Biography: Trade & Customs

Sergio Silva do Amaral was born on 1st June, 1944 in São Paulo, Brazil. He was admitted to the Brazilian Bar in 1967.

In 1967, Ambassador Amaral earned his bachelor of laws from the University of São Paulo Faculty of Law and subsequently commenced postgraduate studies at the Rio Branco Institute, Brazil's School of Diplomacy. He later attended Université Sorbonne in Paris, where he obtained both his bachelor and postgraduate degrees in Political Science. His impressive diplomatic career includes, among other achievements, representing Brazil as a diplomat in Paris, Bonn, Geneva and Washington, DC, as well as service as Brazil's chief debt negotiator at the Paris Club and the Creditor Banks Committee. Ambassador Amaral also served as alternate governor of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank and as alternate representative to the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT 1994) during the Uruguay Round. Ambassador Amaral also held a variety of other high ranking government appointments, including minister of public communications and spokesperson for President Fernando Henrique Cardoso. During President Cardoso's administration, Ambassador Amaral was also appointed ambassador to United Kingdom and later became minister of development, industry and foreign trade. He also served as chairman of the board of the National Bank for Social and Economic Development (BNDES). In 2003, during the first term of President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, he was appointed ambassador to France and to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development – OECD.

Sergio Silva do Amaral speaks English, German, French, Spanish, Italian and Portuguese.