20 Facts About Eduardo Leite

Eduardo Figueiredo Cavalheiro Leite was born on 10 March 1985 and is a Brazilian politician and governor of the state of Rio Grande do Sul.

In July 2021, Eduardo Leite came out as gay during an interview for the Brazilian talk show Conversa com Bial, becoming the first openly gay governor in Brazil's history, and one of the first two openly LGBT governors in Brazil.

Eduardo Leite was elected governor of Rio Grande do Sul for the second time in the second round of the 2022 gubernatorial election.

Alongside his position as governor of Rio Grande do Sul, Eduardo Leite was the president of the Brazilian Social Democratic Party from January to November 2023.

Eduardo Leite began his career in politics at a young age, first running for Pelotas city council in 2004 at age 19.

In 2013, Eduardo Leite won the city's mayoral election and served from 2013 to 2016.

Eduardo Leite was able to guarantee funding for major infrastructure works and the remodeling of the urban mobility system, while improving local health and education indicators.

In 2017, the PSDB, under Eduardo Leite's leadership, withdrew support from the administration of Jose Ivo Sartori.

Sartori originally expressed an interest in Eduardo Leite standing as his running mate.

Eduardo Leite was able to secure the support of many formerly Sartori-aligned parties, including the Brazilian Socialist Party, Democrats and the Liberal Party.

Eduardo Leite was sworn as the governor of Rio Grande do Sul in 2019.

Eduardo Leite allocated most of his cabinet membership to coalition partners, having nine parties represented.

Eduardo Leite established privatizations as a priority, with the state-owned companies of energy, mines and natural gas being its main targets.

Since the State Constitution requires referendums to privatize these stated owned companies, Eduardo Leite introduced a constitutional amendment to abolish this requirement, it was approved by Assembly in May 2019, by 40 ayes vs 13 no, with all but the PT, PDT and PSOL voting in favor.

In late 2019, he announced a comprehensive austerity package that would include pension reform and changes to the state public service, Eduardo Leite described the changes as necessary to restore fiscal responsibility but allied parties were skeptical of the proposal, with the Social Liberal Party initially withdrawing support from the government.

In 2021, far-right politician Roberto Jefferson used a homophobic slur against Eduardo Leite while critiquing the response of his government to the COVID-19 pandemic.

On 19 March 2021, Eduardo Leite filed a criminal complaint against Jefferson.

Eduardo Leite eventually announced he would seek reelection as Governor of Rio Grande do Sul.

Eduardo Leite was sworn in on 1 January 2023 as governor of Rio Grande do Sul for a second term.

Eduardo Leite identified as a social democrat in 2019, and as a social liberal in 2020, arguing that the state has a role to play in regulating business and helping to manage inequality, while stating that the private sector and social entrepreneurship has a role to play.