[2] Later that same year, her husband was summoned for military duty in the Colonial War, in the then-Portuguese Overseas Province of Mozambique, and Maria Cavaco Silva accompanied him.

Once there, Maria Cavaco Silva attended German and Italian courses at the Language Teaching Centre, and taught Portuguese privately to foreigners.

She became the First Lady of Portugal, succeeding Maria José Ritta, Jorge Sampaio's wife, in March of that year.

Her activity agenda included the challenges that families and the youth face in today's world, or the new demands in social assistance.

As it had already happened in the 1980s and the 1990s, when her husband was prime minister, attending official acts and institutional events, as well as contacting with organisations, associations and several entities of the civil society, is a large part of her daily routine.