Dilma Rousseff

Her Excellency Dilma Rousseff
36th President of Brazil
In office 1 January 2011 – 31 August 2016
Preceded by	Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva
Succeeded by	Michel Temer
Personal details
Born	(1947-12-14)14 December 1947 Belo Horizonte, Brazil

Dilma Vana Rousseff (born 14 December 1947) is an economist and politician. She was the 36th President of Brazil from 2011 until 2016.

In 2003, in the government of Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, she was the minister of Mines and Energy. She became Lula's Chief of Staff in 2005, after her predecessor, José Dirceu, resigned because of charges of corruption.^[1] On 31 October 2010, Rousseff won 55% of the vote. Her main contender was José Serra who won 44%. Serra was the candidate of the Brazilian Social Democratic Party. On 1 January 2011, she became the first woman president of the country.^[2][3] In August 2016, she was impeached and removed from office.

She was against the military dictatorship that governed Brazil from 1964 to 1985. In January 1970 she was sent to prison for being a member of a Marxist group which had carried out bank robberies and murders.^[3][4] She was released after three years. She joined the Workers Party in 1986.

Rousseff was an important ally of Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, a labour activist who became President of Brazil. A left wing candidate, Lula was a popular president and Rousseff became his chosen successor. She won the 2010 Presidential election.

As President, Rousseff kept with many of Lula's policies. She also became known for bringing the World Cup and the Olympics to Brazil. Many Brazilians were against this, and felt that the money spent on these events would be better spent on other things. Rousseff was on the board of Petrobras, an oil company, in the 2000s. In 2015, reports of corruption at Petrobras became known. Although not named in the investigation, many people in her government were, and there were large protests against Rousseff's government, including Lula da Silva. She has also been accused of lying about economic numbers during her campaign to be reelected. On 3 December 2015, impeachment proceedings against Rousseff were officially approved by the Chamber of Deputies.^[5]

On 12 May 2016, the impeachment process began when the Senate of Brazil temporarily suspended President Rousseff's powers and duties for up to six months or until the Senate reaches a verdict: to remove her from office if found guilty or to acquit her from the crimes charged.^[6] Vice President Michel Temer assumed her powers and duties as Acting President of Brazil during the suspension.^[7] Rousseff said she is innocent and that the impeachment is a coup. Rousseff was removed from office on 31 August 2016 when the Brazilian Senate voted 61-20 in favor of impeachment. She was succeeded by Vice President Michel Temer.

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