Another 'factually challenged' civil servant has been exposed. This time it is the chief of staff for the Secretary of State for Youth and Sport who pretended he had two degrees when in fact he had none.
Nuno Felix’s exit was immediate and is welcomed, especially by readers of the Observador newspaper whose journalists uncovered the deception.
Felix, 39, said he had a degree in Communication Sciences from the Universidade Nova de Lisboa and in Law from the Universidade Autónoma de Lisboa, details of which were published in the official Gazette accompanying news of his appointment in February.
Both universities have confirmed that Felix started these courses but did not finish them and earned no degree.
Nuno Felix was allowed to resign, his departure was announced on Friday 28th October in a note from the Ministry of Education.
"The Minister of Education today has been informed by the Secretary of State's for Youth and Sport that he has accepted the resignation of his Chief of Staff."
A former Secretary of State for Youth, João Wengorovius Meneses, revealed to the Observador that Nuno Felix’s deception had been known Tiago Brandão Rodrigues, the Minister of Education who had covered up for him.
In his defence, Nuno Felix said he did not say he had a degree, but that he had attended higher education courses and that he had made this clear in June by removing entries that stated he had degrees.
Felix also had worked as advisor to the President of the Council of Ministers between 2008 and 2011. In 2010, he worked for the General Secretariat of the Presidency of the Council of Ministers to provide services in the area of communication, receiving a total of €98,277.
This is the second case this week. On Wednesday, a deputy in the PM’s Regional Affairs department resigned.
Rui Roque Lizardo stepped down when it was revealed that, contrary to what he had stated, he did not in fact complete a degree in Electro-technical Engineering at the Faculty of Science and Technology at the University of Coimbra.
