João de Oliveira Mendonça
From Roach Busters
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| - | | style="font-size: 90%;" | '''Languages''' || style="font-size: 90%;" | Portuguese | + | | style="font-size: 90%;" | '''Languages''' || style="font-size: 90%;" | Portuguese, German, English |
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| - | General '''João de Oliveira Mendonça''' (born December 10, 1932) is the current President of the Republic of the United States of Brazil. | + | General '''João de Oliveira Mendonça''' (born December 10, 1932) is the current President of the Republic of the United States of Brazil. Perceived as a moderate and pragmatist, he was nominated for the presidency to placate both the Brazilian Democratic Movement (Brazil's only legal opposition party) and the Confederate States of Latin America (Brazil's neighbor, with which Brazil has an uneasy relationship). Though an avid reader with an extensive knowledge of politics, Mendonça is well known for his open contempt of the political process and for his "cordial dislike" of politicians. Reportedly, it took much badgering and cajoling by the military government to convince him to run for President. |
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| + | During his term in office, he has pursued a generally successful ''détente'' with the Confederate States of Latin America, eliminated the few remaining tariffs, and somewhat relaxed the government's iron grip on society, while still fiercely resisting any attempts at democratization. | ||
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| + | ==Biography== | ||
| + | João de Oliveira Mendonça was born in Manaus, Brazil to a German seamstress and a Brazilian manual laborer; his paternal grandfather was Portuguese-Brazilian and his paternal grandmother was born in Bavaria, making him three-fourths German. To this day, Mendonça speaks fluent German, and has much affinity for Germany; he has visited the country several times, both as a private citizen and in his capacity as a head of state, and he holds a deep adoration for German cuisine, culture, and history. | ||
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| + | Orphaned at an early age, he was raised by his paternal grandparents, who were stern taskmasters but also compassionate and loving people. In spite of their relative poverty, he had a fairly happy childhood, and was popular with the neighborhood children, though also known for his mischievous nature and tendency to "act up" in class. He did poorly in mathematics and science but excelled in English and read voraciously, often at the rate of two to three books per day (a habit he maintains to this day). He also enjoyed sports, particularly wrestling and soccer. | ||
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| + | His somewhat rambunctious personality persisted into high school, where he was a bit of a class clown and a womanizer, but he mellowed down by his junior year, and graduated high school near the top of his class. | ||
to be continued | to be continued | ||
Revision as of 22:08, 20 June 2008
| João de Oliveira Mendonça | |
| |
| | |
 President of Brazil
| |
| Term start | January 1, 2003 |
| Term end | Incumbent |
| Preceded by | Enzo Martins Peri |
| Succeeded by | Incumbent |
| | |
| Date of birth | December 10, 1932 (age 75) |
| Place of birth | Manaus, Amazonas, Brazil |
| Spouse | Anneliese Mendonça (née Banzer) |
| Profession | Military officer, politician |
| Political party | National Renewal Alliance Party (ARENA) |
| Religion | Roman Catholic (lapsed) |
| Languages | Portuguese, German, English |
General João de Oliveira Mendonça (born December 10, 1932) is the current President of the Republic of the United States of Brazil. Perceived as a moderate and pragmatist, he was nominated for the presidency to placate both the Brazilian Democratic Movement (Brazil's only legal opposition party) and the Confederate States of Latin America (Brazil's neighbor, with which Brazil has an uneasy relationship). Though an avid reader with an extensive knowledge of politics, Mendonça is well known for his open contempt of the political process and for his "cordial dislike" of politicians. Reportedly, it took much badgering and cajoling by the military government to convince him to run for President.
During his term in office, he has pursued a generally successful détente with the Confederate States of Latin America, eliminated the few remaining tariffs, and somewhat relaxed the government's iron grip on society, while still fiercely resisting any attempts at democratization.
Biography
João de Oliveira Mendonça was born in Manaus, Brazil to a German seamstress and a Brazilian manual laborer; his paternal grandfather was Portuguese-Brazilian and his paternal grandmother was born in Bavaria, making him three-fourths German. To this day, Mendonça speaks fluent German, and has much affinity for Germany; he has visited the country several times, both as a private citizen and in his capacity as a head of state, and he holds a deep adoration for German cuisine, culture, and history.
Orphaned at an early age, he was raised by his paternal grandparents, who were stern taskmasters but also compassionate and loving people. In spite of their relative poverty, he had a fairly happy childhood, and was popular with the neighborhood children, though also known for his mischievous nature and tendency to "act up" in class. He did poorly in mathematics and science but excelled in English and read voraciously, often at the rate of two to three books per day (a habit he maintains to this day). He also enjoyed sports, particularly wrestling and soccer.
His somewhat rambunctious personality persisted into high school, where he was a bit of a class clown and a womanizer, but he mellowed down by his junior year, and graduated high school near the top of his class.
to be continued
