Maria João Rodrigues GOIH (born 25 September 1955) is a Portuguese academic and politician who served as Minister of Employment in Portugal and was a Member of the European Parliament.

[2] A Professor of Economics at the University Institute of Lisbon (ISCTE-IUL) since 1987,[3] Maria João Rodrigues started her career in public affairs in 1993 as a consultant in the Ministry of Employment and Social Security, then headed by José Falcão e Cunha in the government of Prime Minister Aníbal Cavaco Silva.

The Portuguese Presidency succeeded in securing a compromise on the so-called Lisbon Strategy, a plan that was aimed at boosting growth, competitiveness and employment level in the EU building on innovation.

This mission, which achieved the negotiation of the Lisbon Treaty, came to end on 1 January 2008, when the rotating presidency of the European Union was handed to Slovenia.

Although not acting in any official capacity anymore, Rodrigues' previous experiences with the Lisbon strategy meant that her viewpoint on the Europe 2020 was highly valued all across the political spectrum and in many European capitals.

[16] On Thursday April 18, 2019, Maria Joao Rodrigues was found guilty by the European Parliament of psychological harassment of one of her employees.

[21] In December 2011, Rodrigues argued for the use of a "big bazooka" to address the eurozone crisis, in the form of a large scale government debt purchase by the European Central Bank.