About Dilma Roussef Dilma Vana Rousseff (born December 14, 1947) is a Brazilian economist and politician. She is a member of the Worker's Party and was appointed as Chief of Staff by President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva in 2005, becoming the first female to assume the position.Born in an upper middle class household in Belo Horizonte, Dilma became interested in socialism during her youth, following the 1964 coup d'état. She soon became part of organizations that performed underground activities against the military dictatorship. Her level of activity in such organizations is highly controversial. After finally being captured, she spent almost three years in jail, between 1970 and 1972, where she claims she was "brutally tortured." After her release from jail, Dilma rebuilt her life in Rio Grande do Sul with Carlos Araújo, who would be her partner for 30 years. Both helped in the foundation of the Democratic Labour Party on the state, participating actively in several electoral campaigns. She was the Secretary of Finance of Porto Alegre during the Alceu Collares administration, and later the Secretary of Energy of Rio Grande do Sul on both Collares and Olívio Dutra administrations. In 2000, after an internal dispute, she left the Democratic Labour Party and joined the Worker's Party. In 2002, Dilma joined the team responsible for building the energetic government plan for then candidate Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. After her highlighted performance on that group, Lula invited her to become Minister of Energy. Once again recognized for her technical and managerial merits, she was appointed Chief of Staff by Lula after the political crisis which led to the resignation of José Dirceu. Known for her temper, she became the center of several controversies, at the same time Lula chose her as his favorite candidate to succeed him.