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Eduardo Paes

Mayor, Rio de Janeiro City

Eduardo Paes holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Law from PUC-Rio University. He has dedicated his career to public service, beginning in 1993 when, at the age of 23, he was appointed Supervisor of the Jacarepaguá and Barra city districts. He was twice elected to the City Council and twice to the Brazilian National Congress. In 2007, Paes was named State Secretary for Tourism, Sport and Leisure and helped in the organization of the 2007 Pan American Games that were held in Rio. In October 2008, he was elected Mayor of Rio de Janeiro. In 2012, he was reelected in the first round for a second term. As mayor, Mr. Paes oversaw a cycle of great events hosted in Rio de Janeiro starting with the 5th World Urban Forum in 2010, 2011 Military World Games, the Rio+20 UN Conference in 2012, World Youth Day with Pope Francis in 2013, through the 2014 FIFA World Cup to the 2016 Summer Olympic and Paralympic Games, which accelerated major transportation, infrastructure and urban renewal projects in the city. From 2013 to 2016 Mayor Paes served as Chair of the C40 Cities Climate Leadership Group, succeeding Mayor Michael Bloomberg of New York City. Between 2017 and 2020, he worked as a consultant in the Urban Planning Department of the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) and later as Vice President for Latin America of BYD Company Ltd., focusing on the mobility management of metropolitan regions. In 2020, he was elected mayor of the city for a third term and reelected in October 2024 for a fourth term. He currently serves on the board of the C40 & Resilient Cities Networks.