Simone Tebet

Simone Nassar Tebet (siˈmoni naˈsaʁ ˈtɛbetʃi; born 27 February 1970) is a Brazilian academic, lawyer, and politician who has served as the Brazilian Minister of Planning and Budget since 5 January 2023. She previously was Senator for Mato Grosso do Sul from 2015 to 2023, Vice-Governor of Mato Grosso do Sul from 2011 to 2014, and mayor of Três Lagoas from 2005 to 2010. A member of the Brazilian Democratic Movement (MDB), of which she was the leader in the Senate from 2018 to 2019, Tebet was the MDB candidate for president in the 2022 Brazilian general election, placing third with 4.16% of the vote. After endorsing Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, in the second round, Tebet was appointed Minister of Planning. Tebet ran for President of the Senate in 2021 against Rodrigo Pacheco, who was backed by both President Jair Bolsonaro and former President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva's Workers' Party. Tebet was born to governor, senator, and President of the National Congress Ramez Tebet and Fairte Nassar Tebet, a philanthropist, in 1970. She is of Lebanese descent on both her mother and father's sides. She graduated in law from the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro and is a specialist in legal science from the Escola Superior de Magistratura, and has masters in state law from the Pontifical Catholic University of São Paulo. She began her career as a professor in 1992, working at Dom Bosco Catholic University, Anhanguera-Uniderp University, and the Federal University of Mato Grosso do Sul. Simone Tebet started her career in 2002 when she was elected as a state representative in Mato Grosso do Sul with 25,251 votes, becoming the most voted woman that year. In 2004 she was elected for the first time as the first female mayor of Três Lagoas. On March 31, 2010, she resigned from the mayor's office to compose André Puccinelli's ticket in the election for the government of Mato Grosso do Sul, as a candidate for vice governor. With the ticket victorious, she became the state's first female vice-governor.