The Vice President of Brazil ( pt, Vice-Presidente do Brasil), officially the Vice President of the Federative Republic of Brazil (''Vice-Presidente da República Federativa do Brasil''), or simply the ''Vice President of the Republic'' (''Vice-Presidente da República'') is the second-highest ranking government official in the executive branch of the
Government of Brazil
The Federal Government of Brazil (''Governo Federal'') is the national government of the Federative Republic of Brazil, a republic in South America divided in 26 states and a federal district. The Brazilian federal government is divided in th ...
, preceded only by the
President
President most commonly refers to:
*President (corporate title)
* President (education), a leader of a college or university
* President (government title)
President may also refer to:
Automobiles
* Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ...
. The Vice President's primary role is to replace the president on the event of their death, resignation, or
impeachment
Impeachment is the process by which a legislative body or other legally constituted tribunal initiates charges against a public official for misconduct. It may be understood as a unique process involving both political and legal elements.
In ...
, and to temporarily take over the presidential powers and duties while the president is abroad, or otherwise temporarily unable to carry out their duties. The vice president is elected jointly with the President as their
running mate
A running mate is a person running together with another person on a joint ticket during an election. The term is most often used in reference to the person in the subordinate position (such as the vice presidential candidate running with a p ...
.
The office has existed since the Proclamation of the Republic in 1889, although it was only officially instituted as of the 1891 Constitution. It has been in place throughout all of Brazil's republican history, save for the fifteen years of the Vargas Era, when it was officially abolished.
Requirements
The requirements to run for the office of vice president are exactly those of the presidency itself. In addition to the ordinary requirements to run for political office in Brazil, under the terms of article 14 of the Constitution, a candidate for the vice presidency must be a natural-born citizen of Brazil (which under certain circumstances may include the offspring of one or two Brazilian parents living abroad) and be at least 35 years of age.
Election and tenure
The
president
President most commonly refers to:
*President (corporate title)
* President (education), a leader of a college or university
* President (government title)
President may also refer to:
Automobiles
* Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ...
and vice president are elected on a single ticket for a four-year term and are inaugurated on 1 January of the year following that of the election. Both may be re-elected for a subsequent term.
Vice presidents succeeding a sitting president may be reelected for an additional term. However, the vice president is not eligible to run for a second full term, as under Brazilian law any partial term counts toward the limit of two consecutive terms. Due to the wording of the constitution's provisions on term limits, whenever the vice president serves as acting president when the president is either abroad or suspended from office as a result of impeachment, it counts as a partial term.
Workplace and official residence
The vice president works in an annex building of the
Palácio do Planalto
The Palácio do Planalto () in Brasília is the official workplace of the president of Brazil.Palácio do Jaburu, inaugurated in 1977.
Ascension to the presidency
Since the Proclamation of the Republic in 1889, eight Vice Presidents have been called upon to replace former Presidents: four due to death of the incumbent ( Nilo Peçanha,
Delfim Moreira
Delfim Moreira da Costa Ribeiro (; 7 November 1868 – 1 July 1920) was a Brazilian politician who served as tenth president of Brazil.
Biography
He was born in Minas Gerais state to a Portuguese father and to a Portuguese Brazilian mother ...
,
Café Filho
João Fernandes Campos Café Filho (; 3 February 1899 – 20 February 1970) was a Brazilian politician who served as the 18th president of Brazil, taking office upon the suicide of president Getúlio Vargas. He was the first Protestant to occup ...
, and
José Sarney
José Sarney de Araújo Costa (; born José Ribamar Ferreira de Araújo Costa; 24 April 1930) is a Brazilian politician, lawyer, and writer who served as 31st president of Brazil from 1985 to 1990. He briefly served as the 20th vice president o ...
João Goulart
João Belchior Marques Goulart (1 March 1919 – 6 December 1976), commonly known as Jango, was a Brazilian politician who served as the 24th president of Brazil until a military coup d'état deposed him on 1 April 1964. He was considered the ...
), and two due to impeachment conviction (
Itamar Franco
Itamar Augusto Cautiero Franco (; 28 June 19302 July 2011) was a Brazilian politician who served as the 33rd president of Brazil from 29 December 1992 to 31 December 1994. Previously, he was the 21st vice president of Brazil from 1990 until th ...
and
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 31 December 2018. He took office after the impeachment and removal from off ...
As of , there are two living former vice presidents (both also former presidents). The most recent death of a former vice president was that of Marco Maciel (1995–2002), on 12 June 2021.
Brazil
Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...