Fernando Henrique Cardoso
Fernando Henrique Cardoso (born
June 18,
1931) was the President of the Federative Republic of
Brazil for two terms from
January 1,
1995 to
January 1,
2003. He is an eminent
sociologist who speaks several languages fluently and has lectured at leading universities in France, Britain and America. As an author, his books have also been translated widely.
Born in
Rio de Janeiro, he has lived in
São Paulo most of his life. Cardoso is married (wife
Ruth Valença Correia Leite Cardoso) and has three children.
Trained as a
sociologist, he was a Professor of
Political Science and Sociology at the
Universidade de São Paulo. He was President of the
International Sociology Association (ISA), from 1982 to 1986. He is a member of the
Institute for Advanced Study (Princeton), a honorary foreign member of the
American Academy of Arts and Sciences and has penned several books.
He was also Associated Director of Studies in the
École des Hautes Études en Sciences Sociales in
Paris and then visiting professor at the
Collège de France and later at the
Paris-Nanterre University. He also lectured at American universities including
Stanford University and the
University of California, Berkeley.
After his presidency, he was appointed to a five-year term as professor-at-large at
Brown University's
Watson Institute for International Studies, beginning in
2003.
Cardoso is a founding member of the
University of Southern California Center on Public Diplomacy's Advisory Board. In February 2005 he gave the fourth annual
Kissinger Lecture on Foreign Policy and International Relations at the Library of Congress, Washington DC on
"Dependency and Development in Latin America.
In 2005 Cardoso was elected, according to the Britain's
Prospect (magazine), as being one of the world's top one hundred and one living intellectuals.
In the beginning of his political life, Fernando Herique was elected Senator of the state of
São Paulo for the former MDB, Movimento Democrático Brasileiro (Brazilian Democratic Movement), in 1982. Re-elected in 1986 for the PMDB (Brazilian Democratic Movement Party), which substituted MDB after Brazilian re-democratization.
In
1988, a group of parliamentaries left PMDB and founded
Brazilian Social Democracy Party (PSDB). Cardoso was among them and so, he led the new party in the Senate until October
1992. From October 1992 to May
1993, he served as Minister of Foreign Affairs under President
Itamar Franco (PMDB).
From May 1993 until April
1994, he was Minister of Finance and introduced the
Plano Real (Real Plan) to end hyperinflation. Buoyed by the success of the Plano Real, Cardoso was elected president in the first round of elections, on
October 3, 1994.
Cardoso was succeeded in 2003 by Lula da Silva, after his fourth run for the presidency. Lula won in the runoff against the Cardoso-supported candidate
José Serra. Lula's election has since been interpreted as a result of Cardoso's growing unpopularity in his second term.
Fernando Henrique Cardoso was re-elected on
October 4,
1998 with approximately 53% of the vote, while his closest challenger,
Luíz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT), had about 32%. In
2000, he ordered the declassifying of some military files concerning
operation Condor.
Cardoso, often nicknamed "FHC", was elected with the support of a heterodox alliance of his own center-left Social Democratic Party, the PSDB, and two center-right parties, the
Liberal Front Party (PFL) and the
Brazilian Labour Party (PTB). Brazil's largest party, the centrist
Party of the Brazilian Democratic Movement (PMDB), joined Cardoso's governing coalition after the election, as did the right-wing
PPB, the Brazilian Progressive Party, in 1996.
Party loyalty was weak, and deputies and senators belonging to the parties in the coalition did not always vote with the government. As a result, President Cardoso had difficulty, at times, gaining sufficient support for some of his legislative priorities, despite the fact that his coalition parties held an overwhelming majority of congressional seats. As a result, major reforms planned by the Executive branch, such as changes in the tax system and in Social Security, were only partially approved, or approved after really long and tiring discussions.
