Pedro Jorge Simon (born January 31, 1930) is a Brazilian politician, lawyer and professor. He represented Rio Grande do Sul in the

Federal Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. Senate or the Senate may also refer to: * Any one of the national senates in the world, including ** The Brazilian Senate ** The United States Sen ...

from 1991 to 2015. Previously, he was governor of Rio Grande do Sul from 1987 to 1990. Simon also served as

Minister of Agriculture An agriculture ministry (also called an) agriculture department, agriculture board, agriculture council, or agriculture agency, or ministry of rural development) is a ministry charged with agriculture. The ministry is often headed by a minister ...

from 1985 to 1986. He is a member of the

Brazilian Democratic Movement Party The Brazilian Democratic Movement ( pt, Movimento Democrático Brasileiro, MDB) is a Brazilian political party. It is considered a " big tent party" and it is one of the parties with the greatest representation throughout the national territory, ...

and an important historical figure of the movement towards redemocratization in Brazil.

Biography

Pedro Simon is a descendant of Lebanese immigrants who arrived in Caxias do Sul in 1922 with other catholic families such as Sehbe, Kalil and David. A law major from the Pontifical Catholic University of Rio Grande do Sul with a postgraduate degree in

political economy Political economy is the study of how economic systems (e.g. markets and national economies) and political systems (e.g. law, institutions, government) are linked. Widely studied phenomena within the discipline are systems such as labour ...

, and also a specialist in criminal law, Simon was a professor at the University of Caxias do Sul. Simon made several study travels, both as an academic and as a politician, to countries in Europe and Latin America, in addition to Canada, the United States, Lebanon, Egypt, India, Japan, Syria, Pakistan, Thailand, among others. In Paris, he attended

Sorbonne University Sorbonne University (french: Sorbonne Université; la Sorbonne: 'the Sorbonne') is a public research university located in Paris, France. The institution's legacy reaches back to 1257 when Sorbonne College was established by Robert de Sor ...

. He began his political career in the Brazilian Labour Party, his first important position being that of city councilor of his hometown, Caxias do Sul. In 1962 he was elected to the

Legislative Assembly of Rio Grande do Sul The Legislative Assembly of Rio Grande do Sul ( pt, Assembleia Legislativa do Rio Grande do Sul) is the unicameral legislature of Rio Grande do Sul state in Brazil. It has 55 state deputies elected by proportional representation. The first leg ...

. With the arrival of the military regime, bipartisanship was established, so Simon joined the Brazilian Democratic Movement (MDB). He remained in the position of state deputy until 1978, the year he was elected senator. From 1985 to 1986, he was Minister of Agriculture in the government of

Tancredo Neves Tancredo de Almeida Neves () (4 March 1910 – 21 April 1985) was a Brazilian politician, lawyer, and entrepreneur. He served as Minister of Justice and Interior Affairs from 1953 to 1954, Prime Minister from 1961 to 1962, Minister of Financ ...

. He left the position to run for the governorship of Rio Grande do Sul for a second time, this time successfully. He resigned as governor in 1990 and was elected once again to the Federal Senate, where he remained until 2015. He is a widower of Tânia Simon, who died in 1985. They had three children: Tiago, Tomaz (deceased) and Mateus (deceased). Today he is married to Ivete, with whom he had another son, Pedro.

References

Living people 1930 births Members of the Federal Senate (Brazil) Governors of Rio Grande do Sul Agriculture ministers of Brazil Members of the Legislative Assembly of Rio Grande do Sul Brazilian Roman Catholics Brazilian Democratic Movement politicians Brazilian people of Lebanese descent {{Brazil-politician-stub