Actress Regina Duarte accepts offer to be head of culture

Actress Regina Duarte, 72, will be Brazil’s new special secretary of culture. After meeting with President Jair Bolsonaro at the Planalto presidential palace on Wednesday afternoon (29), she confirmed to journalists she accepted the invitation to occupy the position, which is under the Ministry of Tourism.

“Yes, [I accepted it], but now we’ll have the pre-wedding proceedings,” she quipped, after leaving the seat of the country’s executive power. The date when she will be officially appointed is yet to be disclosed. She was joined by Reverend Jane Silva, who was named special deputy secretary of culture.

President Janeiro Bolsonaro also confirmed Duarte’s decision without setting deadlines for her future duties. “Everything’s been worked out. She’s settling personal issues. There are no deadlines,” he declared after arriving at the Alvorada residence, after his meeting with the actress.

Regina Duarte was invited by the president to take the helm of the country’s Special Secretariat of Culture after he ousted playwright Roberto Alvim on January 17. Last week, she came to Brasília to visit the secretariat’s headquarters and to talk to the president about whether she was indeed to be appointed for the post.

Bolsonaro said Regina Duarte will be free to assemble her team. “She will be given the chance to show how culture is to be made in Brazil. She is experienced in everything she’ll be doing. She needs good leaders by her side, has the post to do that, and will be allowed to freely change whomever she wants to change. Regina Duarte [as secretary] is bound to prove successful,” Bolsonaro declared.

Regina Duarte was born on February 5, 1947 and is one of Brazil’s most famous actresses, boasting dozens of soap operas in her 55-year-long career. In order to take the seat as special secretary, she will have to suspend her contract with TV Globo, the country’s number one television broadcaster.