Gleisi Helena Hoffmann ( or ; born 6 September 1965) is a Brazilian lawyer and politician. She was the

Chief of Staff of Brazil The Minister Head of the Civil House of the Presidency of the Republic ( pt, Ministro Chefe da Casa Civil da Presidência da República) is the chief of staff of the Presidency of the Federative Republic of Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), o ...

from 8 June 2011 to 2 February 2014, during the presidency of

Dilma Rousseff Dilma Vana Rousseff (; born 14 December 1947) is a Brazilian economist and politician who served as the 36th president of Brazil, holding the position from 2011 until her impeachment and removal from office on 31 August 2016. She is the first w ...

. Following her tenure as Chief of Staff, she became a

Senator A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

for Paraná and in 2017 became national president of the Workers' Party.

Biography

Gleisi Hoffmann began her involvement in politics in the student movement during her youth, becoming a Workers' Party' member in 1989. She graduated in law in the

Centro Universitário Curitiba Centro Universitário Curitiba (abbreviated UNICURITIBA) is a Brazilian Higher Education Higher education is tertiary education leading to award of an academic degree. Higher education, also called post-secondary education, third-level or t ...

(Faculdade de Direito de Curitiba). Known for her public management skills, Hoffmann has served as state secretary in

Mato Grosso do Sul Mato Grosso do Sul () is one of the Midwestern states of Brazil. Neighboring Brazilian states are (from north clockwise) Mato Grosso, Goiás, Minas Gerais, São Paulo and Paraná. It also borders the countries of Paraguay, to the southwest, and ...

and as municipal secretary in the city of

Londrina Londrina (, literally "Little London") is a city located in the north of the state of Paraná, South Region, Brazil, and is away from the state capital, Curitiba. It is the second largest city in the state and fourth largest in the southern regi ...

. She was a member of

Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (; born Luiz Inácio da Silva; 27 October 1945), known mononymously as Lula, is a Brazilian politician, trade unionist, and former metalworker who is the president-elect of Brazil. A member of the Workers' Party, ...

's presidential transition team in 2002, and served as the financial director at the

Itaipu Binacional The Itaipu Dam ( pt, Barragem de Itaipu , es, Represa de Itaipú ) is a hydroelectric dam on the Paraná River located on the border between Brazil and Paraguay. The construction of the dam was first contested by Argentina, but the negotiations ...

hydroelectric dam from 2003 to 2006. She ran for the

Federal Senate of Brazil The Federal Senate ( pt, Senado Federal) is the upper house of the National Congress of Brazil. When created under the Imperial Constitution in 1824, it was based on the House of Lords of the British Parliament, but since the Proclamation ...

in 2006 and for the office of mayor of

Curitiba Curitiba () is the capital and largest city in the state of Paraná (state), Paraná in Brazil. The city's population was 1,948,626 , making it the List of cities in Brazil by population, eighth most populous city in Brazil and the largest in ...

in 2008, losing both elections. At the time, she was the president of PT in the state of Paraná. In October 2010, Hoffmann was elected to the Senate, receiving over 3.1 million votes, the most voted senator from the state of Paraná and the first woman to hold the office. After four months in office, she was appointed

Chief of Staff The title chief of staff (or head of staff) identifies the leader of a complex organization such as the armed forces, institution, or body of persons and it also may identify a principal staff officer (PSO), who is the coordinator of the supporti ...

, the highest-ranking member of Brazil's Executive Office, by President

. Hoffmann was accused of receiving R$1.000.000,00 of embezzlement money from Petrobras in her campaign to the Senate in 2010. In 2018, Hoffmann was cleared of charges in the Supreme Court. Gleisi was married to the ex-Communications Minister

Paulo Bernardo Paulo Bernardo Silva (born 10 March 1952) is a Brazilian politician, member of the Workers' Party (PT). He was Minister of Communications during the government of Dilma Rousseff and Minister of Planning during the government of Luiz Inácio L ...

; they divorced in 2019. They have two children.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hoffmann, Gleisi 1965 births Brazilian people of German descent Brazilian women lawyers Government ministers of Brazil Living people Members of the Federal Senate (Brazil) Politicians from Curitiba Presidents of the Workers' Party (Brazil) Centro Universitário Curitiba alumni Federal University of Technology – Paraná alumni Women government ministers of Brazil Chiefs of Staff of Brazil 20th-century Brazilian lawyers Leaders of political parties in Brazil