Odete Santos GOIH (26 April 1941 – 27 December 2023) was a Portuguese lawyer, amateur actress, and politician who was a deputy in the Assembly of the Republic of Portugal for 27 years.

Maria Odete dos Santos was born in the small village of Pega, in the municipality of Guarda in the northeast of Portugal, on 26 April 1941.

She graduated in Law from the Faculty of Law of the University of Lisbon and became a lawyer in Setúbal in 1968, becoming known for providing legal services pro bono, defending women without financial resources or those who faced divorce, discrimination and oppression at work.

[1] After the Carnation Revolution of 25 April 1974, which overthrew the authoritarian Estado Novo regime, Santos became part of the first administration of the Setúbal City Council, with responsibility for cultural matters, holding the position until the first municipal elections in 1976.

She was known as a vocal supporter of women's rights and played an important role in drafting relevant legislation, including for the promotion of infertility treatment.