Romeu Zema


Romeu Zema is a Brazilian businessman and the current Governor of the state of Minas Gerais.

Biography

Zema was born in Araxá, Minas Gerais in 1964, the son of businessman Ricardo Zema and grandson of Domingos Zema, who founded Grupo Zema, the company that is now run by Romeu Zema.
Zema entered the New Party in 2018 and filed his candidacy to run for Governor of the state of Minas Gerais. He finished in first place in the first round of the election, receiving 42% of the vote, while the second-place candidate Antonio Anastasia attained 29% of the vote; the incumbent governor Fernando Pimentel, who was seeking re-election, failed to make it to the run-off held on 28 October 2018.
Zema was elected Governor of Minas Gerais in the run-off with 71% of the vote, against the 28% of Anastasia. He is the first NOVO candidate to win a gubernatorial election in Brazil since the party was formally registered in 2015.