Born in 1947 in the city of Belo Horizonte, state of Minas Gerais, Rousseff will begin on 1st January another four-year period to lead the country amid a difficult economic situation, which will favor this year a growth of its Gross Domestic Product (GDP) close to zero.

However, the President said that her government will take drastic measures to resume the path of development and growth of GDP, but without affecting the social gains achieved in recent years.

Her challenges until 2018 included reviving and increasing production, adjusting expenditures, deepening social policies and improving the quality of education and health as options to reduce inequality in this country.

Her re-election last October was supported by four years in office, a period during which new jobs were created, minimum wage was raised and millions of dwellings for low-income people were built.

Dilma Vana Rousseff studied Economics at the Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul. Since she was very young she was interested in politics and joined the fight against the military dictatorship in the country (1964-1985).

She was imprisoned from 1970 to 1972, and in 1986 she was secretary of the Treasury of Porto Alegre, during the administration of Alceu Necklaces. In 2000, she joined the Workers Party (PT), and she became the Minister of Mines and Energy and the head of the Civil House from 2005 to 2010, with President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.

In 2010, she was in the run for the presidency of the nation for PT and won the elections with the support of nearly 56 million votes.

Her new government -to be completed on Wednesday- is composed of PT members and organizations of the Brazilian Democratic Movement (PMDB), Social Democratic (PSD), Progressive (PP), Republican Social Order (PROS), Democratic Labor (PDT), Republican (PRB) and Communist Party of Brazil (PCdoB).(KH)