Heads of State of Brazil
Fourth Brazilian Republic
President of Brazil
Getúlio Dornelles Vargas
Date of birth/date of death: b. April 19 1882; d. August 24 1954.
Independent
1930 – 1945
Field Marshal Eurico Gaspar Dutra
Date of birth/date of death: b. May 18 1883; d. June 11 1974
Social Democratic Party
1946 – 1951
Getúlio Dornelles Vargas
Date of birth/date of death: b. April 19 1882; d. August 24 1954.
Brazilian Labour Party
1951 – 1954
Fifth Brazilian Republic
Heads of State of the Fifth Brazilian Republic
President of Brazil
Humberto de Alencar Castelo Branco
Date of birth/date of death: b. September 20 1897; d. July 18 1967.
Non-Partisan (Military) (1964 – 1966); National Renewal Alliance (1966 – 1967)
1964 – 1967
Artur da Costa e Silva
Date of birth/date of death: b. October 3 1899; d. December 17 1969.
National Renewal Alliance
1967 – 1969
Artur da Costa e Silva was removed from office on August 31 1969 by a military junta consisting of the heads of the army, navy, and air force (Aurélio de Lira Tavares, Augusto Rademaker, and Márcio Melo, respectively). The junta held executive power in the country until Emílio Garrastazu Médici was sworn in as president on October 30 1969.
Emílio Garrastazu Médici
Date of birth/date of death: b. December 4 1905; d. October 9 1985.
National Renewal Alliance
1969 – 1974
Ernesto Beckmann Geisel
Date of birth/date of death: b. August 3 1907; d. September 12 1996.
National Renewal Alliance
1974 – 1979
João Baptista de Oliveira Figueiredo
Date of birth/date of death: b. January 15 1918; d. December 24 1999.
Democratic Social Party
1979 – 1985
Deputy Heads of State of the Fifth Brazilian Republic
Vice President of Brazil
Pedro Aleixo
Date of birth/date of death: b. August 1 1901; d. March 3 1975.
National Renewal Alliance
1967 – 1969
Augusto Hamann Rademaker Grünewald
Date of birth/date of death: b. May 11 1905; d. September 13 1985.
National Renewal Alliance
1969 – 1974
Sixth Brazilian Republic
Heads of State of the Sixth Brazilian Republic
Brazil’s return to civilian rule began with the indirect election of Tancredo Neves in 1985 by an electoral college that had been created during the military regime. However, Neves died before taking office, and the vice president, José Sarney, became president instead. Sarney’s government oversaw the drafting and promulgation of the Constitution of 1988, which created the current constitutional framework in Brazil and fully restored democracy and direct presidential elections.
Under the 1988 constitution, Brazil is a federal presidential republic in which the president serves as both head of state and head of government (there is no prime minister). Presidents are elected by direct popular vote using a two-round system and serve four-year terms; since a constitutional amendment adopted in 1997, they may seek one consecutive re-election. The office possesses extensive formal powers, including appointing ministers, directing federal administration, proposing legislation, vetoing laws, issuing provisional measures with temporary force of law, and serving as commander-in-chief of the armed forces.
The presidency is powerful in principle, but in practice the president must typically assemble broad governing coalitions due to the fragmented nature of Brazil’s party system. There are strong legislative and judicial checks on the office’s authority, both legally and in practice. Two Sixth Republic presidents, Fernando Collor de Mello and Dilma Rousseff, have been impeached by the National Congress, and Jair Bolsonaro was imprisoned and banned from politics for his role in what the Supreme Court found to be an attempted coup to reverse the results of the 2022 presidential election.
President of Brazil
José Sarney de Araújo Costa
Date of birth/date of death: b. April 24 1930.
Brazilian Democratic Movement
1985
José Sarney de Araújo Costa
Date of birth/date of death: b. April 24 1930.
Brazilian Democratic Movement
1985 – 1990
Fernando Affonso Collor de Mello
Date of birth/date of death: b. August 12 1949.
