Attorney General of the Union (Brazil)

Attorney General of the Union
Attorney General of the Union
Advocacia Geral da União
	Incumbent; Jorge Messias; since 1 January 2023
Style	Mr. Attorney General (informal); The Most Excellent Attorney General (formal); His Excellency (diplomatic)
Type	Ministry
Abbreviation	AGU
Member of	the Cabinet
Reports to	the President of Brazil
Seat	Brasília, Federal District
Appointer	President of Brazil
Constituting instrument	Constitution of Brazil
Formation	12 February 1993
First holder	José de Castro Ferreira
Salary	R$ 39,293.32 monthly
Website	www.gov.br/agu/

The Attorney General Office[1][2] (Portuguese: Advocacia-Geral da União, AGU) is a cabinet-level position in the Brazilian government charged with advising the Executive Branch and representing the federal government of Brazil in legal proceedings legally known as the Union (União).[3] The Attorney General is defined under the Article 131 of the Brazilian Constitution as one of the essential functions of Brazilian judicial administration, along with the roles performed by the judicial branch, the Prosecutor's office, the public defenders and private lawyers.[1][4][5] The current Attorney General is Jorge Messias.[6]

Under the constitution, the Attorney General must be at least 35 years old.[7] All Attorneys General within the Office must be bar members in Brazil. The Attorney General of the Union is a member of the Brazilian cabinet, holds the rank of Minister, and is also the head of the Advocacia-Geral da União (AGU), which is an essential function and branch of the federal government formed by its own Attorneys.

The Attorneys who compose the AGU are divided in four careers: the Attorney for the National Treasury (Procuradores da Fazenda Nacional), who represent the federal government in tax and financial issues; the Attorney for Brazil (Advogados da União), who represent the government through general cases, the Attorney for the Federal Agencies (Procuradores Federais), who represent the federal agencies; and Attorney for the Central Bank (Procuradores do Banco Central). Their functions are not limited to the Judiciary, and they are also responsible for inside legal control of the government and international legal representation of the Republic.[1][7]

List of attorneys general

No.	Attorney General	Took office	Left office	Time in office	President
1	José de Castro Ferreira (1934–2005)	12 February 1993 (1993-02-12)	3 May 1993 (1993-05-03)	80 days	Itamar Franco (PMDB)
2	Alexandre de Paula Dupeyrat Martins (born 1944)	3 May 1993 (1993-05-03)	30 June 1993 (1993-06-30)	58 days	Itamar Franco (PMDB)
–	Tarcísio Carlos de Almeida Cunha (born 1929) Acting	30 June 1993 (1993-06-30)	5 July 1993 (1993-07-05)	5 days	Itamar Franco (PMDB)
3	Geraldo Magela (born 1935)	5 July 1993 (1993-07-05)	24 January 2000 (2000-01-24)	6 years, 203 days	Itamar Franco (PMDB) Fernando Henrique Cardoso (PSDB)
–	Walter do Carmo Barletta (born 1940) Acting	24 January 2000 (2000-01-24)	31 January 2000 (2000-01-31)	7 days	Fernando Henrique Cardoso (PSDB)
4	Gilmar Mendes (born 1955)	31 January 2000 (2000-01-31)	20 June 2002 (2002-06-20)	2 years, 140 days	Fernando Henrique Cardoso (PSDB)
5	José Bonifácio de Andrada (born 1956)	20 June 2002 (2002-06-20)	1 January 2003 (2003-01-01)	195 days	Fernando Henrique Cardoso (PSDB)
6	Álvaro Augusto Ribeiro Costa (born 1947)	1 January 2003 (2003-01-01)	11 March 2007 (2007-03-11)	4 years, 69 days	Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT)
7	Dias Toffoli (born 1967)	11 March 2007 (2007-03-11)	23 October 2009 (2009-10-23)	2 years, 226 days	Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT)
8	Luís Inácio Adams (born 1965)	23 October 2009 (2009-10-23)	3 March 2016 (2016-03-03)	6 years, 132 days	Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT) Dilma Rousseff (PT)
9	José Eduardo Cardozo (born 1959)	3 March 2016 (2016-03-03)	12 May 2016 (2016-05-12)	70 days	Dilma Rousseff (PT)
10	Fábio Medina Osório (born 1967)	12 May 2016 (2016-05-12)	9 September 2016 (2016-09-09)	120 days	Michel Temer (PMDB)
11	Grace Mendonça (born 1968)	9 September 2016 (2016-09-09)	1 January 2019 (2019-01-01)	2 years, 114 days	Michel Temer (MDB)
12	André Mendonça (born 1972)	1 January 2019 (2019-01-01)	28 April 2020 (2020-04-28)	1 year, 118 days	Jair Bolsonaro (PSL)
13	José Levi do Amaral (born 1976)	29 April 2020 (2020-04-29)	29 March 2021 (2021-03-29)	334 days	Jair Bolsonaro (IND)
14	André Mendonça (born 1972)	29 March 2021 (2021-03-29)	6 August 2021 (2021-08-06)	130 days	Jair Bolsonaro (IND)
15	Bruno Bianco (born 1982)	6 August 2021 (2021-08-06)	1 January 2023 (2023-01-01)	1 year, 148 days	Jair Bolsonaro (PL)
16	Jorge Messias (born 1980)	1 January 2023 (2023-01-01)	Incumbent	297 days	Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT)

Prosecutor General of Brazil

The prosecutorial duties of the office of the Attorney General were split off to a new Prosecutor General, named Prosecutor General of the Republic, under the Article 4 of the Federal Law No. 73 of 10 February 1993. The Prosecutor General is appointed by the President and confirmed by the Senate. The office of Prosecutor General of the Republic (PGR) is an autonomous agency in charge of criminal prosecution and the defense of society in general, versus the office of the Attorney General, which represents the federal government in legal proceedings.

