Nelson Jobim
Encyclopedia
Nelson Azevedo Jobim is a Brazil
ian jurist and politician. He served as the Minister of Defense of Brazil
from 2007-2011. He is a distant relative of musician
Antonio Carlos Jobim
.
, the son of Hélvio Jobim and Namy Azevedo Jobim, and the grandson of former governor of Rio Grande do Sul, Walter Só Jobim. He attended the Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul in Porto Alegre
from 1964 to 1968, and graudated with a bachelor's degree in Social and Legal Sciences. He taught philosophy of law and procedural law at the Universidade Federal de Santa Maria
. His brothers are Walter Jobim Neto and Hélvio Jobim Filho.
in Santa Maria from 1977 to 1978, and was vice president of the Rio Grande do Sul section of the Brazilian Bar Association from 1985 to 1986. He was also a member of the Office of Lawyers of Rio Grande do Sul and the Institute of Brazilian Lawyers, based in Rio de Janeiro
. Jobim served as an Adjunct Professor of the Department of Law for the Universidade Federal de Santa Maria
from 1980 to 1986.
Jobim also sporadically taught graduate classes at the Department of Law of the Universidade de Brasília in the early 1990s.
. While Justice Minister, Jobim lobbied for the decriminalization of the use of marijuana, saying "The drug user must be helped and not persecuted as a criminal." He also was responsible for the demarcation of Indian lands as head of the Ministry of Justice, though three years earlier he represented the state of Pará
in a failed effort to have an Indian reserve in Pará declared unconstitutional.
He was nominated to join the Supreme Federal Court in February 1997. He was appointed Minister of the Federal Supreme Court on 7 April 1997 and took office on the 15th, filling the vacancy caused by the retirement of Francisco Rezek
. During his time as Supreme Court Justice, Jobim chaired the elections of October 2002, and was elected Vice-President of the Supreme Court on 9 April 2003. He was elected President of the Supreme Court on 19 May 2004. He assumed the Presidency of the Court on 3 June 2004, and retired from the Court shortly before the end of his term as president of the court.
He is the current Defense Minister of Brazil
. He was appointed to the position on July 25, 2007 due to the firing of Waldir Pires
for his role in the aviation crisis of 2006-2007. Recently, he has been active in the aftermath of the crash of Air France Flight 447
. On June 2, 2009, Jobim announced that the Air Force believed they had found wreckage was from Flight 447, leading to three days of official mourning.
Based on early disclosures in WikiLeaks
' "Cablegate"
, Jobim appears to be a pro-US agent within Brazil's government. In a 25 January 2008 cable, US Ambassador to Brazil Clifford Sobel describes Jobim as an "unusually activist Defense Minister interested in developing closer ties with the United States." The same cable highlights Jobim's desire to conclude a defence cooperation agreement ("DCA") with the US and discloses the various tactical considerations involved. In particular, Jobim identifies Brazilian "Secretary General (Vice Minister) Samuel Guimaraes as a serious problem, not only on the DCA but on a variety of issues ... [who] 'hates the United States' and is actively looking to create problems in the relationship." In the same cable, Jobim told the US Ambassador "that he does not want to 'win the battle and lose the war' ... . In particular, he said, if Guimaraes and [Foreign Minister Celso] Amorim
join forces against a DCA, that could be a serious problem."
Jobim was subsequently named by US Ambassador Sobel as an identity-protected source in a 22 January 2009 cable providing candid assessments of the health and itinerary of Bolivian President Evo Morales. Ironically, a 13 November 2009 cable states that Jobim was (for some reason) envious of the United States' information security infrastructure. Chargé d'affaires Kubiske notes that, in addition to desiring a DCA, "Jobim also favored moving forward with an information security agreement, saying he would be discussing the issue with the Ministry for External Relations."
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
ian jurist and politician. He served as the Minister of Defense of Brazil
Ministry of Defence (Brazil)
The Ministry of Defence of Brazil, is the civilian cabinet organization responsible for managing the Military of Brazil. It is headed by the Minister of Defence....
from 2007-2011. He is a distant relative of musician
Musician
A musician is an artist who plays a musical instrument. It may or may not be the person's profession. Musicians can be classified by their roles in performing music and writing music.Also....* A person who makes music a profession....
