Hélio Garcia


Hélio de Carvalho Garcia was a Brazilian lawyer and politician. He served as governor of Minas Gerais from 1984 to 1987 and again from 1991 until 1995.

Biography

Garcia was born in Santo Antônio do Amparo, Minas Gerais, on March 16, 1931. He received his law degree from the Federal University of Minas Gerais in Belo Horizonte. He began his political career as a state deputy in the Legislative Assembly of Minas Gerais from 1963 to 1967.

Political career

In 1982, Garcia was elected vice governor of Minas Gerais as the running mate of Tancredo Neves during the country's first direct gubernatorial elections since military rule. Neves and Garcia took office as governor and vice governor of Minas Gerais, respectively, on March 15, 1983. Soon after taking office, Governor Neves appointed Garcia as the Mayor of Belo Horizonte.. He served as governor from 1991 until January 1, 1995. He then largely retired from politics and returned to his home in Santo Antônio do Amparo. In 1998, Garcia ran for a seat in the Federal Senate, but lost that election.
Garcia had suffered from serious illnesses during his later life, including heart arrhythmia, coronary artery disease and Alzheimer's disease. He was admitted to Segundo o Hospital Unimed hospital in Belo Horizonte on May 28, 2016, for pneumonia and respiratory failure. He died from respiratory failure at the same hospital on June 6, 2016, at the age of 85. His funeral was held at the Parque da Colina Cemetery and Crematorium on June 14. The current governor of Minas Gerais, Fernando Pimentel, declared three days of mourning in the state following his death.
Brazil's interim President Michel Temer called Garcia was one of the pillar who helped Tancredo Neves with the re-democratization of Brazil, in a message posted to Twitter following his death.