President Luiz Inácio da Silva (PT) signed this Tuesday (31) the act of promotion of Army generals, elevating then-colonel Claudia Lima Gusmão Cacho to the position of brigadier general. She is the first woman to hold the rank, which ranks among general officer positions, the top of the Force’s hierarchy.
The document was published in an extra edition of the DOU (Official Gazette of the Union). The measure was demanded by the Minister of Defense, José Múcio.
Claudia Gusmão on February 24 after being chosen in a secret vote carried out by the Army High Command, formed by the Force commander, General Tomás Miguel Paiva, and the four-star generals.
The Army will hold a ceremony on Wednesday morning (1st), in Brasília, to formalize the promotion of the first female general. On that occasion, she will receive the general’s sword and command baton, symbols of authority exclusive to active general officers.
In total, the following will be promoted:
- 17 colonels at the rank of brigadier general;
- 11 brigadier generals to division general;
- 2 division generals to that of Army general – who will become part of the High Command.
Claudia Gusmão is from (PE) and is 57 years old. A pediatrician, she is married to Major General Jorge Augusto Ribeiro Cacho and is the mother of two daughters. He joined the Army in 1996 and became part of, as a temporary officer, the 42nd Motorized Infantry Battalion, in .
She later passed the Army Health School and completed, in 1998, the Medical Officer Training Course. The enrollment of the first class of medical officers, dentists, pharmacists and higher-level nurses at this school took place a year earlier, in 1997.
These positions did not allow, however, advancement to the highest positions in the Army career, such as generalship. The change would come in 2012, when women were authorized to join official military military classes, which allows promotion.
According to data from the Brazilian Armed Forces, in 2023, there were around 13 thousand women in the Army, corresponding to 6% of the contingent. Navy and Air Force had, respectively, 11% and 22%.
