Wallace Cochrane Simonsen was a Brazilian

banker A bank is a financial institution that accepts deposits from the public and creates a demand deposit while simultaneously making loans. Lending activities can be directly performed by the bank or indirectly through capital markets. Becaus ...

and the first

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well ...

of São Bernardo do Campo, one of the cities pertaining to the

Metropolitan Region of São Paulo Metropolitan may refer to: * Metropolitan area, a region consisting of a densely populated urban core and its less-populated surrounding territories * Metropolitan borough, a form of local government district in England * Metropolitan county, a ...

, most specifically the ABC Region. In his early professional life, he worked as a

broker A broker is a person or firm who arranges transactions between a buyer and a seller for a commission when the deal is executed. A broker who also acts as a seller or as a buyer becomes a principal party to the deal. Neither role should be confu ...

in the coffee market. Eventually he founded his own bank, Banco Noroeste (later bought by

Banco Santander Brasil Banco Santander (Brasil) S.A. is the Brazilian subsidiary of the Spanish Santander Group, headquartered in São Paulo, Brazil. It is the fifth largest banking institution in Brazil, as well as the fifth largest in Latin America, and the large ...

). In 1929, he owned a property in Vila de São Bernardo, the old name for the district located in the city of São Bernardo, which comprised the current cities of São Bernardo do Campo, São Caetano do Sul, Diadema and

Santo André Santo ('saint' in various languages) may refer to: People * Santo (given name) * Santo (surname) * El Santo, Rodolfo Guzmán Huerta (1917–1984), Mexican wrestler and actor * Bob Santo or Santo, stage name of Ghanaian comedian John Evans Kwadwo ...

, although most of the government facilities were allocated in the latter one's lands. When

Getúlio Vargas Getúlio Dornelles Vargas (; 19 April 1882 – 24 August 1954) was a Brazilian lawyer and politician who served as the 14th and 17th president of Brazil, from 1930 to 1945 and from 1951 to 1954. Due to his long and controversial tenure as Brazi ...

's intervenor (acting as

Governor of São Paulo A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

) Adhemar de Barros decided to transfer the city's seat to Santo André and downgrade São Bernardo as a mere district, a group of

entrepreneur Entrepreneurship is the creation or extraction of economic value. With this definition, entrepreneurship is viewed as change, generally entailing risk beyond what is normally encountered in starting a business, which may include other values t ...

s, Wallace Simonsen leading, founded the Society of Friends of São Bernardo (''Sociedade de Amigos de São Bernardo''), claiming for emancipation. The claim was successful, and in 1944 a state decree established the new city, including "do Campo" suffix to the former district denomination, and appointing Simonsen as the first mayor, which was eventually deposed by Adhemar de Barros in 1947 due to political divergencies between them, giving path to the ascension of Tereza Delta as the new mayor. The original Simonsen's

farmstead A homestead is an isolated dwelling, especially a farmhouse, and adjacent outbuildings, typically on a large agricultural holding such as a ranch or station. In North America the word "homestead" historically referred to land claimed by a set ...

still exists, named as Woodland Farm (''Chácara Silvestre'') now at an avenue named after him, as a municipal

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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Simonsen, Wallace Cochrane 1884 births 1955 deaths Brazilian bankers Brazilian people of Scottish descent Businesspeople from Rio de Janeiro (city)