Pedro Jorge Simon (born January 31, 1930) is a Brazilian politician, lawyer and professor. He represented

Rio Grande do Sul Rio Grande do Sul (, ; ; "Great River of the South") is a Federative units of Brazil, state in the South Region, Brazil, southern region of Brazil. It is the Federative units of Brazil#List, fifth-most populous state and the List of Brazilian s ...

in the Federal Senate for over 30 years. Prior to that, he served as the governor of Rio Grande do Sul from 1987 to 1990. Simon also served as Minister of Agriculture from 1985 to 1986. He is a member of the

Brazilian Democratic Movement The Brazilian Democratic Movement (, 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, with the most numbers of senators, ...

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 The Pontifical Catholic University of Rio Grande do Sul (, PUCRS) is a private non-profit Catholic university. With campuses in the Brazilian cities of Porto Alegre and Viamão, it is the largest private university of the state of Rio Grande do S ...

with a postgraduate degree in

political economy Political or comparative economy is a branch of political science and economics studying economic systems (e.g. Marketplace, markets and national economies) and their governance by political systems (e.g. law, institutions, and government). Wi ...

, and also a specialist in

criminal law Criminal law is the body of law that relates to crime. It proscribes conduct perceived as threatening, harmful, or otherwise endangering to the property, health, safety, and Well-being, welfare of people inclusive of one's self. Most criminal l ...

, 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 () is a public research university located in Paris, France. The institution's legacy reaches back to the Middle Ages in 1257 when Sorbonne College was established by Robert de Sorbon as a constituent college of the Unive ...

. 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 Caxias do Sul () is a city in Rio Grande do Sul, Southern Brazil, situated in the state's mountainous Serra Gaúcha region. It was established by Italian Brazilian, Italian immigrants on June 20, 1890. Today it is the second Largest cities in R ...

. In 1962 he was elected to the

Legislative Assembly of Rio Grande do Sul The Legislative Assembly of Rio Grande do Sul (Portuguese language, Portuguese: ''Assembleia Legislativa do Rio Grande do Sul'') is the regional parliament of Rio Grande do Sul, a Federative units of Brazil, federative unit in Brazil. It has 55 st ...

. During the military regime in Brazil, bipartisanship was established, and Simon joined the

. He remained in the position of state deputy until 1978, the year he was first elected to the Federal Senate. 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 Ministry of Justice and Public Security (Brazil), Minister of Justice and Internal Affairs from 1953 to 1954, Pri ...

. 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. 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-Senator-stub