Cristovam Buarque

(Recife, Brasil, 1944). A member of the Brazilian Senate, former minister of Education and professor at the Centre of Sustainable Development at the University of Brasilia, he is a mechanical engineer and holds a Ph.D. in Economics from the Paris-Sorbonne University. He has been Vice-Chancellor of the University of Brasilia and, during his long political career, Governor of the Federal District of Brasilia (1995 – 1998). In 2003 he left the Workers’ Party (PT) and stood as a presidential candidate on the list of the Democratic Labour Party (PDT). As a Senator, he is the incumbent President of the Committee on Human Rights and Participative Legislation.