Andre Franco Montoro

André Franco Montoro was a Brazilian politician and lawyer who was born in São Paulo in 1916. He was the son of an Italian immigrant and a Spanish immigrant. He studied law and philosophy at the University of São Paulo and became a professor at the Pontifical Catholic University of São Paulo. He started his political career as a city councilor in 1947 and then became a state deputy, a federal deputy, and a minister of labour and social security in the parliamentary cabinet of Tancredo Neves. He was one of the founders of the Christian Democratic Party and later joined the Brazilian Democratic Movement and the Brazilian Democratic Movement Party. He was elected senator for São Paulo in 1970 and 1978 and became one of the leaders of the opposition to the military dictatorship. He was also one of the main figures of the Diretas Já movement, which demanded the restoration of direct elections for president. In 1982, he was elected governor of São Paulo, defeating the candidate of the ruling party. He implemented several social and environmental policies, such as decentralizing the state administration, expanding the public education and health systems, creating the first state secretariat for the environment, and supporting the creation of the Workers' Party. He also named the São Paulo-Guarulhos International Airport after himself. In 1988, he was one of the founders of the Brazilian Social Democracy Party and became its first national president. He returned to the Chamber of Deputies in 1995 and remained there until his death in 1999, due to heart failure. He was married to Lucy Pestana Silva and had seven children. He wrote several books on law, politics, and social justice. He is considered one of the most influential and respected politicians in Brazilian history.