Manuel Sebastião was appointed President of the Portuguese Competition Authority in March 2008 for a five years term. Prior to thus appointmente he was a member of the Board of Directors of the portuguese Central Bank, Banco de Portugal, from 2000 to 2008, having joined the institution as a staff member in 1986.
He was a member of the Board of the Portugueses Insurance and Pension Funds Supervisory Authority from 1998 to 2000, a member of the Board of Directores of the state owned bank Banco de Fomento Exterior from 1992 to 1996 and an economist in the International Monetary Fund from 1988 to 1992.
He has been a lecturer in economics and finance at various Lisbon Universities during his career.
Mr. Sebastião has an endergraduate degree from the School of Economics Technical University of Lisbon in 1973, a Doctorate 3éme cycle from Université de Paris I, Panthéon Sorbonne in 1978 and a PhD in economics from Columbia University in the city of New York in 1986.
He was born in Luanda, Angola, in 1949.