Fernando Haddad

Fernando Haddad (Brazilian Portuguese pronunciation: [feʁˈnɐ̃du aˈdadʒi]; born 25 January 1963) is a Brazilian academic, lawyer and politician who served as the Brazilian Minister of Finance from 2023 to 2026. He was previously the mayor of São Paulo from 2013 to 2017 and the Brazilian minister of education from 2005 to 2012 in the cabinets of Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and Dilma Rousseff.

Haddad is a professor of political science at the University of São Paulo (USP), from which he graduated with a bachelor's degree in law, a master's degree in economics and a doctorate in philosophy. He also worked as an investment analyst at Unibanco. Between 2001 and 2003, he served as the Undersecretary of Finance and Economic Development for São Paulo, during Marta Suplicy's administration. He also held a position within the Ministry of Planning during the Lula government, under the administration of Guido Mantega (2003-2004), during which time he authored the bill that established public-private partnerships (PPPs) in Brazil.

He was appointed the Minister of Education in July 2005 by President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and held the position until January 2012. During his tenure as minister, significant educational initiatives were introduced, including the Institutional Teaching Initiation Scholarship Programme (PIBID) and the Unified Selection System (SiSU). Additionally, the Open University of Brazil and the Federal Institute of Education, Science and Technology were established. Notably, he played a key role in implementing the University for All Programme (ProUni) and spearheading the reformulation and expansion of the Higher Education Student Financing Fund (FIES) along with the Exame Nacional do Ensino Médio.

In 2012, he was elected mayor of São Paulo after defeating candidate José Serra in the runoff. During his tenure (2013–2016), his administration focused on expanding public transportation and bike infrastructure, improving road safety through lower speed limits, and promoting social and cultural initiatives, alongside efforts to reform the city’s tax system; however, he faced political resistance and public criticism, and in 2016, Haddad ran for re-election but was defeated in the first round by João Doria.

He was the Workers' Party candidate for President of Brazil in the 2018 election, replacing former president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, whose candidacy was barred by the Superior Electoral Court under the Clean Slate law. Haddad faced far-right candidate Jair Bolsonaro in the run-off of the election, and lost the election with 44.87% of the votes against Bolsonaro's 55.13%. In 2022, he ran for governor of the state of São Paulo. Despite achieving the best performance for the Workers’ Party in the state, he lost the election in the runoff to Tarcísio de Freitas. In December 2022, then president-elect Lula announced Haddad as his Minister of Finance.

On 19 March 2026, Haddad announced that he would step down as Minister and run for Governor in this year's São Paulo election.