Brasília - This afternoon, during a formal ceremony, Justice (ministra) Ellen Gracie Northfleet, will officially become Brazil's first ever female Chief Justice of the Supreme Court (Supremo Tribunal Federal) (STF). President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, and other high-ranking authorities will attend the ceremony.

Ms Northfleet went to law school at the Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul and received a master's degree in Social Anthropology. She worked as a federal prosecutor and judge. She was appointed to the Supreme Court in 200 by then-president Fernando Henrique Cardoso. [Translator's note: in Brazil the Chief Justice is elected by the members of the court for a two-year term].

Translation: Allen Bennett