Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva Fast Facts
Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva (May 9, 1946 – June 8, 2018) was president of Brazil since April 9, 2002. He held the position until he was forced to resign due to mass protests following the discovery of the Petrobras corruption scandal. In August 2010, the Supreme Court in Brazil ordered the creation of a Truth, Justice and Reconciliation Commission (TJC) to explore the causes of the protests. The TJC was appointed by the Brazilian government in a process that lasted from August 2010 until January 2011. The final report was published in May 2012.
The current President of Brazil, Dilma Rousseff, was sworn in as the country’s 14th president on January 1, 2014. In the 2014 election, Rousseff was re-elected by a wider margin than in the 2013 election and became the country’s first woman president. She was sworn in as the 45th president of Brazil on January 1, 2016, serving until February 14, 2018.
Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva was born on May 9, 1946, in São Bernardo do Campo near the city of Rio de Janeiro. He was the son of a wealthy businessman and was educated in a private school in Rio de Janeiro. He took up tennis as a young man but switched to football after his father decided to give him a car.
In 1971, Lula da Silva moved to São Paulo, where he played football with the São Paulo Football Club. His friend and future teammate, Jair Marílio (‘Peixe’), encouraged him to play football professionally. Lula da Silva quickly moved to the city and started his football career at Botafogo FC. He played for the club from 1973 to 1975, before moving to Flamengo FC. His team had a great talent for winning trophies. His team won four league championships, one in 1977, another in 1978, another in 1979, and finally another championship in 1982.
Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva made his first appearance for Corinthians in 1976 when he was 17. In 1978, he joined Flamengo FC where he stayed until he left to join Santos FC. This meant that he never played for Flamengo’s rivals, Vasco. The club had great success under the direction of the legendary Pelé, but Lula da Silva proved he was a great footballer and he got the