Mauricio Rands Barros Coelho is secretary of state of the Government of Pernambuco. Prior to holding his current position, he was elected federal deputy for the third consecutive term in 2010. In parliament, Mr. Rands chaired the committee on the constitution, justice and citizenship of the House and was leader of the Workers’ Party. He became a member of the Committee on Foreign Relations and National Defense and served in the defense of labor unions allied to the Workers’ Central. Prior to that, Mr. Rands was also a law professor and served as federal councilor and secretary of the Bar Association National Legal Affairs of the Municipality of Recife and vice president of the Bar Association of Brazil – Pernambuco Sectional. He received a degree in Law from Universidade Federal de Pernambuco and received a Master’s and PhD from the University of Oxford, England.