For the first time in Brazil’s history a Jew has become Minister of Finance in this country. He is Horacio Lafer, a prominent member of the Jewish community.
Sr. Lafer was the first Jew elected to the Brazilian Parliament, a post which he achieved in 1934 as a candidate of the Constitutional Party. A close associate of President Vargas, the new Minister was Brazil’s first delegate to the League of Nations in 1929. He is a leading industrialist and has played a prominent role in Jewish communal life.
The 57-year-old Minister was born in Brazil. His parent came from Lithuania originally, and on his mother’s side Sr. Lafer is a member of the Clabin family which is one of Brazil’s first Jewish families.
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The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
