Ministra de las Mujeres de Brasil
A native of Londrina, Paraná, she is a social worker specializing in child and adolescent welfare and holds a Master’s degree in Social Work from the Pontifical Catholic University of São Paulo (PUC-SP). She taught in the Social Work Department at the State University of Londrina (UEL) for 30 years.
She served as Brazil’s Minister of Social Development and the Fight Against Hunger in 2010, during President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva’s second term. Previously, she held the positions of Executive Secretary of the ministry and National Secretary for Social Assistance from 2004 to 2007. During her time in government, she coordinated the Zero Hunger (Fome Zero) Task Force, bringing together 13 ministries over a five-year period. She also served on the National Council on Food and Nutrition Security (CONSEA) for four years, as well as the National Council for Social Assistance (CNAS) and the National Council for the Rights of Children and Adolescents (CONANDA) in 2004.
From 2001 to 2004, she served as a City Councilor in Londrina. A member of the Workers’ Party (PT) since 1982, she previously served as Municipal Secretary for Social Assistance in Londrina from 1993 to 1996 and was also a member of the Municipal and State Councils for Social Assistance and the Rights of Children and Adolescents in the state of Paraná.
Throughout her career, she has been actively involved in training initiatives on public policies for women and has participated in state and municipal conferences on women’s policies across Brazil. She is a member of the coordinating committee of the National Front in Defense of the Unified Social Assistance System (SUAS) and Social Security, serves on the Technical Committee on Social Assistance of the Northeast Consortium, and coordinates the Poverty and Social Protection Network for Latin America and the Caribbean at the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB).
She was also a member of the Social Development Working Group during the presidential transition for President Lula’s 2023–2026 administration. In May 2025, she returned to the federal government as Brazil’s Minister of Women.