Aécio Neves - Bio

Aécio Neves

Aécio Neves da Cunha (born 10 March 1960) is a Brazilian economist, politician and president of the Brazilian Social Democracy Party (PSDB). He was the 17th Governor of Minas Gerais from 1 January 2003 to 31 March 2010, and is currently a member of the Brazilian Federal Senate. He is the nominee of his party in the runoff presidential election in 2014.

Biography - Born in Belo Horizonte in the state of Minas Gerais, Neves was the youngest governor in the state's history. He began his political career as a personal secretary of his grandfather, Tancredo Neves, who was elected President of Brazil in 1985, but who died before taking office. Aecio Neves served four terms as an elected deputy in the Federal Chamber of Deputies between 1987 and 2002, representing the Brazilian Social Democratic Party (PSDB). He was also President of the Chamber of Deputies in 2001/02.

As governor, Aecio Neves introduced the "Management Shock", a set of sweeping reforms designed to bring the state budget under control by reducing government expenditure and promoting investment. Having been tipped as a potential candidate for the Brazilian Presidential elections in 2010, Neves announced his intention to stand aside from the race at the end of 2009. He ran for the Brazilian Federal Senate instead, and was elected a Senator representing the State of Minas Gerais. He took office as a Senator of the Republic on 1 February 2011.

Aécio was a columnist at Brazilian newspaper Folha de S.Paulo until June 2014. On October 5, 2014, he received the second largest number of votes (at 34%) in the Brazilian presidential election, placing him in the runoff election to be held on October 26, 2014, against the first place candidate and current Brazilian president, Dilma Rousseff, who received 42% of the vote.

Early years - Aécio Neves acted as personal secretary to his maternal grandfather, Tancredo Neves, who was Governor of Minas Gerais in the early 1980s.

Aécio Neves is son of politician Aécio Cunha and Inês Maria. Neves hails from a family of traditional politicians in Minas Gerais. His maternal grandfather, Tancredo Neves, was a key figure in the redemocratization of Brazil, served as governor of Minas Gerais and elected via electoral college. Neves’ paternal grandfather, Tristão Ferreira da Cunha, and his father Aécio Cunha were congressmen representing the state of Minas Gerais.

His paternal grandfather, Tristão Ferreira da Cunha, a native of Teófilo Otoni, a northern city in Minas Gerais, was also a politician as well as a lawyer and a professor. He was Secretary of Agriculture, Industry and Commerce in the state government of Juscelino Kubitschek (1951–1955). Aécio Cunha, son of Tristão and father of Aécio, was state deputy between 1955 and 1963 and federal representative between 1963 and 1987.

Neves moved to Rio de Janeiro with his parents when his was 10 years old. He had his first job at the Administrative Council for Economic Defense of the Ministry of Justice in Rio de Janeiro. In 1981 his maternal grandfather convinced Neves to return to Belo Horizonte. He moved into an apartment that shared by his maternal grandfather and father and transferred to Pontifícia Universidade Católica de Minas Gerais, where he studied economics.

In 1982 Aécio began working in his grandfather's campaign for the state government, attending meetings and rallies in more than 300 towns. Tancredo Neves was elected governor of Minas Gerais, and in 1983, Aécio served as his private secretary. In the following years, Aécio participated in the movement "Diretas Já" and in Tancredo Neves’ presidential campaign.

Tancredo Neves won the Brazilian presidency via electoral college in 1985. After the elections Aécio Neves accompanied the president-elect on visits to democratic countries, a political strategy used to enhance the retransition to democracy in Brazil. They visited the United States and US President Ronald Reagan, France with President François Mitterrand, Italy and Sandro Pertini, Prime Minister Bettino Craxi, King Juan Carlos of Spain and Pope John Paul II.

Aécio Neves was appointed secretary of Special Affairs of the Presidency by President-elect Tancredo Neves, but due to his early death, and José Sarney assuming office the job was cancelled.

Congressman- In 1986 he ran for the National Constituent Assembly as a member of Brazilian Democratic Movement Party (PMDB). He received 236,019 votes, which at the time was the largest vote for a congressman elected from Minas Gerias. In the Constituent Assembly he became vice the chairman of the Sovereignty and Rights and Guarantees of Men and Women and was also one of the authors of the amendment that turned Brazil’s voting age to 16 years.

In his second term (1991-1995) he voted for the impeachment of President Fernando Collor de Melo. In 1992 Aécio ran for mayor of Belo Horizonte, but was defeated. It was his only electoral defeat. Neves was reelected to Congress for a third term in 1994.The term lasted from 1995-1998, during which he was elected president of PSDB Minas Gerais. In 1997, he became PSDB’s leader in Congress.

Main achievememnts - Neves upon becoming governor of Minas Gerais on January 1, 2003.

Governor - On 6 October 2002 Neves was elected governor of Minas Gerais. On 28 March 2006, Aécio announced his candidacy and soon after was reelected, Neves became the second longest-serving governor in state history.

The Government of Minas Gerais expropriated a piece of land owned by Neves’s great-uncle, estimated at about R$ 1 million. His great-uncle requested R$ 20 million for the indemnification. The State appealed the value in the Justice and the indemnification was annulled.

As governor he hired 98 000 public employees without any public selection and with illegal procedures. During his administration, the salaries of school teachers in Minas Gerais reached the lowest level of the whole country. The basic salary of medical doctors was R$ 1 050, the second lowest of the country.

Candidacy for Presidency in 2014 - In December 2012, former Brazilian president Fernando Henrique Cardoso appointed Aécio Neves as candidate of the Brazilian Social Democracy Party for the 2014 presidential elections.[48] In the October 2014 election, Neves received the second greatest number of votes in the first round, defeating former Environment Minister Marina Silva. He will proceed to the second round, a run-off against incumbent Dilma Rousseff.

Personal life - Neves married model Leticia Weber in 2013. They had twins, Bernardo and Julia, in September 2014. He has another daughter, Gabriela Falcão Neves, born in 1991 from his first marriage (1991-1998) with lawyer Andrea Falcão. In Brazil circulate persistent rumors about him beeing a cocaine snorter. In 2013 445kg of Cocaine pasta base was found in Aécio Neves' helicopter.

Neves attempted to censor Google, Yahoo!, and Bing search results related to rumors about drug abuse and misappropriation of public health funds.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A%C3%A9cio_Neves