicine. Earlier the minister of science and higher education resigned; Pedro Lynce had allegedly given Martins da Cruz's daughter the place at the University of Lisbon.

The minister's daughter, Diana Martins da Cruz, allegedly applied to bypass admission procedures using a law which gives the family of diplomats working abroad, who complete secondary education outside Portugal, automatic entry to Portuguese universities. But the local media have since shown that Martins da Cruz did not complete her education abroad and nor was her father working abroad at that time.

Martins da Cruz claimed that she should still be allowed to benefit from the law, despite failing to meet the requirements of the law, and Pedro Lynce accepted her petition. In response to the accusations António Martins da Cruz told reporters, "After we sought expert advice, my daughter wrote a petition, in good faith, which followed its regular course in the Ministry of Higher Education. It was a situation which was not contemplated in the law, and therefore required a petition. It was not about asking to be favoured, but about my daughter not becoming hindered due to the fact that I ceased duties in Madrid."