Poor health forces 74 year old Brazil's foreign minister to resign

Friday, 24 February 2017

In a letter to the Brazilian President Michel Temer, Foreign Minister Jose Serra  resigned from his post, citing health problems and upcoming medical treatments as the main reasons. He said he was "saddened" to be stepping down but said his doctors told him he would need "at least four months" to properly recover.
The letter was handed in personally to Temer on Wednesday, February 22, 2017 and published by state-run news agency Agencia Brasil.

Serra, 74, a career politician, had been in the job for less than a year. His political career began in 1995, when he served as Planning Minister for former president Fernando Henrique Cardoso. He's also been senator, governor and mayor of Sao Paulo.

In 2010, he ran for president but lost against Rousseff, who was elected as Brazil's first female president that year.