Carlos Alberto Franco França assumes embassy in Ottawa and Nestor José Forster Jr. is appointed Consul-General of Brazil in Vancouver

By Marcel Salim

Ambassador Carlos Alberto Franco França, former Minister of Foreign Affairs of Brazil, assumed the leadership of the mission in Canada after being vetted in July and having his nomination approved by the Brazilian Senate in August.

Before taking up the post in Ottawa, França headed Itamaraty between 2021 and 2022 during Jair Bolsonaro’s government. During the same administration, he was also special advisor (2020) and head of the ceremonial department of the Presidency of the Republic (2019). Throughout his diplomatic career, he worked at the Brazilian embassies in Washington (United States), La Paz (Bolivia) and Asunción (Paraguay).

Strategic partnership

During the Senate hearing, França highlighted the existence of 55 bilateral agreements between Brazil and Canada, demonstrating that the relationship between the countries is based on common values such as multilateralism, the environment and the inclusion of indigenous populations.

On the occasion, the former chancellor also explained that he intends to develop topics in the areas of science, technology, innovation, agriculture and clean energy, nuclear energy and green hydrogen. He also emphasized that he will carry out activities throughout Canadian territory.

Born in 1964 in Goiânia (GO), França graduated in International Relations (1986) and Law (1990) from the University of Brasília (UnB). He has been a member of the Brazilian Bar Association (OAB) since 1990 and joined the diplomatic career in 1992.

News in Vancouver

In September this year, Ambassador Nestor José Forster Jr. was appointed Consul-General of Brazil in Vancouver, after heading the Brazilian Embassy in the United States for almost four years.

He studied History and Classical and Vernacular Literature at the Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul. In 1985, he passed the public diplomacy exam at the Rio Branco Institute and joined the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Brazil).

He was a Cabinet officer in the Undersecretariat-General of the Presidency of the Republic (Brazil) and was a member of the committee that wrote the Presidency of the Republic’s Writing Manual.

As a diplomat, he served at the Brazilian embassies in Washington, Ottawa and San José (Costa Rica) and at the Brazilian consulates-general in Hartford and New York. He also worked as an advisor to the Civil House (Brazil) of the Presidency of the Republic and as Chief of Staff of the Attorney General’s Office.

Toronto and Montreal

Diplomatic representations in Canada’s other cities and regions have not changed. Ambassador Wanja Campos da Nóbrega remains Consul General of Brazil in Toronto and Ambassador Nedilson Jorge remains Consul-General of Brazil in Montreal. Both have been in their respective positions since 2020.

Born in Recife (PE), Wanja Nóbrega has a bachelor’s degree in International Relations from the University of Brasilia (1981) and graduated in Diplomacy from the Rio Branco Institute in 1984. She served in the Brazilian embassies in La Paz (Bolivia), Paramaribo (Suriname), Algiers (Algeria), Washington, D.C. (United States of America), and Dhaka (Bangladesh); and in the consulates in Paris (France), Rome (Italy), Cape Town (South Africa), Toronto (Canada) and Mexico City (Mexico).

Nedilson Jorge holds a bachelor’s degree in Law from Cândido Mendes College. He is the author of several articles on relations between Brazil and African countries published in the specialized press.

Between 2012 and 2016, he taught Brazilian and foreign students at the Rio Branco Institute, Brazil’s diplomatic academy. He was Ambassador of Brazil to South Africa (2016-2020) in his last mission before arriving in Montreal. At the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Brasilia, his most recent position was Director of the Africa Department (2010-2016).

Throughout his career, he has performed various roles in different areas and diplomatic missions, including the Office of the Minister of Foreign Affairs in Brasilia, the Brazilian Embassies in Argentina and Chile and the Brazilian Representation to the FAO in Rome.