Rondon Pacheco

Brazilian politician

Rondon Pacheco
Pacheco attending a ceremony at the Palácio da Liberdade in 2009

Governor of Minas Gerais
In office 15 March 1971 – 15 March 1975
Preceded by	Israel Pinheiro da Silva
Succeeded by	Aureliano Chaves
Chief of Staff of the Presidency of Brazil
In office 15 March 1967 – 30 October 1969
President	Artur da Costa e Silva
Preceded by	Luís Augusto Fraga Navarro de Brito
Succeeded by	João Leitão de Abreu

Personal details
Born	(1919-07-31)31 July 1919 Uberlândia, Minas Gerais, Brazil
Died	4 July 2016(2016-07-04) (aged 96) Uberlândia, Minas Gerais, Brazil
Political party	UDN ARENA PDS PSDB
Spouse	Marina de Freitas Pacheco
Profession	Politician

Rondon Pacheco (31 July 1919 – 4 July 2016) was a Brazilian politician. He served as Chief of Staff of Brazil to President Artur da Costa e Silva, from 1967 to 1969 during the Brazilian military government. In 1971, Pacheco was appointed Governor of his home state of Minas Gerais by President Emílio Garrastazu Médici.^[1] He held the office of Governor from 1971 until 1975.^[1]^[2]^[3]

Biography

Pacheco was born in Uberlândia, Minas Gerais, on 31 July 1919.^[1] He studied law at the Federal University of Minas Gerais (UFMG).^[2] He credited a class speech he delivered at UFMG in 1943 with sparking his interest in politics.^[2]

Political career

In 1947, Pacheco was elected to the state Legislative Assembly of Minas Gerais as a member of the National Democratic Union (UDN).^[2] Three years later, in 1950, he was elected to the federal Chamber of Deputies in Rio de Janeiro, which was still the national capital at the time.^[1]^[2]

President Artur da Costa e Silva, the leader of the Brazilian military government, appointed Pacheco as his Chief of Staff from March 1967 until October 1969. The Chief of Staff is a senior aide to the Brazilian president and a member of the Cabinet of Brazil.

President Emílio Garrastazu Médici appointed Pacheco as the Governor of Minas Gerais from 1971 until 1975.^[1]^[3] In 1973, the state government under Governor Pacheco signed an agreement with Fiat Automobiles to open an automotive plant in the city of Betim, near Belo Horizonte.^[1]^[2] The Fiat plant opened in 1976.^[1]

Pacheco joined the Democratic Social Party (PDS) in 1976.^[2] He endorsed the candidacy of PMDB presidential candidate, Tancredo Neves, in the 1985 election.^[2] Pacheco left politics in 1986 after an unsuccessful bid for a seat in the Federal Senate.^[2]^[3]

A biographical documentary film on Pacheco's life, Algodão entre Espelhos, was released in 2012.^[2]

Pacheco had been hospitalized for pneumonia at a hospital in Rio de Janeiro from 9 June until 12 June 2016.^[1] He was then transferred to a hospital in his hometown of Uberlândia from 12 June until he was discharged from that facility on 29 June 2016.^[1] Rondon Pacheco died in Uberlândia, Minas Gerais on 4 July 2016, at the age of 96.^[1] He was survived by his wife, Marina de Freitas Pacheco, and two daughters, Vera and Maria Vitória.^[2] Their son died in an accident during the late 1960s.^[3]

Rondon Pacheco's funeral was held at the Palácio dos Leões (Palace of the Lions) in Uberlândia, with burial in the cemitério São Pedro.^[2]^[3]

Pacheco was the second former Governor of Minas Gerais to die in less than two months, following the death of Hélio Garcia on 6 June 2016.^[1]^[3]^[4]

References

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k "Morre ex-governador de Minas Gerais Rondon Pacheco". ISTOÉ. 4 July 2016. Retrieved 25 July 2016.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l Tavares, Renata (4 July 2016). "Ex-governador de MG e ministro durante a ditadura, Rondon Pacheco morre aos 96". Universo Online. Retrieved 25 July 2016.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f Viegas, Fernanda (4 July 2016). "Morre ex-governador de Minas Gerais Rondon Pacheco". O Tempo. Retrieved 25 July 2016.
^ "Hélio Garcia, ex-governador de Minas Gerais, morre em Belo Horizonte". G1. 6 June 2014. Retrieved 25 July 2016.