Senate approves first woman ambassador of Brazil to the US

The Senate approved on Wednesday, 17, the name of diplomat Maria Luiza Ribeiro Viotti, 69, for the position of ambassador of Brazil to the United States.

She is the first woman nominated for the position.

Last week, her nomination had been approved by the Foreign Relations Commission (CRE).

In a plenary vote on Wednesday, the nomination received 44 votes in favor, one against, and one abstention. During the session, Senator Mara Gabrilli (PSD-SP) said she felt honored to be the rapporteur.

“The nomination represents a milestone in Itamaraty’s history.”

“It is the first time in the history of our diplomacy that a woman will head the [Brazilian] Embassy in the United States.”

“This strengthens the efforts for a greater gender representation in the most important posts of the Brazilian foreign service,” said the senator.

Last week, Maria Luiza stressed the importance of parliamentary diplomacy and the imminent creation of the Brazil-United States parliamentary group.

She said this initiative will be extremely important to strengthen the ties between the two countries.

“Today, Brazil and the United States recognize each other as two great democracies that share values,” said the diplomat, remembering that 2024 the bicentennial of bilateral relations will be celebrated.

According to Maria Luiza, there is currently a network of 11 consulates to serve the community of Brazilians in the United States.

The diplomat was born in Belo Horizonte and joined the career in 1976.

She graduated in Economic Sciences from the Brasília Unified Teaching Association in 1978, where she also concluded the Diplomats Improvement Course (1982) and the Senior Studies Course (1995).

Maria Luiza has a master’s degree in economics from the University of Brasília.

With information from Jovem Pan

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