Cármen Lúcia Antunes Rocha (; 19 April 1954) is a Brazilian

jurist A jurist is a person with expert knowledge of law; someone who analyzes and comments on law. This person is usually a specialist legal scholar, mostly (but not always) with a formal education in law (a law degree) and often a Lawyer, legal prac ...

and member of the

Supreme Federal Court The Federal Supreme Court (, , abbreviated STF) is the supreme court (court of last resort) of Brazil, serving primarily as the country's Constitutional Court. It is the highest court of law in Brazil for constitutional issues and its rulings ...

since 2006. She is the second woman to have been chosen as a justice for the Court and Chief Justice and a professor of Constitutional Law at

Pontifical Catholic University of Minas Gerais The Pontifical Catholic University of Minas Gerais (, PUC-MG) is a private and non-profit Brazilian Roman Catholic Church, Catholic university in Belo Horizonte, state of Minas Gerais. In 2006, 2010, 2011, 2013 and 2014, PUC-MG was chosen the be ...

. She was nominated by former President of Brazil

Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (; born Luiz Inácio da Silva; 27 October 1945), known Mononym, mononymously as Lula, is a Brazilian politician, trade unionist and former metalworker who has served as the 39th president of Brazil since 2023. A mem ...

. Antunes Rocha's work has been marked by the rigor with which she tries corruption cases and her firm stance regarding women's rights. She is currently the President of the

Superior Electoral Court The Superior Electoral Court (, TSE) is the highest body of the Brazilian Election Justice, Brazilian Electoral Justice, which also comprises one Regional Electoral Court (Brazil), Regional Electoral Court (, TRE) in each of the 26 states and th ...

of Brazil. She was the President of the

. She became

Acting President An acting president is a person who temporarily fills the role of a country's president when the incumbent president is unavailable (such as by illness or visiting abroad) or when the post is vacant (such as for death Death is the en ...

from April 13, 2018, until April 14 of the same year, as President

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 1 January 2019. He took office after the Impeachment of Dilma Rousseff, impe ...

attended the VIII Summit of the Americas, and the president of the Chamber of Deputies,

Rodrigo Maia Rodrigo Felinto Ibarra Epitácio Maia (born 12 June 1970) is a Brazilian politician who served as the President of the Chamber of Deputies of Brazil between July 2016 and February 2021. A member of the Brazilian Social Democracy Party since 2022 ...

, and the president of the Senate, Eunício Oliveira were outside Brazil. At her introduction to the role she was championed by José Celso de Mello Filho, the most senior justice of the court. Lucia replaced

Ricardo Lewandowski Enrique Ricardo Lewandowski (; born 11 May 1948) is a Brazilian judge and retired justice of the Supreme Federal Court of Brazil. He is the son of a Polish father and Swiss mother, who immigrated to Brazil after the Second World War. Lewandows ...

who had been known for championing a reduction in oversight and an increase in remuneration for judges. Her champion gave a speech talking about the need to remove corruption, although the event had presence of a number of alleged suspects. In 2018, the minister

Dias Toffoli José Antonio Dias Toffoli (born November 15, 1967) is a Brazilian lawyer who has been a member of the Supreme Federal Court of Brazil since 2009, nominated by President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. Toffoli was the president of the Supreme Federal ...

succeeded Carmen Lúcia as president of the Court.

References

, - , - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Lucia, Carmen 1954 births Living people Pontifical Catholic University of Minas Gerais alumni 20th-century Brazilian judges Brazilian women judges 21st-century Brazilian judges Constitutional court women judges People from Montes Claros Supreme Federal Court of Brazil justices Women chief justices 20th-century women judges 21st-century women judges