Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva

Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (Portuguese: [luˈiz iˈnasiu ˈlulɐ da ˈsiwvɐ] ( listen); born 27 October 1945 , is known popularly as Lula, served as the 35th President of Brazil from 2003 to 2010. A founding member of the Workers' Party (PT – Partido dos Trabalhadores), he ran for President three times unsuccessfully, first in the 1989 election, then again in 1994 and again in 1998. Lula achieved victory in the 2002 election, and was inaugurated as President on 1 January 2003. In the 2006 election he was re-elected for a second term as President, which ended on 31 December 2010. He was succeeded by his former Chief of Staff, Dilma Rousseff. He is often regarded as the most popular politician in the history of Brazil and, at the time of his...