Wanderlei Barbosa

Wanderlei Barbosa Castro is a Brazilian businessman and politician who has been the governor of Tocantins since 2022, after the removal of then-governor Mauro Carlesse. Prior to being governor, he was vice-governor from 2018 to 2022 under Carlesse. He is currently a member of the Republicanos party.

Personal life

Born in Porto Nacional, Barbosa is the son of rancher Fenelon Barbosa Sales, the first mayor of the state capital Palmas from the Partido da Frente Liberal, and Maria Rosa de Castro Sales, a teacher who was the first Secretary of Education of Palmas. Wanderlei is married to Blandina Vieira Leite, and his son, Léo Barbosa, is currently a state deputy for Tocantins.

Career

Barbosa was first elected as a councilman for Porto Nacional in 1989. In 1996, he moved to Palmas, where he was again elected as councilman from 1997 to 2011. He was the president of the municipal assembly from 2003 to 2004, and again from 2009 to 2010. He was first elected as a state deputy in Tocantins in 2010, then reelected in 2014.
In 2018, Barbosa was elected vice-governor of Tocantins, with Carlesse as governor. In 2022, he was elected in his own right as governor with 481,496 votes, or 58.14% of the vote.