Antonio Carlos Jobim
Antônio Carlos Jobim
Antônio Carlos Brasileiro de Almeida Jobim , also known as Tom Jobim , was a Brazilian songwriter, composer, arranger, singer, and pianist/guitarist. He was a primary force behind the creation of the bossa nova style, and his songs have been performed by many singers and instrumentalists within...
.
Early life
Jobim was born in Santa Maria, Rio Grande do SulSanta Maria, Rio Grande do Sul
Santa Maria is a municipality in the central region of Rio Grande do Sul, the southernmost state of Brazil. In 2007, its population was 263,403 inhabitants in a total area of 1,823 km2.-Importance:...
, the son of Hélvio Jobim and Namy Azevedo Jobim, and the grandson of former governor of Rio Grande do Sul, Walter Só Jobim. He attended the Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul in Porto Alegre
Porto Alegre
Porto Alegre is the tenth most populous municipality in Brazil, with 1,409,939 inhabitants, and the centre of Brazil's fourth largest metropolitan area . It is also the capital city of the southernmost Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Sul. The city is the southernmost capital city of a Brazilian...
from 1964 to 1968, and graudated with a bachelor's degree in Social and Legal Sciences. He taught philosophy of law and procedural law at the Universidade Federal de Santa Maria
Universidade Federal de Santa Maria
The Federal University of Santa Maria is a Brazilian public university located in Santa Maria, in the state of Rio Grande do Sul, funded by the federal government of Brazil...
. His brothers are Walter Jobim Neto and Hélvio Jobim Filho.
Law and teaching career
After graduation, he began practicing as a lawyer. He was chairman of the sub-section of the Order of Attorneys of BrazilOrder of Attorneys of Brazil
The Order of Attorneys of Brazil is the Brazilian Bar association, founded in 1930. It is an organization of lawyers and responsible for the regulation of the legal profession in the country. Its national headquarters are in Brasília, Federal District...
in Santa Maria from 1977 to 1978, and was vice president of the Rio Grande do Sul section of the Brazilian Bar Association from 1985 to 1986. He was also a member of the Office of Lawyers of Rio Grande do Sul and the Institute of Brazilian Lawyers, based in Rio de Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro , commonly referred to simply as Rio, is the capital city of the State of Rio de Janeiro, the second largest city of Brazil, and the third largest metropolitan area and agglomeration in South America, boasting approximately 6.3 million people within the city proper, making it the 6th...
. Jobim served as an Adjunct Professor of the Department of Law for the Universidade Federal de Santa Maria
Universidade Federal de Santa Maria
The Federal University of Santa Maria is a Brazilian public university located in Santa Maria, in the state of Rio Grande do Sul, funded by the federal government of Brazil...
from 1980 to 1986.
Jobim also sporadically taught graduate classes at the Department of Law of the Universidade de Brasília in the early 1990s.
Political career
Jobim was a federal deputy for the 48th and 49th legislatures, from 1987 to 1995. During this time, he became leader of the Brazilian Democratic Movement Party (PMDB), and chaired the Commission on Constitution and Justice and the Editorial Board of Deputies in 1989. He served as Minister of Justice from 1 January 1995 to 7 April 1997 under the government of President Fernando Henrique CardosoFernando Henrique Cardoso
Fernando Henrique Cardoso – also known by his initials FHC – was the 34th President of the Federative Republic of Brazil for two terms from January 1, 1995 to December 31, 2002. He is an accomplished sociologist, professor and politician...
. While Justice Minister, Jobim lobbied for the decriminalization of the use of marijuana, saying "The drug user must be helped and not persecuted as a criminal." He also was responsible for the demarcation of Indian lands as head of the Ministry of Justice, though three years earlier he represented the state of Pará
Pará
Pará is a state in the north of Brazil. It borders the Brazilian states of Amapá, Maranhão, Tocantins, Mato Grosso, Amazonas and Roraima. To the northwest it also borders Guyana and Suriname, and to the northeast it borders the Atlantic Ocean. The capital is Belém.Pará is the most populous state...
in a failed effort to have an Indian reserve in Pará declared unconstitutional.