Using his previous experience as Minister of Foreign Affairs and his prestige as an internationally famous sociologist, FHC was greatly respected in the world scenario, building friendships with
Bill Clinton and
Ernesto Zedillo, for example. Although he was respected abroad, inside Brazil FHC had problems explaining his government priorities to Congress and people in general. Although claiming to be a leftist and supporter of social-democracy, FHC took some decisions in economy that led people to believe he was turning his ideas into a neoliberal perspective. He allegedly once said "Forget what I wrote", in reference to the leftist books he wrote before becoming president. Nevertheless, he increased government expenditure in benefits for the poorest and kept inflation under control.
He also experienced personal problems with former ally
Itamar Franco, his predecessor that later became Governor of Minas Gerais, and was criticized for transforming the Constitution to his own benefit, creating reelection and allowing him to stay eight years in office. He also publicly admitted that he could have done more for public security and for the creation of new jobs. However, he was praised by his policies on Education and Health, with his Ministers being internationally recognized for their actions.
Foreign Awards and Honors
| Year | Award or Order | Date |
|---|
| 2003 | J. William Fulbright for International Understanding | 10 February |
| 2002 | Military Order of Torre e Espada, Portugal (Grand Cross) | 11 November |
|Medal, University of Technology of Peru| 23 September |
|Honorary Doctor of Law, University of Salamanca, Spain| 18 May |
|Honorary Doctor of Law, University of Konstantin Filozof, Nitra, Slovakia| 27 February |
|Honorary Doctor of Law, Moscow Academy, University of Moscow, Russia| 26 February |
|Order "White Eagle", Poland (Collar)| 21 February |
| 2001 | Honorary Doctor of Law, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel | 18 November |
|National Order Mérito, Ecuador (Collar)| 1 October |
|Honorary Doctor of Law, Facultad Latinoamericana de Ciências Sociales, Ecuador| 1 October |
|Order Congreso Nacional de la República del Ecuador, Ecuador| 28 September |
|Order General Rumiñahui, Province of Pichincha, Ecuador| 12 September |
|Orden de Manuel Amador Guerrero, Panamá (Collar)| 8 August |
|Order of the Double White Cross I. Class, Slovakia (Grand Cross)| 10 July |
| 2000 | Order King Abdul Aziz, Saudi Arabia (Collar) | 18 September |
|National Order Steaua României, Romania (Collar)| 17 July |
|Prince of Asturias Award in International Cooperation, Spain| 14 June |
|Award "Mérite", Association des Comités Nationaux Olympiques| 24 May |
|Gold Medal, Câmara Municipal de Santarém, Portugal| 22 April |
|National Order "Juan Mora Fernández", Costa Rica (Grand Cross)| 4 April |
|Order "Francisco de Miranda", Venezuela (Grand Cross)| 29 March |
|Order "Condor de los Andes", Bolivia (Collar)| 15 March |
|Order "Infante D. Henrique", Portugal (Collar)| 7 March |
| 1999 | Order of the Elephant, Denmark (Grand Cross) | 3 May |
|Order "Al Mérito por Servicios Distinguidos", Peru (Special Grand Cross)| 16 April |
| 1998 | Medal, Rotarian Foundation, International Rotary | 2 September |
|Gold Medal, "Camara de los Deputados", Spain| 23 July |
|Gold Medal "Americas Society", USA| 8 June |
|"Certificado ao Mérito", Brazilian and Chilean Circle of Latin American Integration| 20 May |
|Award "Felipe Herrera Lane", Santiago, Chile| 19 April |
|Order "Isabel la Católica", Spain (Grand Cross and Collar)| 17 April |
|Gold Medal, Galicia, Spain| 20 March |
| 1997 | Honorary Doctor of Law, University of Cambridge | 4 December |
