i>Ana Paula Marra
Reporter da Agência Brasil

Brasília - At a ceremony in the presence of president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva at the Palácio do Planalto yesterday, nine new ministers took office.

Seven of the new ministers were exective secretaries. They are: Orlando Silva de Jesus Júnior, who now heads the Ministry of Sports where he substitutes Agnelo Queiroz; Paulo Sérgio de Oliveira Passos, the new minister of Transportation, substituting Alfredo Nascimento; Pedro Brito Nascimento, who subsitutes Ciro Gomes at the Ministry of National Integration; Altemir Gregolin, who will head the Secretariat of Aquiculture and Fishing substituting José Fritsch; Guilherme Cassel, the new minister of Agrarian Development substituting Miguel Rossetto; Jorge Agenor who subsittutes Saraiva Felipe at the Ministry of Health; and Jorge Hage who takes over the GAO (Controladoria Geral da União) substituting Waldir Pires.

Pires will take over the Ministry of Defense substituting José Alencar who leaves the ministry but remains vice president. Finally, at Institutional Relations, Tarso Genro, a former minister of Education in the Lula government and ex-president of the PT, will substitute Jaques Wagner.

Four of the new ministers are acting ministers: Altemir Gregolin (Aquiculture and Fishing); Guilherme Cassel (Development); José Agenor Álvares da Silva (Health) and Jorge Hage (GAO - Controladoria Geral da União).

Translation: Allen Bennett