| Celso Peçanha | |
| Office: | Governor of Rio de Janeiro |
| Term Start: | March 1, 1961 |
| Term End: | July 7, 1962 |
| Predecessor: | Roberto Silveira |
| Office2: | Vice Governor of Rio de Janeiro |
| Term Start2: | 1958 |
| Term End2: | March 1, 1961 |
| Birth Date: | 2 August 1916 |
| Birth Place: | Campos dos Goytacazes, Rio de Janeiro |
| Death Place: | Rio de Janeiro, RJ |
| Party: | PFL PTB PSD MDB |
| Spouse: | Hilka Peçanha |
| Profession: | Lawyer, academic, journalist |
Celso Peçanha (August 2, 1916 – July 13, 2016) was a Brazilian politician, lawyer, and journalist. He served as the acting Governor of Rio de Janeiro state from 1961 to 1962, following the death of his predecessor, Governor Roberto Silveira.[1] [2]
Peçanha, the son of Ruy Peçanha and Maria Crespo Peçanha, was born on August 2, 1916, in Campos dos Goytacazes, Rio de Janeiro, and raised in the city's Santo Eduardo neighborhood.[2] Peçanha was the nephew of Nilo Peçanha, who served as President of Brazil from 1909 to 1910 and Governor of Rio de Janeiro from 1914 to 1917.[1]
In 1938, Peçanha enrolled in law school at the Faculdade de Direito de Niterói and was elected vice president of the school's chapter of the National Union of Students in 1939.[1] [2] He transitioned to politics shortly after completing law school. Rio de Janeiro Governor Ernani do Amaral Peixoto appointed Peçanha as mayor of the municipality of Bom Jardim from 1941 to 1943.[1] [2] He also served as the mayor of Rio Bonito, Rio de Janeiro, on three occasions.[1] [2]
In 1950, was elected to the federal Chamber of Deputies from Rio de Janeiro as a member of the Brazilian Labour Party (PTB).[1] He won re-election to the Chamber of Deputies in 1954.[1] [2]
Celso Peçanha was elected Vice Governor of Rio de Janeiro in 1958, this time as a candidate for the Social Democratic Party (PSD). (The state governor and vice governor elected separately at the time).[1] He served as vice governor until 1961, when Rio de Janeiro Governor Roberto Silveira died unexpectedly in an accident.[1] Peçanha was sworn in as acting governor, a position he held from 1961 until 1962. He unsuccessfully ran for the Federal Senate in 1962, but lost the election.[1] Peçanha then largely retired from politics throughout the rest of the 1960s and 1970s.[1] Instead, he worked for the state court, the Tribunal de Contas do Estado, as well as a journalist and a professor of administrative law.[2] In 1978, Peçanha returned to politics when he won a seat in the Chamber of Deputies as a Brazilian Democratic Movement (MDB) candidate.[1] [2] The MDB dissolved in 1979. Peçanha joined the Brazilian Labour Party (PTB) in 1982, the same year that he won re-election to the Chamber of Deputies. Three years later, Pecanha became of the co-founders of the now defunct Liberal Front Party (PFL). He ran for a seat in the Brazilian Constituent Assembly, but lost the election.
He and his wife, Hilka Peçanha, established several community and philanthropic organizations, including the Associação Filantrópica Educacional Hilka e Celso Peçanha and a neighborhood association in the iSanta Rosa section of Niterói.[2] He also authored ten literary books.[2]
Celso Peçanha died in the city of Rio de Janeiro, where he resided, on July 13, 2016, at the age of 99. He was buried in the municipality of Niterói.[1]