The Vice President of Brazil ( pt, Vice-Presidente do Brasil), officially the Vice President of the Federative Republic of Brazil (''Vice-Presidente da República Federativa do Brasil''), or simply the ''Vice President of the Republic'' (''Vice-Presidente da República'') is the second-highest ranking government official in the

executive branch The Executive, also referred as the Executive branch or Executive power, is the term commonly used to describe that part of government which enforces the law, and has overall responsibility for the governance of a State (polity), state. In poli ...

of the

Government of Brazil The Federal Government of Brazil (''Governo Federal'') is the national government of the Federative Republic of Brazil, a republic in South America divided in 26 states and a federal district. The Brazilian federal government is divided in thre ...

, preceded only by the

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...

. The Vice President's primary role is to replace the president on the event of their death, resignation, or

impeachment Impeachment is the process by which a legislative body or other legally constituted tribunal initiates charges against a public official for misconduct. It may be understood as a unique process involving both political and legal elements. In ...

, and to temporarily take over the presidential powers and duties while the president is abroad, or otherwise temporarily unable to carry out their duties. The vice president is elected jointly with the President as their

running mate A running mate is a person running together with another person on a joint Ticket (election), ticket during an election. The term is most often used in reference to the person in the subordinate position (such as the vice presidential candidate ...

. The office has existed since the Proclamation of the Republic in 1889, although it was only officially instituted as of the 1891 Constitution. It has been in place throughout all of Brazil's republican history, save for the fifteen years of the

Vargas Era The Vargas Era (Portuguese: ''Era Vargas''; ) is the period in the history of Brazil between 1930 and 1945, when the country was governed by president Getúlio Vargas. The period from 1930 to 1937 is known as the Second Brazilian Republic, and ...

, when it was officially abolished.

Requirements

The requirements to run for the office of vice president are exactly those of the presidency itself. In addition to the ordinary requirements to run for political office in Brazil, under the terms of article 14 of the Constitution, a candidate for the vice presidency must be a natural-born citizen of Brazil (which under certain circumstances may include the offspring of one or two Brazilian parents living abroad) and be at least 35 years of age.

Election and tenure

The

president President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...

and vice president are elected on a single

ticket Ticket or tickets may refer to: Slips of paper * Lottery ticket * Parking ticket, a ticket confirming that the parking fee was paid (and the time of the parking start) * Toll ticket, a slip of paper used to indicate where vehicles entered a tol ...

for a four-year term and are inaugurated on 1 January of the year following that of the election. Both may be re-elected for a subsequent term. Vice presidents succeeding a sitting president may be reelected for an additional term. However, the vice president is not eligible to run for a second full term, as under Brazilian law any partial term counts toward the limit of two consecutive terms. Due to the wording of the constitution's provisions on term limits, whenever the vice president serves as acting president when the president is either abroad or suspended from office as a result of impeachment, it counts as a partial term.

Workplace and official residence

The vice president works in an annex building of the

Palácio do Planalto The Palácio do Planalto () in Brasília is the official workplace of the president of Brazil.Palácio do Jaburu The Jabiru's Palace () is the official residence of the Vice President of Brazil. The building was designed, along with the rest of the city of Brasília, by Oscar Niemeyer and inaugurated in 1977. It is located near the Palácio da Alvorada in Br ...

, inaugurated in 1977.

Ascension to the presidency

Since the Proclamation of the Republic in 1889, eight Vice Presidents have been called upon to replace former Presidents: four due to death of the incumbent (

Nilo Peçanha Nilo Procópio Peçanha (; 2 October 1867 – 31 March 1924) was a Brazilian politician who served as seventh president of Brazil. He was governor of Rio de Janeiro (1903–1906), then elected the fifth vice president of Brazil in 1906. He assu ...

Delfim Moreira Delfim Moreira da Costa Ribeiro (; 7 November 1868 – 1 July 1920) was a Brazilian politician who served as tenth president of Brazil. Biography He was born in Minas Gerais state to a Portuguese father and to a Portuguese Brazilian mother wh ...

Café Filho João Fernandes Campos Café Filho (; 3 February 1899 – 20 February 1970) was a Brazilian politician who served as the 18th president of Brazil, taking office upon the suicide of president Getúlio Vargas. He was the first Protestant to occupy ...

, and

José Sarney José Sarney de Araújo Costa (; born José Ribamar Ferreira de Araújo Costa; 24 April 1930) is a Brazilian politician, lawyer, and writer who served as 31st president of Brazil from 1985 to 1990. He briefly served as the 20th vice president of ...

), two due to resignation (

Floriano Peixoto Floriano Vieira Peixoto ( 30 April 1839 – 29 June 1895), born in Ipioca (today a district of the city of Maceió in the State of Alagoas), nicknamed the "Iron Marshal", was a Brazilian soldier and politician, a veteran of the Paraguay ...

and

João Goulart João Belchior Marques Goulart (1 March 1919 – 6 December 1976), commonly known as Jango, was a Brazilian politician who served as the 24th president of Brazil until a military coup d'état deposed him on 1 April 1964. He was considered the ...

), and two due to impeachment conviction (

Itamar Franco Itamar Augusto Cautiero Franco (; 28 June 19302 July 2011) was a Brazilian politician who served as the 33rd president of Brazil from 29 December 1992 to 31 December 1994. Previously, he was the 21st vice president of Brazil from 1990 until the ...

and

Michel Temer Michel Miguel Elias Temer Lulia (; born 23 September 1940) is a Brazilian politician, lawyer and writer who served as the 37th president of Brazil from 31 August 2016 to 31 December 2018. He took office after the impeachment and removal from off ...

List of vice presidents

Vice presidents elect directly
Vice presidents elect indirectly

Vice President-elect

Living former Vice Presidents of the Republic

As of , there are two living former vice presidents (both also former presidents). The most recent death of a former vice president was that of

Marco Maciel Marco Antônio de Oliveira Maciel (21 July 1940 – 12 June 2021) was a Brazilian politician, lawyer, and law school professor who served as the 22nd vice president of Brazil from 1 January 1995 to 31 December 2002, twice elected on the same ti ...

(1995–2002), on 12 June 2021.

Notes

References

External links

Vice-Presidency of Brazil
Official Website
Official vice presidential portrait
{{Cabinet of Brazil

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

Executive branch of Brazil