Brazil's Lula appoints his justice minister to Supreme Court

President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva of Brazil has announced his decision to appoint his Justice Minister, Flavio Dino, to fill a vacancy on the Supreme Court left by the retirement of Justice Rosa Weber at the end of September.

Lula also revealed that he plans to nominate Paulo Gonet as the new prosecutor general for the country.

At the age of 55, Dino will be Lula’s second appointee to the highest court in Brazil during his third term as president. Previously, in June, he selected his former defense lawyer Cristiano Zanin for another seat on the Supreme Court.

During his tenure as president, Michel Temer appointed his own justice minister, Alexandre de Moraes, to the court. Lula’s predecessor, Jair Bolsonaro, also appointed Andre Mendonca to a seat on the Supreme Court.

If confirmed by the Senate, Dino, who has served in Lula’s cabinet since January, will fill the vacant position on the court.

Prior to his cabinet position, Dino, a former federal judge, represented the Communist Party of Brazil in congress from 2007 to 2011 and later served as the governor of the state of Maranhao from 2015 to 2022.

He joined the Brazilian Socialist Party (PSB) in 2021 and was elected to the Senate in the previous year.

Chief Justice Luis Roberto Barroso praised Lula’s choice for the Supreme Court, stating, “Minister Dino was a very good federal judge and a well-rated governor, so if this is the president’s choice, he will be most welcome at the Supreme Court.”

In addition to the appointment of Dino, Lula announced his intention to nominate Paulo Gonet as the new prosecutor general of Brazil, ending months of uncertainty since the term of Bolsonaro appointee Augusto Aras ended in September.

Gonet, 62, has been working as an electoral prosecutor and played a role in securing Bolsonaro’s conviction earlier this year in Brazil’s top electoral court for his conduct during last year’s election, which resulted in Bolsonaro being ineligible until 2030.

(Reporting by Gabriel Araujo; Editing by Steven Grattan, Chizu Nomiyama and Aurora Ellis)