Brazil’s Minister of Mines and Energy, Dilma Rousseff, has been appointed presidential chief of staff (Chefe da Casa Civil), where she will substitute José Dirceu who resigned amid accusations of corruption.
Dirceu, who was also President Lula’s main aide, is returning to the Chamber of Deputies where he represents the state of São Paulo.
The president of the Energy Research Corporation, Maurício Tolmasquim, will become acting Minister of Mines and Energy.
Rousseff is an economist. She has been Rio Grande do Sul state secretary of Finance (1986-88) and state secretary of Energy, Mines and Communications (1993-94).
She was a member of the Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva transition team and has been a member of his cabinet since he took office in January 2003.
ABr