José Mindlin
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José Ephim Mindlin (September 8, 1914 – February 28, 2010) was a Brazilian
lawyer A lawyer is a person who practices law. The role of a lawyer varies greatly across different legal jurisdictions. A lawyer can be classified as an advocate, attorney, barrister, canon lawyer, civil law notary, counsel, counselor, solic ...
,
businessperson A businessperson, businessman, or businesswoman is an individual who has founded, owns, or holds shares in (including as an angel investor) a private-sector company. A businessperson undertakes activities (commercial or industrial) for the ...
and
bibliophile Bibliophilia or bibliophilism is the love of books. A bibliophile or bookworm is an individual who loves and frequently reads and/or collects books. Profile The classic bibliophile is one who loves to read, admire and collect books, often ama ...
, born to Ukrainian Jewish parents from
Odessa Odesa (also spelled Odessa) is the third most populous city and municipality in Ukraine and a major seaport and transport hub located in the south-west of the country, on the northwestern shore of the Black Sea. The city is also the administrativ ...
.


Life

Son of dentist Ephim Mindlin and of Fanny Mindlin, both born in
Odessa Odesa (also spelled Odessa) is the third most populous city and municipality in Ukraine and a major seaport and transport hub located in the south-west of the country, on the northwestern shore of the Black Sea. The city is also the administrativ ...
, he graduated from the University of São Paulo law school. He worked as a lawyer for 15 years, until he founded with some friends Metal Leve, an automobile piston company, which went on to become a large international player in the automobile parts industry. After years of successful management of the firm as a Director, the opening of the Brazilian markets in the 1990s has reduced Metal Leve's profits, and he and his business associates had to sell the firm in 1996 to
German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...
firm Mahle Group. Mindlin was married to Guita Mindlin, who died in 2006, and they had 4 children and 11 grandchildren. He was the owner of the largest private library in
Latin America Latin America or * french: Amérique Latine, link=no * ht, Amerik Latin, link=no * pt, América Latina, link=no, name=a, sometimes referred to as LatAm is a large cultural region in the Americas where Romance languages — languages derived f ...
, with more than 38,000 titles. A large number (about half) of the collection was donated to the
University of São Paulo The University of São Paulo ( pt, Universidade de São Paulo, USP) is a public university in the Brazilian state of São Paulo. It is the largest Brazilian public university and the country's most prestigious educational institution, the best ...
in May 2006, mostly regarding Brazilian studies. On March 23, 2013 a building was built in the university's campus specifically to maintain this massive library, named after the Guita and José Mindlin Foundation, who made the donation. Mindlin had said he wanted to keep the library alive through the continuous growth of the collection and scientific contributions by academics. Mindlin and
Antônio Ermírio de Moraes Antônio Ermírio de Moraes (June 4, 1928 – August 24, 2014) was a Brazilian billionaire businessman and the chairman of the Votorantim Group, one of the country's largest companies, focused on metals, paper, cement and frozen orange juice. He ...
were the only two Brazilian businessmen who refused cooperation with Henning Albert Boilesen in the sponsorship of the so-called Operação Bandeirante - a repressive structure to be created to cooperate with the
military dictatorship A military dictatorship is a dictatorship in which the military exerts complete or substantial control over political authority, and the dictator is often a high-ranked military officer. The reverse situation is to have civilian control of the m ...
in Brazil. Its main interface with the military regime and the business world was the businessman Henning Albert Boilesen. It is believed that Henning Albert Boilesen was supported by the
CIA The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA ), known informally as the Agency and historically as the Company, is a civilian intelligence agency, foreign intelligence service of the federal government of the United States, officially tasked with gat ...
. The organization was responsible for torture, disappearance and extra judicial killings and kidnappings of numerous Brazilians who opposed the dictatorship.Truth Commission in Brazil: Individualizing Amnesty, Revealing the Truth , The Yale Review of International Studies
accessdate: 5/9/2015 After retiring from the business world, Mindlin was able to dedicate his time to a passion he had since he was 13: collecting and preserving rare books. The first rare edition in his collection was ''Discours sur l'Histoire universelle'' (
Speech of Universal History {{more citations needed, date=January 2021 ''Speech of Universal History'' or ''Discours sur l'histoire universelle'' in original French (1681) is a work of theology and philosophy from French Roman Catholic bishop Jacques-Bénigne Bossuet. It is ...
), by
Jacques-Bénigne Bossuet Jacques-Bénigne Lignel Bossuet (; 27 September 1627 – 12 April 1704) was a French bishop and theologian, renowned for his sermons and other addresses. He has been considered by many to be one of the most brilliant orators of all time and a m ...
, published in 1740. On 20 June 2006, Mindlin was elected member of the
Academia Brasileira de Letras The Academia Brasileira de Letras (ABL) ( English: ''Brazilian Academy of Letters'') is a Brazilian literature, literary non-profit society established at the end of the 19th century. The first president, Machado de Assis, declared its found ...
, occupying chair number 29, left open since the death of Brazilian author Josué Montello. He was also a member of the
Vitae Foundation The Vitae Foundation is an American 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization associated with the pro-life (anti-abortion) cause. Their focus is on engaging in advertising research and developing more effective messaging, and communicating the results o ...
and is the editor of Edusp publishing firm.


Death

He died from a multiple organ failure at the age of 95 on February 28, 2010.


References


External links

*
Articles of Incorporation of the Guita and José Mindlin Library

Vitae Foundation

Edusp (University of São Paulo Press)


*
Interview with José Mindlin
*
Bravo! magazine interview
*

*

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mindlin, Jose 1914 births 2010 deaths People from São Paulo Bibliophiles Brazilian Jews Members of the Brazilian Academy of Letters Deaths from multiple organ failure Brazilian people of Ukrainian-Jewish descent