Roseana Sarney Murad (born 1 June 1953) is a Brazilian politician and sociologist, who previously served as the

Governor A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political regions, political region, in some cases, such as governor-general, governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the ...

Maranhão Maranhão () is a States of Brazil, state in Brazil. Located in the country's Northeast Region, Brazil, Northeast Region, it has a population of about 7 million and an area of and it is divided into 217 municipalities. Clockwise from north, it ...

from 1995 to 2002 and from 2009 to 2014. Sarney served as a

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

from 2003 to 2009 and a member of the

Chamber of Deputies The chamber of deputies is the lower house in many bicameral legislatures and the sole house in some unicameral legislatures. Description Historically, French Chamber of Deputies was the lower house of the French Parliament during the Bourb ...

from 1991 to 1994 and from 2023 to present. 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, ...

(MDB), Sarney is the daughter of former President and senator

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 the 31st president of Brazil from 1985 to 1990. He briefly served as the 20th vice presiden ...

. Sarney considered running for president in 2002, but a corruption scandal led to her withdrawal from the race on 15 April 2002.

Early life and family

Roseana was born at her maternal grandfather's house in São Luís,

on June 1, 1953. Her father is

and her mother is

Marly Sarney Marly Macieira Sarney (born 4 December 1932) is the wife of the former president of Brazil José Sarney. She was First Lady of Brazil First Lady of Brazil () is a title given to the hostess of Alvorada Palace. The position is traditionall ...

Sarney family

The Sarney family has been described as the "omnipresent political clan" of Maranhão, ruling under José Sarney. Descended from plantation owners, Sarney was an intellectual and businessman affiliated with the

ARENA An arena is a large enclosed venue, often circular or oval-shaped, designed to showcase theatre, Music, musical performances or Sport, sporting events. It comprises a large open space surrounded on most or all sides by tiered seating for specta ...

military dictatorship A military dictatorship, or a military regime, is a type of dictatorship in which Power (social and political), power is held by one or more military officers. Military dictatorships are led by either a single military dictator, known as a Polit ...

. He acquired in 1972 the newspaper Jornal do Dia, which was later rebranded as O Estado do Maranhão. The media business expanded into an empire called the Mirante Group, now an affiliate of

TV Globo TV Globo (stylized as tvglobo; , ), formerly known as Rede Globo de Televisão (; shortened to Rede Globo) or simply known as Globo, is a Brazilian free-to-air Television broadcasting, television network, launched by media proprietor Roberto M ...

, the world's second largest broadcasting corporation.

Education

Roseana Sarney was educated at the Escola Normal do Maranhão, in São Luís, and, in Brasília, at Colégio Sacré-Coeur de Marie and at Colégio Pré-Universitário. In 1965, she studied at the College of the Marists in Portugal. In 1970, Sarney was educated in Social Sciences at the

University of Brasília A university () is an institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly means "community of teachers and scholars". Uni ...

before serving as an advisor to NOVACAP, a state urbanization company for the

Federal District A federal district is a specific administrative division in one of various federations. These districts may be under the direct jurisdiction of a federation's national government, as in the case of federal territory (e.g., India, Malaysia), or the ...

from 1974 to 1976. In 1976, Sarney moved to

São Paulo São Paulo (; ; Portuguese for 'Paul the Apostle, Saint Paul') is the capital of the São Paulo (state), state of São Paulo, as well as the List of cities in Brazil by population, most populous city in Brazil, the List of largest cities in the ...

, after marrying Jorge Murad, continuing her studies at the

Pontifical Catholic University of São Paulo The Pontifical Catholic University of São Paulo (, PUC-SP), locally known as ''PUC'' or ''Catholic University'' ('), is a private and non-profit Catholic university. It is maintained by the Catholic Archdiocese of São Paulo. The university is ...

, graduating in 1978 with a major in

political science Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and Power (social and political), power, and the analysis of political activities, political philosophy, political thought, polit ...

and

sociology Sociology is the scientific study of human society that focuses on society, human social behavior, patterns of Interpersonal ties, social relationships, social interaction, and aspects of culture associated with everyday life. The term sociol ...

. Following her education, Sarney served as Extraordinary Secretary of the State of Maranhão for Governor Luís Rocha from 1983 to 1984, before serving as Parliamentary Advisor to the Civil Cabinet of the President of Brazil from 1985 to 1989. In 1986, Sarney was made an officer of the

Order of Prince Henry The Order of Prince Henry () is a Portuguese order of knighthood created on 2 June 1960, to commemorate the quincentenary of the death of the Portuguese ''infante'' Prince Henry the Navigator, one of the main initiators of the Age of Discovery. M ...

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. Featuring Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point in continental Europe, Portugal borders Spain to its north and east, with which it share ...

Political career

Federal Deputy (1991–1994)

Sarney became a member of the Liberal Front Party of her father José Sarney, running for Federal Deputy of Maranhão in 1990. Elected with 44,785 votes, Sarney placed first out of all candidates in the state. In the Chamber, Sarney coordinated undecided Deputies to support the impeachment of Fernando Collor, before serving as the deputy leader of the government in the Chamber from 1992 to 1994. In the Chamber of Deputies, Sarney served on theConsumer Protection, Environment and Minorities and Economy, Industry and Commerce committees, along with being chair of the Education, Culture and Sports committee. In 1994, Sarney resigned the chamber to assume office as the first female governor in the history of Brazil.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sarney, Roseana 1953 births Living people People from São Luís, Maranhão Governors of Maranhão Brazilian Democratic Movement politicians Brazilian people of Portuguese descent Democratic Social Party politicians Women state governors of Brazil Children of presidents of Brazil Members of the Chamber of Deputies (Brazil) from Maranhão