Maria Stela Pompeu Brasil Frota

Maria Stela Pompeu Brasil Frota entered the Rio Branco Institute in 1974 as the only woman in her class. After joining Itamaraty in 1975, she worked in trade promotion under Paulo Tarso Flecha de Lima and later handled UNCTAD matters in Geneva. Her first Washington posting included work on intellectual property, which became the subject of her advanced diplomatic thesis and a book on pharmaceutical patents. ¹

Flecha de Lima invited her back to Washington as minister-counselor in 1995. She later served in Paris, led the Alexandre de Gusmão Foundation, and in 2006 became the first woman to head the Foreign Ministry’s administration, personnel, budget, and finance responsibilities as under-secretary-general for the foreign service. She subsequently served as ambassador in Bern and consul general in Zurich. ¹