The member of the Portuguese Diaspora Council, Cidália Luís-Akbar, was bestowed the Degree of Commander of the Order of Merit, attributed by the President of the Portuguese Republic, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, on the past April, on the USA.

The CEO of M. Luís Construction received the distinction on a ceremony at the Embassy Residence in Kalorama from the Portuguese Ambassador, Domingos Fezas Vital, on behalf of the President of Portugal, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa.

During the ceremony, the Ambassador Fezas Vital highlighted the outstanding way in which Cidália reached her achievements, her resilience and generosity.

Besides leading M. Luís Construction with her sister Natália, Cidália Luís-Akbar was on the Top 100 Women of Maryland on the Daily Record in 2011 and 2014; she won the Awards of Entrepreneur of the Year of Ernst&Young, in Maryland, in 2013, and Women of the Year by the Magazine Enterprising Women 2013; she was considered Women of the Year in 2012 by the National Association of Women Entrepreneurs and she was featured on Forbes Magazine on the June 2011 edition.

By Conselho da Diaspora Portuguesa, August 2018