Brazilian order of precedence

The order of precedence in Brazil is a symbolic hierarchy of officials used to direct protocol. It is regulated by Presidential Decree number 70.274 of March 9, 1972, signed by former President Emilio Medici. The following order applies to ceremonies hosted by the federal government.

This formal order of precedent was established during the military dictatorship, and hasn't been amended after the country's return to democracy in the 1980s. However, changes have informally been introduced to it, so that the de jure precedence no longer corresponds to the de facto arrangements that prevail in current practice. For instance, the head of the military cabinet, the head of the intelligence service and general officers of the Armed Forces no longer enjoy a precedence as high as is assigned to them by the 1972 Decree.

Other modifications of the order of precedence arise from the fact that certain officers, such as the Chief of Staff to the President, the Solicitor-General, etc, have been granted by law the status of Ministers of State, and so the holders of such officers now have a higher rank than they would have otherwise.

The order of precedence only used to indicate ceremonial protocol; it does not reflect the co-equal status of the branches of government under the Constitution, and is not an actual hierarchy.

Order of precedence according to the Decree in force

1. The President of the Republic (Dilma Vana Rousseff)
2. The Vice-President of the Republic (Michel Temer) and spouse (Marcela Temer)
3. Foreign ambassadors
4. The President of the Senate (José Sarney)
5. The President of the Chamber of Deputies (Marco Maia)
6. The President of the Supreme Federal Court (Cezar Peluso)
7. Brazilian cardinals (Eugênio de Araújo Sales, Paulo Evaristo Arns, José Freire Falcão, Serafim Fernandes de Araújo, Cláudio Hummes, Geraldo Majella Agnelo, Eusébio Oscar Scheid, Odilo Pedro Scherer, Raymundo Damasceno Assis)
8. Ministers of State
9. The Head of the Military Cabinet (José Elito Carvalho Siqueira)
10. The Chief of Staff (Antonio Palocci Filho)
11. The Director of the Brazilian Intelligence Agency (Wilson Roberto Trezza)
12. The Commanders of the Armed Forces(Júlio Soares de Moura Neto, Enzo Martins Peri, Juniti Saito)
13. The Solicitor-General (Luís Inácio Adams)
14. Foreign envoys
15. The President of the Supreme Electoral Court (Ricardo Lewandowski)
16. Justices of the Supreme Federal Tribunal
17. Governors of State
18. The Governor of the Federal District (Agnelo Queiroz)
19. Senators
20. Federal Deputies
21. Admirals
22. Marshals
23. Air Marshals
24. Squadron Admirals
25. Army Generals
26. Lieutenant-Brigadiers
27. The President of the Superior Justice Tribunal
28. The President of the Superior Military Tribunal
29. The President of the Superior Labor Tribunal
30. Justices of the Supreme Electoral Court
31. Chargé d'affaires of foreign countries
32. Justices of the Superior Justice Tribunal
33. Justices of the Superior Military Tribunal
34. Justices of the Superior Labor Tribunal
35. Vice Admirals
36. Divisional Generals
37. Major-Brigadiers
38. Archbishops or equivalent in other religions
39. The President of the Tribunal of Justice of the Federal District
40. Secretaries-General of the Senate and the Chamber of Deputies
41. Federal Prosecutors
42. Directors of the Ministries of State
43. Chancellors of Federal Universities
44. The Director of the Brazilian Federal Police
45. The President of the Central Bank of Brazil
46. The President of the Bank of Brazil
47. The President of the Brazilian Development Bank
48. The Secretary of the Federal Revenue Service
49. Mayors