President Cardoso was elected to the Brazilian senate from the state of Sao Paulo in 1986 and two years later helped to found the Social Democratic party. He later served from 1992 to 1993 as Foreign Minister and became Economy Minister in 1993, credited with successfully controlling inflation and turning the troubled Brazilian economy around. He was elected president in 1994 and soon moved to reduce government involvement in the economy and to attract foreign investment to Brazil.A leading Latin American sociologist, President Cardoso is currently a professor-at-large at the Thomas J. Watson Jr. Institute for International Studies at Brown University. He delivers lectures, participates in various symposia, interacts with students in the classroom and works with faculty in development studies, Latin American studies, Portuguese and Brazilian studies and other departments, institutes and centers.

He has been a visiting professor at various academic centers in Europe and the United Sates, including the Collège de France, University of Paris, University of Cambridge, University of Berkeley and Stanford University. Some of his books on sociology, political science and international relations are translated in several languages (English, French, Spanish, Russian, Chinese and Romanian, among others).

He speaks four languages fluently: English, French, Portuguese and Spanish.

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