National Reconstruction Party
1990 – 1992
Itamar Augusto Cautiero Franco (*acting)
Date of birth/date of death: b. June 28 1930; d. July 2 2011.
Brazilian Democratic Movement
1992
Itamar Augusto Cautiero Franco
Date of birth/date of death: b. June 28 1930; d. July 2 2011.
Brazilian Democratic Movement
1992 – 1995
Fernando Henrique Cardoso
Date of birth/date of death: b. June 18 1931.
Brazilian Social Democracy Party
1995 – 2003
Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva
Date of birth/date of death: b. October 27 1945.
Workers’ Party
2003 – 2011
Dilma Vana Rousseff
Date of birth/date of death: b. December 14 1947.
Workers’ Party
2011 – 2016
Michel Miguel Elias Temer Lulia (*acting)
Date of birth/date of death: b. September 23 1940.
Brazilian Democratic Movement
2016
Michel Miguel Elias Temer Lulia
Date of birth/date of death: b. September 23 1940.
Brazilian Democratic Movement
2016 – 2019
Jair Messias Bolsonaro
Date of birth/date of death: b. March 21 1955.
Independent (2019 – 2021); Liberal Party (2021 – 2023)
2019 – 2023
Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva
Date of birth/date of death: b. October 27 1945.
Workers’ Party
2023 – present
Deputy Heads of State of the Sixth Brazilian Republic
Under the 1985 Constitution, the vice president is elected on the same ticket as the president in a direct popular election using a two-round system, and therefore serves the same four-year term. The office has relatively limited independent constitutional authority. Its primary role is to succeed the president in the event of death, resignation, removal, or incapacity, while also performing duties assigned by the president and occasionally representing the government in diplomatic or administrative functions.
Although the position is institutionally secondary, it has frequently become politically significant because of Brazil’s history of presidential crises. In 1985 José Sarney assumed the presidency after the death of president-elect Tancredo Neves before his inauguration, beginning the democratic transition. Later, Itamar Franco succeeded Fernando Collor de Mello following Collor’s impeachment in 1992, and Michel Temer became president after the impeachment of Dilma Rousseff in 2016.
Vice President of Brazil
José Sarney de Araújo Costa
Date of birth/date of death: b. April 24 1930.
Brazilian Democratic Movement
1985
The office of Vice President was vacant between April 21 1985 and March 15 1990. This was due to the accession of José Sarney to the presidency following the death before taking office of president-elect Tancredo Neves.
Itamar Augusto Cautiero Franco
Date of birth/date of death: b. June 28 1930; d. July 2 2011.
National Reconstruction Party
1990 – 1992
The office of Vice President was vacant between December 29 1992 and January 1 1995. This was due to the accession of Itamar Franco to the presidency following the impeachment of Fernando Collor de Mello.
Marco Antônio de Oliveira Maciel
Date of birth/date of death: b. July 21 1940; d. June 12 2021.
Liberal Front Party
1995 – 2003
José Alencar Gomes da Silva
Date of birth/date of death: b. October 17 1931; d. March 29 2011.
Liberal Party (2003 – 2005); Brazilian Republican Party (2005 – 2011)
2003 – 2011
Michel Miguel Elias Temer Lulia
Date of birth/date of death: b. September 23 1940.
Brazilian Democratic Movement
2011 – 2016
The office of Vice President was vacant between August 31 2016 and January 1 2019. This was due to the accession of Michel Temer to the presidency following the impeachment of Dilma Rousseff.
Antônio Hamilton Martins Mourão
Date of birth/date of death: b. August 15 1953.
Brazilian Labour Renewal Party (2019 – 2022); The Republicans (2022 – 2023)
2019 – 2023
Geraldo José Rodrigues Alckmin Filho
Date of birth/date of death: b. November 7 1952.
Brazilian Socialist Party
2023 – present
Heads of Government of Brazil
Fourth Brazilian Republic
Prime Minister of Brazil
Tancredo de Almeida Neves
Date of birth/date of death: b. March 4 1910; d. April 21 1985.
Social Democratic Party
1961 – 1962