Renan Calheiros

José Renan Vasconcelos Calheiros (Portuguese pronunciation: [ʁeˈnɐ̃ kaˈʎejɾus]; born 16 September 1955) is a Brazilian politician and former President of the Federal Senate of Brazil. He has represented the state of Alagoas in the senate as a member of the Brazilian Democratic Movement. since 1 February 1995. Renan's presidency of the Brazilian Senate, a term that started 1 February 2013, was revoked on 5 December 2016 by a minister of the Brazilian Supreme Court, Marco Aurélio Mello, who said that a person under investigation could not be in the line of succession for the presidency. However the Supreme Court decided 7 December 2016 that Renan could remain senate president, without being in the succession.

Career

On 25 May 2007, Veja magazine accused Calheiros of accepting funds from a construction industry lobbyist, to pay child support for a child from a previous extramarital affair with broadcast journalist Mônica Veloso. In trying to justify the origin of the funds, subsequent investigations into Calheiros' business dealings led to other revelations of income tax fraud and the use of a proxy to buy a stake in a radio station. Calheiros was subject to a disciplinary inquiry by the senate's ethics committee on four different counts. On 12 September 2007, the senate voted by secret ballot against impeaching Calheiros on the lobbyist funds accusation. He still faces three separate inquiries on other charges. After the vote public outrage forced congress to eliminate secret ballot voting for ethics violations, meaning Calheiros' three other inquiries, if approved by the ethics committee, will be subject to an open ballot vote in the senate floor.