Geraldo Alckmin facts for kids

Quick facts for kids His Excellency Geraldo Alckmin
Alckmin in 2024
26th Vice President of Brazil
Incumbent
Assumed office 1 January 2023
President	Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva
Preceded by	Hamilton Mourão
Minister of Development, Industry, Trade and Services
Incumbent
Assumed office 1 January 2023
President	Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva
Preceded by	Marcos Jorge de Lima
State offices 1973–2018 Governor of São Paulo In office 1 January 2011 – 6 April 2018 [[Lieutenant Governor of São Paulo|Lieutenant]] Afif Domingos (2011–2014) Márcio França (2015–2018) Preceded by Alberto Goldman Succeeded by Márcio França In office 6 March 2001 – 30 March 2006 Acting: 22 January 2001 – 6 March 2001 Lieutenant None (2001–2002) Cláudio Lembo (2003–2006) Preceded by Mário Covas Succeeded by Cláudio Lembo Secretary of Development of São Paulo In office 19 January 2009 – 1 April 2010 Governor José Serra Preceded by Alberto Goldman Succeeded by Luciano Almeida Lieutenant Governor of São Paulo In office 1 January 1995 – 6 March 2001 Governor Mário Covas Preceded by Aloysio Nunes Succeeded by Cláudio Lembo Member of the Chamber of Deputies In office 1 February 1987 – 31 December 1994 Constituency São Paulo State Deputy of São Paulo In office 15 March 1983 – 1 February 1987 Constituency At-large Mayor of Pindamonhangaba In office 31 January 1977 – 15 May 1982 Deputy Thiers Fernandes Lobo Preceded by João Bosco Nogueira Succeeded by Thiers Fernandes Lobo Councillor of Pindamonhangaba In office 1 January 1973 – 31 December 1976 Constituency At-large
Personal details
Born	Geraldo José Rodrigues Alckmin Filho (1952-11-07) 7 November 1952 (age 72) Pindamonhangaba, São Paulo, Brazil
Political party	PSB (since 2022)
Other political affiliations	MDB (1972–1980) PMDB (1980–1988) PSDB (1988–2021) Independent (2021–2022)
Spouse	Maria Lúcia Ribeiro ​ (m. 1979)​
Children	3
Relatives	José Maria Alkmin (great-uncle) José Eduardo Alckmin (cousin)
Residence	Palácio do Jaburu
Alma mater	University of Taubaté (BM)
Signature
Website	Official website: https://web.archive.org/web/20101006092539/http://www.geraldo45.org.br/

Geraldo José Rodrigues Alckmin Filho (born November 7, 1952) is a Brazilian doctor and politician. He has been the 26th Vice President of Brazil since January 2023. Before this, he served as the Governor of São Paulo state for two separate periods. He was the longest-serving governor since Brazil became a democracy again.

Before starting his political career, Alckmin studied medicine at the Universidade de Taubaté. He specialized in anesthesiology and worked at a public hospital in São Paulo. In 1982, he was elected mayor of his hometown, Pindamonhangaba. He also helped start the Brazilian Social Democracy Party (PSDB) in 1988.

Alckmin first became governor of São Paulo in 2001 after the death of the previous governor, Mário Covas. He ran for President of Brazil in 2006 for the PSDB party but lost to Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. He ran for president again in 2018 but did not make it to the second round of voting.

In 2022, Alckmin joined the Brazilian Socialist Party. He became the running mate for his former rival, Lula da Silva, in the 2022 Brazilian presidential election. After their victory, Alckmin became Vice President. People often describe Alckmin as a politician who supports businesses and is connected to the country's political and financial leaders.

About Geraldo Alckmin

Geraldo José Rodrigues Alckmin Filho was born in Pindamonhangaba, a city in the Vale do Paraíba region. His parents are Geraldo José Rodrigues Alckmin and Míriam Penteado. He grew up with a Christian education.

His family has a history in politics. His great-uncle, José Maria Alkmin, was a vice president of Brazil. Another relative, José Geraldo Rodrigues de Alckmin, was a minister in the country's highest court.

Geraldo Alckmin is married to Maria Lúcia Ribeiro Alckmin. They have three children: Sophia, Geraldo, and Thomaz. Sadly, Thomaz passed away in a helicopter accident in 2015.

Starting His Political Journey

Alckmin at the World Economic Forum Latin America in 2011

Alckmin began his political career in 1972, while he was still in medical school. He was elected to the city council of Pindamonhangaba. He served there from 1973 to 1977. After that, he became the mayor of the city, serving from 1977 to 1982. At 25, he was the youngest mayor in Brazil at that time.

