Dilma Rousseff

Biography

Dilma Vana Rousseff, born on December 14, 1947, in Belo Horizonte, is a Brazilian economist and politician. She made history as Brazil's first female president, serving from 2011 until her impeachment in 2016. Raised in an upper-middle-class family, Rousseff became politically active at a young age, embracing socialist ideas that influenced her career. Her involvement took a serious turn after Brazil's 1964 military coup, as she joined Marxist urban guerrilla groups fighting the dictatorship. This led to her capture, torture, and imprisonment from 1970 to 1972, experiences that strongly affected her political views.

After her release, Rousseff moved to Porto Alegre with her husband Carlos Araújo, where they helped found the Democratic Labour Party (PDT) in Rio Grande do Sul. She made a name for herself in regional politics, working as treasury secretary of Porto Alegre and later as Secretary of Energy for Rio Grande do Sul. She focused on energy policy, which became her political strong point, leading to key roles within the state government. In 2001, after some disputes within the Dutra administration, she left the PDT and joined the Workers' Party (PT).

Rousseff's move to national politics began in 2002 when she advised presidential candidate Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva on energy policy. After Lula won the election, she was made Minister of Mines and Energy from 2003 to 2005. When Chief of Staff José Dirceu resigned during the Mensalão corruption scandal in 2005, Rousseff took on the role, serving as Lula's chief of staff until 2010. Her performance in this role made her Lula's preferred successor, and she left the position in March 2010 to run for president. She won the 2010 presidential election in a runoff against José Serra of the PSDB, becoming Brazil's first female president.

Rousseff's presidency involved economic difficulties and political struggles. She was reelected in 2014, narrowly defeating Aécio Neves, but her second term faced Brazil's worst recession in decades and the Petrobras corruption scandal known as Operation Car Wash. With growing political pressure and accusations of fiscal irresponsibility, she was impeached by the Brazilian Congress and removed from office on August 31, 2016. After her removal, Rousseff argued that the impeachment was a parliamentary coup. In March 2023, she started a new role as chair of the BRICS New Development Bank, returning to the spotlight in international financial governance.