|Honorary Doctor of Science (Economics), University of London, London School of Economics and Political Science| 3 December |
|Order of the Bath, United Kingdom (Grand Cross and Collar)| 2 December |
|Order "Merito da Câmara dos Deputados", Chile| 1 October |
|Order "Militar de Santiago da Espada", Portugal (Collar)| 6 September |
|Order of Lebanon (Extraordinary Degree)| 2 September |
|Medal "Amilcar Cabral", Guinea Bissau| 8 July |
|Honorary Doctor of Law, Soka University, Japan| 22 May |
|Interamerican Award of Leadership, Fundación Pan Americana de Desarrollo de la Organización de los Estados Americanos, Washington, DC| 25 April |
|The Great Magyar Order, Hungary (Grand Cross)| 3 April |
|The Order of White Rose, Finland (Grand-Cross and Collar)| 24 February |
|Equitem Torquatum Ordinis Piani, Vatican City, (Collar)| 14 February |
|Honorary Doctor of Political Science, University of Bologna, Italy| 13 February |
| 1996 | The Order of Good Hope, Republic of South Africa (Grand Cross) | 26 November |
|The Grand Order of Mugunghwa (Korea) (Collar)| 11 September |
|Soka Gakkai International, Peace and Culture Award| 10 September |
|Order "Nacional del Mérito", Paraguay (Collar Mariscal Francisco Solano Lopez)| 26 June |
|Medal "Chancellerie des Universités de Paris", France| 29 May |
|Légion d'Honneur, France (Grand Cross)| 28 May |
|Honorary Doctor of Laws, University Lumière, France| 19 May |
|Order "Libertador San Martin", Argentina (Collar)| 8 April |
|Honorary Doctor of Laws, University Sofia, Japan| 14 March |
|Chrysanthemum Order, Japan (Grand-Cross)| 13 March |
|Order "El Sol del Perú", Peru (Grand Cross)| 26 February |
|Order Aguila Azteca, Mexico (Collar)| 19 February |
|Honorary Order "Estrela Amarela", Suriname (Collar)| 10 January |
| 1995 | "Darjah Utama Seri Makhota Negara", Malaysia (Collar) | 18 December |
|Order of Prince Iaroslav, "The Wise", Ukraine (Collar)| 25 November |
|Medal "Rotary Internacional"| 25 September |
|Honorary Doctor of Laws, Free University of Berlin, Germany| 20 September |
|Order of the Federal Republic of Germany (Grand Cross)| 18 September |
|Honorary Doctor of Laws, University of Porto, Portugal| 22 July |
|Order "Liberdade", Portugal (Collar)| 19 July |
|Honorary Doctor of Laws, University of Coimbra, Portugal| 11 July |
|Honorary Doctor of Laws, Central University of Venezuela, Venezuela| 5 July |
|Order "Libertador", Venezuela (Collar)| 4 July |
|Order "Mérito", Italy (Grand-Cross and Collar)| 26 June |
|Order "Cavaliere di Gran Croce", Italy (Grand Collar)| 24 June |
|Medal of the Republic, Uruguay| 20 June |
|Medal "Lions Club Internacional"| 23 May |
|Order "Mérito", Chile (Collar)| 2 March |
|Order of the Polish Republic, Poland (Grand Cross)| 20 February |
| 1993 | National Order "Mérito", Ecuador (Grand Cross) | 29 April |
|Order of Boyacá, Colombia (Grand Cross)| 1 April |
|Order "Mérito", Chile (Grand Cross)| 8 March |
| 1992 | Honorary Doctor of Laws, University of Chile | 25 March |
| 1991 | Honorary Doctor of Laws, University of Notre Dame |
| 1987 | Order Mérito, Portugal (Grand Cross) |
|Elected Member of the Association Internationale Maison d'Auguste Comte, France
| 1985 | Légion d'Honneur, France (Chevalier) |
| 1984 | Order Aguila Azteca,México (Collar) | 19 April |
|Elected Foreign Member, American Academy of Arts and Sciences
| 1983 | Palmes académiques, France (Officer) |
| 1978 | Honorary Doctor of Laws, Rutgers University |
* Cardoso, Fernando Henrique (2006)
The Accidental President of Brazil, PublicAffairs, ISBN 1586483242
* Cardoso, Fernando Henrique (2001)
Charting a New Course: The Politics of Globalization and Social Transformation, Rowman & Littlefield, ISBN 0742508935
