Geraldo José Rodrigues Alckmin Filho (; born 7 November 1952) is a Brazilian physician and politician who has served as the 26th vice president of Brazil since 1 January 2023. He previously served as the Governor of São Paulo from 2001 to 2006, and then again from 2011 to 2018, the longest term served in that state since the end of the Military dictatorship in Brazil. He was the Brazilian Social Democracy Party (PSDB) presidential nominee for the 2018 Brazilian presidential election, when he finished in fourth place, as well for the 2006 Brazilian presidential election, when he came in second place, losing in the runoff to then president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.
Alckmin attended the Universidade de Taubaté's medical school, specializing in anesthesiology, before going on to work in the São Paulo Public Service Hospital. Alckmin was elected governor of São Paulo in 2010 and reelected in 2014, for the fourth (not consecutive) time. He resigned on 6 April 2018 to run for president for a second time in the 2018 elections. His vice governor Márcio França held the office until the end of the term on 1 January 2019. In 2021, Alckmin left PSDB after 33 years with the party and joined the Brazilian Socialist Party (PSB) the following year to be Lula's running mate in the 2022 Brazilian presidential election. On 30 October 2022, Lula beat Bolsonaro in the presidential election, making Alckmin vice president-elect. Alckmin is usually described by political analysts and supporters as a pro-business centrist, closely associated with the political and financial establishment.
Biography
Geraldo José Rodrigues Alckmin Filho was born in the city of Pindamonhangaba, Vale do Paraíba. Alckmin is the son of Geraldo José Rodrigues Alckmin and Míriam Penteado. Geraldo is the nephew of José Geraldo Rodrigues de Alckmin, who was a minister of the Supreme Federal Court. According to Época magazine, Geraldo received a Christian formation from the Opus Dei Catholic prelature, and told the magazine that his uncle José Geraldo was from Opus Dei.
Geraldo is married to Maria Lúcia Ribeiro Alckmin and is the father of three children. Sophia, Geraldo and Thomaz. Thomaz died in a helicopter accident on 2 April 2015.
Political career
While still in his first year of medical school, Alckmin began his political career in 1972 when he was elected to the Pindamonhangaba city council (1973–1977), and then its mayor (1977–1982). At age 25, he was the youngest Brazilian mayor. He was elected a federal deputy for two terms, (1983–1987 and 1987–1994), distinguishing himself by authoring consumer protection laws. In 1988, he was one of the founders of the Brazilian Social Democracy Party (PSDB).
He was elected vice governor of São Paulo, Mário Covas's running-mate first in the 1994 election and then again in 1998. With the death of Covas, he assumed the governorship of the state of São Paulo in March, 2001, he continued Covas' policies, investing in large, state-run projects, health and education programs. All of these investments were possible through privatization programs that sold off public and state-owned companies. He was elected governor on October 27, 2002, through a runoff election, for the 2003–2006 term, with 12 million votes (or 58.64%). His current administration is marked by a reduction in the state payroll from 49% to 46% of the state's budget, the unification of purchasing systems and other "smart spending" initiatives, as well as the implementation of Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs).
2006 presidential election
On March 14, 2006, PSDB nominated Alckmin as its candidate for president in the 2006 elections. Because of electoral rules, no candidate running for office may currently be in an executive office, forcing him to resign the governorship on March 31, 2006. Cláudio Lembo, the lieutenant governor, finished Alckmin's term. Alckmin's party mate, José Serra, the PSDB's presidential standard-bearer who lost to Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva in 2002, then announced his candidacy to replace Alckmin in the 2006 state elections. Serra won the vote in Brazil's first round elections on October 1, 2006 and was elected as the governor of São Paulo.