Ambassador Patriota was born in Rio de Janeiro on April 27, 1954. After having earned a diploma in Philosophy from the University of Geneva, he went on to graduate in 1979 from Brazil’s diplomatic academy, the Rio Branco Institute. At the Brazilian Ministry of Foreign Relations, in Brasília, he worked as an Advisor to the Head of the United Nations Division, 1980-1982, as an Advisor to the Secretary General for Political Affairs, 1990-1992, and as the Deputy Diplomatic Advisor to the President of Brazil, 1992-1994. Overseas, he served as a member of Brazil’s Permanent Mission to the International Organizations in Geneva, Switzerland, 1983-1986, as Political Counselor at the Brazilian Embassy in Beijing 1987-1988, as Head of the Economic Section of the Brazilian Embassy in Caracas, 1988-1990, and as a Political Counselor at Brazil’s Permanent Mission to the United Nations, in New York, 1994-1999, where he was a member of Brazil’s Delegation to the U.N. Security Council in 1995 and 1998-1999. He served as Minister Counselor at Brazil’s Permanent Mission to the International Organizations in Geneva, 1999-2003, where during the last two years, 2001-2002, he was Brazil’s Deputy Permanent Representative to the World Trade Organization. Upon his return to Brasília, he served as Secretary for Diplomatic Planning in the Office of the Minister of Foreign Relations. He was promoted to the rank of Ambassador in December 2003 and served as Chief of Staff to the Minister of Foreign Relations, Ambassador Celso Amorim, from May 2004 through May 2005. Prior to his selection as Brazilian Ambassador to the United States, he served as Under Secretary General for Political Affairs, at the Ministry of Foreign Relations. His thesis for the Advanced Studies Course at the Rio Branco Institute was published in 1998 by the Alexandre de Gusmão Foundation (FUNAG) with the title “The Security Council After the Gulf War: articulating a new paradigm for collective security.” Ambassador Patriota is married to Tania Cooper Patriota and they have two sons, Miguel and Thomas.