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The Office of the Solicitor-General is the Brazilian institution which, directly or indirectly, represents the federal government either in judicial or non-judicial instances, being also in charge of legal advising for the government's administration.
Also known as AGU (which stands for its original name in Portuguese, Advocacia-Geral da União), the Office of the Solicitor-General is defined in the Brazilian 1988 Constitution as the agency in charge of the "Public Counsel", considered one of the "Justice Essential Functions", next to the "Private Counsel", the "Prosecutors", the "Public Defenders" and the "Magistrates".
The members of AGU must be bar graduated attorneys, only held in their jobs after approval on public-entrance examinations. Head of the institution, the Solicitor-General, with minister status, is appointed by the President and must be over 35 years old, according to the Constitution. The nomination, though, must be accepted by the Senate.
Before 1993, all the legal advising and representation of the federal government was performed by a particular bureau within the Attorney-General's Office, the so-called "Consultoria-Geral da República" (CGR). However, due to discussions involving the paradox of having prosecution/proctor and lawyer/proxy attributions performed by the same office, CGR was shut down and replaced by AGU, independent from the Attorney-General. Hence, the Attorney-General's Office is no longer in charge of the legal advising and representation of the government before court, which has been ascribed to the Brazilian Solicitor-General. In addition, the Minister of Justice, as a cabinet member, completes the Brazilian law enforcement structure by being in charge of the Federal Police Department, amongst other duties.
Brazilian Solicitors-General since 1993
| Solicitor-General | Date of Service | Appointing President |
|---|---|---|
| José de Castro Ferreira | February 1993 - May 1993 | Itamar Franco |
| Alexandre de Paula Dupeyrat Martins | May 1993 - June 1993 | |
| Tarcísio Carlos de Almeida Cunha | June 1993 - July 1993 | |
| Geraldo Magela da Cruz Quintão | July 1993 - January 2000 | |
| Walter do Carmo Barletta | January 2000 - January 2000 | Acting |
| Gilmar Ferreira Mendes | January 2000 - June 2002 | Fernando Henrique Cardoso |
| José Bonifácio Borges de Andrada | June 2002 - December 2002 | |
| Álvaro Augusto Ribeiro Costa | January 2003 - March 2007 | Luis Inácio Lula da Silva |
| José Antônio Dias Toffoli | March 2007 - present |
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