The Prosecutor General of the Republic (PGR) is the head of the Federal Prosecution Service (Ministério Público Federal), which is also an essential function but holds the responsibility for criminal prosecution. Differently from the AGU, the members of the Federal Prosecution Service are called "Federal Prosecutor", and are in charge of criminal prosecution at the first level of the Federal Justice. Despite the title, the Federal Prosecutor do not legally represent the Republic in international issues, which is a responsibility of the members of the AGU.[8]

Federal Public Defender General

The Federal Public Defender General oversees the federal public defenders offices.

References

"Advogado-Geral da União" [Attorney General of Brazil] (in Portuguese). Brasília-DF, Brasil: Portal Brasil, Governo Federal do Brasil. 2014. Retrieved 2014-11-26.
The Federative Republic of Brazil. "Structure: Attorney General Office (AGU)". Accessed 20 September 2013.
"Presidência da República, Casa Civil, Subchefia para Assuntos Jurídicos, LEI COMPLEMENTAR Nº 73, DE 10 DE FEVEREIRO DE 1993" (in Portuguese). Brasília-DF, Brasil: Portal Brasil, Governo Federal do Brasil. 1993. Retrieved 2014-11-18.
Valente, Christiano Mendes Wolney (2013). "Histórico e Evolução da Advocacia-Geral da União" [History and Evolution of the Attorney General of Brazil] (PDF) (in Portuguese). Brasília-DF, Brasil: Portal Brasil, Governo Federal do Brasil. Retrieved 2014-11-18.
"Perguntas Frequentes" [Frequently Asked Questions] (in Portuguese). Brasília-DF, Brasil: Portal Brasil, Governo Federal do Brasil. 2014. Retrieved 2014-11-26.
"Lula swears in cabinet members, inks first decrees". Brasilia. Agência Brasil. 2 January 2023. Archived from the original on 6 January 2023. Retrieved 14 February 2023.
Alves Jr., Luís Carlos Martins (2012). "Advogado-Geral da União: notável saber jurídico e reputação ilibada" [Advocate General of the Union: remarkable legal knowledge and unblemished reputation] (in Portuguese). São Paulo, Brazil: Jus Navigandi. Retrieved 2014-11-18.
"Sobre a Instituição: O Ministério Público Federal" [About the Institution: Prosecutor General of Brazil] (in Portuguese). Brasília, Brasil: Ministério Público Federal. 2014. Archived from the original on 2014-11-12. Retrieved 2014-11-18.

External links

(in Portuguese) Official website of the Office of the Brazilian Attorney General of the Union

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[a-1] "Advogado-Geral da União" [Attorney General of Brazil] (in Portuguese). Brasília-DF, Brasil: Portal Brasil, Governo Federal do Brasil. 2014. Retrieved 2014-11-26.

[2] The Federative Republic of Brazil. "Structure: Attorney General Office (AGU)". Accessed 20 September 2013.

[c-3] "Presidência da República, Casa Civil, Subchefia para Assuntos Jurídicos, LEI COMPLEMENTAR Nº 73, DE 10 DE FEVEREIRO DE 1993" (in Portuguese). Brasília-DF, Brasil: Portal Brasil, Governo Federal do Brasil. 1993. Retrieved 2014-11-18.

[h-4] Valente, Christiano Mendes Wolney (2013). "Histórico e Evolução da Advocacia-Geral da União" [History and Evolution of the Attorney General of Brazil] (PDF) (in Portuguese). Brasília-DF, Brasil: Portal Brasil, Governo Federal do Brasil. Retrieved 2014-11-18.

[f-5] "Perguntas Frequentes" [Frequently Asked Questions] (in Portuguese). Brasília-DF, Brasil: Portal Brasil, Governo Federal do Brasil. 2014. Retrieved 2014-11-26.

[6] "Lula swears in cabinet members, inks first decrees". Brasilia. Agência Brasil. 2 January 2023. Archived from the original on 6 January 2023. Retrieved 14 February 2023.

[j-7] Alves Jr., Luís Carlos Martins (2012). "Advogado-Geral da União: notável saber jurídico e reputação ilibada" [Advocate General of the Union: remarkable legal knowledge and unblemished reputation] (in Portuguese). São Paulo, Brazil: Jus Navigandi. Retrieved 2014-11-18.

[p-8] "Sobre a Instituição: O Ministério Público Federal" [About the Institution: Prosecutor General of Brazil] (in Portuguese). Brasília, Brasil: Ministério Público Federal. 2014. Archived from the original on 2014-11-12. Retrieved 2014-11-18.

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