He was nominated to join the Supreme Federal Court in February 1997. He was appointed Minister of the Federal Supreme Court on 7 April 1997 and took office on the 15th, filling the vacancy caused by the retirement of Francisco Rezek
Francisco Rezek
José Francisco Rezek is a Brazilian judge who served as a member of the International Court of Justice, based in The Hague, Netherlands, from 1996 to 2006. His surname "Rezek" comes from Czech Republic....
. During his time as Supreme Court Justice, Jobim chaired the elections of October 2002, and was elected Vice-President of the Supreme Court on 9 April 2003. He was elected President of the Supreme Court on 19 May 2004. He assumed the Presidency of the Court on 3 June 2004, and retired from the Court shortly before the end of his term as president of the court.
Ministry of Defence (Brazil)
The Ministry of Defence of Brazil, is the civilian cabinet organization responsible for managing the Military of Brazil. It is headed by the Minister of Defence....
. He was appointed to the position on July 25, 2007 due to the firing of Waldir Pires
Waldir Pires
Francisco Waldir Pires de Sousa is a politician of Brazil. He is the former Minister of Defence for President Luis Ignácio "Lula" da Silva, fired due to gross incompetence and inaction during Brazil's aviation crisis of 2006-2007. At the time of the crisis, he was accused by some in Brazil of...
for his role in the aviation crisis of 2006-2007. Recently, he has been active in the aftermath of the crash of Air France Flight 447
Air France Flight 447
Air France Flight 447 was a scheduled airline flight from Rio de Janeiro-Galeão to Paris-Roissy involving an Airbus A330-200 aircraft that crashed into the Atlantic Ocean on 1 June 2009, killing all 216 passengers and 12 aircrew. The investigation is still ongoing, and the cause of the...
. On June 2, 2009, Jobim announced that the Air Force believed they had found wreckage was from Flight 447, leading to three days of official mourning.
Based on early disclosures in WikiLeaks
Wikileaks
WikiLeaks is an international self-described not-for-profit organisation that publishes submissions of private, secret, and classified media from anonymous news sources, news leaks, and whistleblowers. Its website, launched in 2006 under The Sunshine Press organisation, claimed a database of more...
' "Cablegate"
United States diplomatic cables leak
The United States diplomatic cables leak, widely known as Cablegate, began in February 2010 when WikiLeaks—a non-profit organization that publishes submissions from anonymous whistleblowers—began releasing classified cables that had been sent to the U.S. State Department by 274 of its consulates,...
, Jobim appears to be a pro-US agent within Brazil's government. In a 25 January 2008 cable, US Ambassador to Brazil Clifford Sobel describes Jobim as an "unusually activist Defense Minister interested in developing closer ties with the United States." The same cable highlights Jobim's desire to conclude a defence cooperation agreement ("DCA") with the US and discloses the various tactical considerations involved. In particular, Jobim identifies Brazilian "Secretary General (Vice Minister) Samuel Guimaraes as a serious problem, not only on the DCA but on a variety of issues ... [who] 'hates the United States' and is actively looking to create problems in the relationship." In the same cable, Jobim told the US Ambassador "that he does not want to 'win the battle and lose the war' ... . In particular, he said, if Guimaraes and [Foreign Minister Celso] Amorim
Celso Amorim
Celso Luiz Nunes Amorim is a Brazilian diplomat who has been Minister of Defence since August 2011. Amorim was the Minister of Foreign Relations from 1993 to 1995 under President Itamar Franco and again from 2003 to 2011 under President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.Before his appointment by Lula,...
join forces against a DCA, that could be a serious problem."
Jobim was subsequently named by US Ambassador Sobel as an identity-protected source in a 22 January 2009 cable providing candid assessments of the health and itinerary of Bolivian President Evo Morales. Ironically, a 13 November 2009 cable states that Jobim was (for some reason) envious of the United States' information security infrastructure. Chargé d'affaires Kubiske notes that, in addition to desiring a DCA, "Jobim also favored moving forward with an information security agreement, saying he would be discussing the issue with the Ministry for External Relations."