He then became a federal deputy, serving two terms from 1983 to 1994. During this time, he helped create laws to protect consumers. In 1988, he was one of the people who founded the Brazilian Social Democracy Party (PSDB).

First Time as São Paulo Governor

Alckmin was elected as the vice governor of São Paulo alongside Mário Covas in both the 1994 and 1998 elections. When Governor Covas passed away in March 2001, Alckmin took over as governor of São Paulo state. He continued many of Covas's plans, putting money into big state projects, health, and education. These investments were possible because some public companies were sold off.

He was elected governor again in October 2002, winning in a second round of voting. He served from 2003 to 2006. During this time, his government worked to reduce state spending and improve how money was used. They also started projects where the government worked with private companies.

Running for President in 2006

Alckmin and his family during the 2006 presidential campaign

In March 2006, the PSDB chose Alckmin as their candidate for president in the 2006 elections. Because of election rules, he had to resign as governor on March 31, 2006. His vice governor, Cláudio Lembo, finished his term.

In the first round of the presidential election on October 1, 2006, Alckmin surprised many by coming in second place. His votes, combined with others, meant that the current president, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva ("Lula"), did not win enough votes to be re-elected right away. This led to a second round of voting between Lula and Alckmin on October 29, 2006. Alckmin received 39% of the votes and lost to Lula, who was then re-elected.

Second Time as São Paulo Governor

Returning to São Paulo Politics

In January 2009, Geraldo Alckmin was appointed as the Secretary of Development for São Paulo state by the governor at the time, José Serra.

State Elections in 2010

At a PSDB party meeting in June 2010, Alckmin was officially chosen as the party's candidate for governor of São Paulo.

He won the election in the first round with over 11.5 million votes. He defeated Senator Aloizio Mercadante.

Third Term as Governor (2011–2014)

Alckmin began his third term as governor of São Paulo on January 1, 2011.

During his time as governor in 2013, there were strikes in education and health. After the price of subway and train tickets increased, large protests began across Brazil. Alckmin and the mayor of São Paulo, Fernando Haddad, later canceled the ticket price increase.

Alckmin ran for re-election in 2014. He was re-elected in the first round on October 5, 2014, with over 12.2 million votes. This was one of the highest percentages of votes for a governor since Brazil became a democracy again.

Fourth Term as Governor (2015–2018)

Alckmin started his fourth term as governor of São Paulo on January 1, 2015.

Presidential Campaign in 2018

In December 2017, Alckmin was elected the national president of the PSDB party. He then announced he would run for president in the upcoming election. He spoke about his desire to improve Brazil.

After another candidate from his party stopped their campaign, Alckmin became the only candidate for the party's nomination. His candidacy became official in March 2018.

After leaving his role as governor, Alckmin faced questions about campaign funding from 2010 and 2014. He stated that the funds were for his election campaigns and that the claims were not true.

In May 2018, Alckmin announced his campaign team. He also shared his economic advisory team, which included well-known economists. In July, Alckmin formed a group with several other parties in Congress. In August 2018, Senator Ana Amélia Lemos was confirmed as Alckmin's running mate. Because he had the largest group of supporting parties, Alckmin had the most time for political ads on TV. As a candidate, Alckmin suggested a smaller government and lower taxes. He also supported changes to labor laws.

Presidential Election in 2022

Alckmin joining the PSB party in March 2022

After his loss in the 2018 elections, Alckmin thought about running for São Paulo governor again in 2022. However, his former ally, São Paulo governor João Doria, chose his own vice governor to be the PSDB's candidate. This made Alckmin's departure from the PSDB party likely.

In December 2021, Alckmin officially announced he was leaving the PSDB. There was talk that he might join another party to run for governor or join the leftist Brazilian Socialist Party (PSB) to run for vice president with former president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.

In March 2022, Alckmin joined the PSB to be Lula's running mate in the 2022 presidential election. This was interesting because they had been rivals in the 2006 election. On May 7, 2022, Alckmin and Lula officially announced their joint ticket. On July 29, Alckmin officially joined the PSB and his vice-presidency candidacy was confirmed. Many saw Alckmin joining Lula as a way for Lula to build a broad group against the re-election of Jair Bolsonaro.

The Lula-Alckmin ticket won the second round of the 2022 elections on October 30, defeating the ticket of the current President Jair Bolsonaro. Alckmin took over the office from Hamilton Mourão.

Vice President of Brazil

Minister of Development, Industry and Foreign Trade

On December 22, 2022, Alckmin was announced as the Minister of Development, Industry and Foreign Trade in the new government of President Lula da Silva.

Following the election, Geraldo Alckmin officially became the Vice President of Brazil on January 1, 2023.

Images for kids

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  Geraldo Alckmin's signature

See also

In Spanish: Geraldo Alckmin para niños