José Graziano da Silva

José Graziano da Silva (born November 17, 1949) is a Brazilian American agronomist and writer. As a scholar, he has authored several books about the problems of agriculture in Brazil. Between 2003 and 2004, Graziano served in the Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva cabinet as Extraordinary Minister for Food Security, being responsible for implementing the Fome Zero (Zero Hunger) program, which was a focal point of the Lula Administration's cash transfer program Bolsa Familia. On June 26, 2011, Graziano was elected director-general of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), becoming the first Latin American ever to hold the position. After his first term from 1 January 2012 to 31 July 2015, Graziano da Silva was re-elected for a second 4 year-term (1 August 2015 to 31 July 2019) during FAO's 39th Conference.

Early life and education Graziano was born in Urbana, Illinois. His parents were Brazilians of Italian origin (from the Calabria region), making da Silva eligible for three citizenships: American (by jus soli), Brazilian and Italian (by jus sanguinis).

Graziano graduated as an agronomist in 1972, after attending the University of São Paulo's Escola Superior de Agricultura Luiz de Queiroz. He earned an MBA from that same institution in 1974, after presenting a dissertation about the distribution of wealth in Brazil. In late 2002, after Lula da Silva became President-elect, Graziano was appointed by him as the Extraordinary Minister for Food Security. From January 1, 2003, to January 23, 2004, he served as head of that body, being responsible for implementing - albeit not devising - the Fome Zero program, which took 28 million people out of the national poverty line during the 8 years of the Lula administration. In January 2004, Lula created the Ministry of Social Development and Fight Against Hunger to absorb the functions of the Extraordinary Ministry, naming Patrus Ananias as head of the newly created Ministry. Afterwards, Graziano became a special advisor to the Presidency of the Republic.

Career at FAO In March 2006, Graziano became an Assistant Director General of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), and served as FAO's regional representative for Latin America and the Caribbean. defeating former Spanish Minister of Foreign Affairs Miguel Ángel Moratinos. Other candidates on the first ballot were Franz Fischler (Austria), Indroyono Soesilo (Indonesia), Mohammad Saeid Noori Naeini (Iran), and Latif Rashid (Iraq). He was therefore re-elected for a second term (from 1 August 2015 to 31 July 2019) with 177 votes out of the 182 total ballots cast. His tenure in the second term was marked by some controversy, including as a result of FAO recruitment of Nadine Heredia Alarcón de Humala, wife of the former president of Peru, Ollanta Humala, to a senior position, at a time when she was being investigated by Peru following corruption allegations.

In his work for FAO, Graziano da Silva has sought to strengthen family farming and rural development as a path to enhanced food security. Also important has been his key role in fostering the "Hunger-Free Latin America and the Caribbean Initiative", which has made the region the first one in the world to commit itself to eradicating hunger by 2025.

Graziano da Silva has also promoted a substantive agenda connected to rural issues, advocating for the strengthening of the sector's institutions and for public policies to ensure full and inclusive development in the countryside, with particular emphasis on the problem of rural employment. On this front, three studies prepared by FAO's Regional Office deserve to be mentioned: Boom Agrícola y Persistencia de la Pobreza Rural (Agricultural Boom and the Persistence of Rural Poverty), La Institucionalidad Agropecuaria en América Latina, Estado Actual y Desafíos (Agricultural Institutional Framework in Latin America, Current Status and Challenges), and Políticas de Mercado de Trabajo y Pobreza Rural en América Latina (Employment Market Policies and Rural Poverty in Latin America).

Controversy Graziano da Silva's controversies include recognizing Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro for "reducing hunger" in 2013 and 2015 while Venezuela was actually suffering acute food shortages and attempting to hire former First Lady of Peru, Nadine Heredia, while under national indictment for corruption charges. The UN appointment would have conferred the former First Lady with diplomatic immunity against corruption crimes.

Works Graziano is the author of important publications on rural development, food security, and agrarian economics. He has published 25 books, including De boias frias an empregados rurais ("From Bóias Frias to Rural Workers") and his most work, O que é a questão agrária? , originally published by the Brasiliense publishing house in 1980.

Personal life Graziano is married to journalist and lawyer Paola Ligasacchi. He has two children and five grandchildren.

Awards and recognition

Graziano is the recipient of numerous awards and honors, such as the Order of Rio Branco, bestowed by the Brazilian president; the Paulista Medal for Scientific and Technological Merit, conferred by the São Paulo State government; and the Brazilian Society of Rural Economics, Administration and Sociology Award (Prêmio SOBER).

In April, 2013 Graziano was given the title of a Samoan chief while taking part in a regional FAO meeting for the South Pacific. He was bestowed the title of Tagaloaletoaolemalaeoletoto (Tagaloa the warrior of the battleground of blood). On 4 November 2013, he was bestowed with the title 'Grand Officier de l'Ordre National du Benin' by the Grand Chancellor of the National Order of Benin, Ms. Koubourath Anjorin Osseni in recognition of FAO's important contribution in eliminating hunger and malnutrition in Benin. However, the "Zero Hunger" has now widely been viewed as with a 3.99% malnutrition death rate.

His other awards include the Medal of the Oriental Republic of Uruguay (2019), Medal Dr. Alvarado Barcellos Fagundes (2019), Order of Merit in the Diplomatic and International Field from Slovenia (2019), Ordre national du Lion Commandeur (2019), First Class Medal of Merit Citizenship from Cape Verde (2018), Order of the Two Niles from Sudan Government (2018), Officier de l’Ordre National du Burkina Faso (2018), Commandeur de l’Ordre National de la Republique de Madagascar (2016), Cavaliere di Gran Croce della Repubblica Italiana (2015), Member of the Board of Trustees of the Khalifa International Date Palm Award (2014).