Sergio Moro facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Sergio Moro
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Official portrait, 2023
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| Senator for Paraná | |
| Assumed office 1 February 2023 |
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| Minister of Justice and Public Security | |
| In office 1 January 2019 – 24 April 2020 |
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| President | Jair Bolsonaro |
| Preceded by | Torquato Jardim (Justice) Raul Jungmann (Public Security) |
| Succeeded by | André Mendonça |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
Sergio Fernando Moro
1 August 1972 Maringá, Paraná, Brazil |
| Political party | Podemos (2021–2022) Brazil Union (2022–present) |
| Spouse |
Rosângela Wolff
(m. 1999) |
| Children | 2 |
| Alma mater | State University of Maringá (LLB) Federal University of Paraná (LLM, PhD) |
| Signature |  |
Sergio Fernando Moro (born August 1, 1972) is a Brazilian jurist (a legal expert), a former federal judge, a university professor, and a politician. He was chosen to be a member of the Federal Senate for the state of Paraná in October 2022.
In 2015, he became well-known as one of the main judges in Operation Car Wash (called Operação Lava Jato in Portuguese). This was a big investigation into a major corruption and bribery scandal involving government officials and business leaders. Moro also served as the Minister of Justice and Public Security under President Jair Bolsonaro from 2019 to 2020.
After the 2018 Brazilian general election, President-elect Bolsonaro asked Moro to be his Minister of Justice and Public Security. Moro accepted the job. Many people in Brazil praised his appointment and how he handled Operation Car Wash. However, some also criticized him, especially after claims of him being unfair were made public. Moro left the government in April 2020. He said the President was interfering too much in his ministry's work.
Later, some messages between Moro (when he was a judge) and prosecutors were leaked. These messages led to questions about whether he was truly fair during the Operation Car Wash investigations. Moro has said these claims are not true. In 2021, the Supreme Federal Court decided that Moro had been biased in some cases. The United Nations Human Rights Committee later agreed with this decision in 2022.
Contents
Early Life and Schooling
Moro was born in Maringá, Brazil. His father, Dalton Áureo Moro, was a geography professor at the State University of Maringá. His family has roots from Italy, Germany, Portugal, Spain, and Poland.
Moro earned a law degree from the State University of Maringá in 1995. He also took a summer course at Harvard Law School in 1998. This course included studies on how to fight money laundering. He received his master's degree in 2000 and his PhD in State Law in 2002, both from the Federal University of Paraná. In 2007, he visited U.S. agencies that work to prevent money laundering.
Career Highlights
In 1996, Moro began teaching law at the Federal University of Paraná. In the same year, he became a federal judge in Porto Alegre. He later moved to Joinville, Santa Catarina, in 1999.
Between 2003 and 2007, Moro worked on a case involving a public bank called Banestado. This investigation led to the arrest of nearly 200 people for tax evasion and money laundering. In 2012, he helped with the Mensalão scandal, which involved financial crimes.
After leaving public service, Moro worked as a lawyer for a short time. He also worked for a consulting company called Alvarez & Marsal.
Leading Operation Car Wash
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In 2014, Sergio Moro became one of the main judges in Operation Car Wash (Operação Lava Jato). This was a huge investigation that started with money laundering. It grew into a big corruption scandal involving bribery and misuse of public money by politicians.
Normally, corruption cases in Brazil take a very long time. But Moro moved quickly. He allowed more investigations, arrests, and questioning of suspects. By late 2017, many people had been sentenced and sent to jail. Moro became very popular in Brazil as a symbol of fighting corruption.
Some people criticized how fast he made decisions in such a complex case. However, the Brazilian Supreme Court supported most of his actions. Most of his decisions were upheld by higher courts. For example, 71% of the sentences he gave in Operation Car Wash were confirmed by the Regional Federal Courts.
In 2017, Moro sentenced former Brazilian president, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, to jail. This was for charges of money laundering and corruption. Lula was a leading candidate for the 2018 presidential election at the time. This decision caused a lot of discussion in Brazil. Many people supported Moro, while others thought he was going too far. Later, in 2021, the Supreme Court of Brazil overturned this decision. They stated that Moro had acted unfairly. The UN Human Rights Committee also agreed with this decision in 2022.
Serving as Minister of Justice
Sergio Moro often said he was "apolitical" and not interested in politics. However, after the 2018 Brazilian general election, rumors spread that President-elect Jair Bolsonaro wanted him to lead the Ministry of Justice. On November 1, 2018, Moro met with Bolsonaro and it was announced he would become a minister.
Many judges supported his new role. But some people who opposed Bolsonaro criticized the decision. They said that Moro's sentencing of former president Lula had helped Bolsonaro win the presidency.
During his 15 months as Minister of Justice and Public Security, Moro focused on fighting organized crime and improving border security. He also worked on new anti-corruption measures. Crime rates in Brazil dropped in 2019.
However, in 2020, Moro's relationship with President Bolsonaro became difficult. Moro started to complain that the president was interfering in his ministry. He said Bolsonaro had promised him freedom to run the ministry, especially in choosing leaders for the Federal Police. But this changed over time. Moro also disagreed with Bolsonaro's handling of the COVID-19 pandemic.
On April 24, 2020, Moro announced he would leave the Ministry. He said this was because President Bolsonaro had unfairly removed the Director-General of the Federal Police. Moro also accused the president of trying to meddle in investigations. After this, he began a career as a lawyer.
Political Career Path
As a judge in Operation Car Wash, Moro often said he would "never" have a political career. However, he started his political journey in November 2018. This was when he accepted President Jair Bolsonaro's invitation to lead the Ministry of Justice and Public Security.
He later joined the political party Podemos (PODE) on November 10, 2021. At that time, he said he was planning to run for president of Brazil. Moro was seen as a possible "third way" candidate, different from former president Lula and Bolsonaro. However, he later left the Podemos party and decided not to run for president. His popularity changed after he joined Bolsonaro's government.
Personal Life
Moro is married to Rosângela Wolff de Quadros, who is a lawyer. They live in Curitiba and have two school-aged children. Not much is known about his private life. IstoÉ magazine described him as someone with a "reserved lifestyle and simple habits."
He is a Roman Catholic.
Sergio Moro is played by actor Marcelo Serrado in the 2017 Brazilian film Polícia Federal: A Lei É para Todos.
Images for kids
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Sergio Moro's signature
See also
In Spanish: Sergio Moro para niños
