Fernando Henrique Cardoso

Categories: Celebrity Speakers | Leadership | Motivation | Presidents & Prime Ministers | Politics

Fernando Henrique Cardoso is the former President of  Brazil (1995-2003). He implemented important agrarian reform programs, reduced poverty and significantly improved health and education in the country.

Fernando Henrique Cardoso was President of the Federative Republic of Brazil from January 1995 to January 2003, winning two elections by an absolute majority. Since 1960, he has been one of the most influential figures in the analysis of large-scale social change, international development, dependency and democracy.

Fernando Henrique Cardoso built on a successful academic career to become involved in Brazil’s struggle for democracy to overcome its authoritarian military regime (1964-85). He was elected Senator in 1982, and he was a founding member of the Brazilian Social Democratic Party (PSDB). He served as Minister of Foreign Relations from 1992-93 and Minister of Finance from 1993-94.

Fernando Henrique Cardoso now serves as President of the United Nations Panel of Eminent Personalities on the revitalization of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development. He is also Chairman of the Club of Madrid and co-Chairman of the Inter-American Dialogue. In addition, he is also a member of the Board of Trustees of the Rockefeller Foundation and of the Institute for Advanced Study at Princeton.

Fernando Henrique Cardoso serves as a professor-at-large at Brown University and is the holder of the “Cultures of the South” chair at the Library of Congress. President Cardoso also serves as a Member of the United Nations High Level Commission on Legal Empowerment of the Poor.

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