The stamp features the official photo of the second term of President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, in presidential palace?s gardens (the Palácio da Alvorada). The President, with a smile on his face, wears the presidential sash, giving the piece a solemn and official character. In the background, the image shows the arcs of the presidential palace, the Palácio da Alvorada, official home of the President of Brazil. Photography and computer graphics techniques were used.

Stamp issue n. 1 Photo: Ricardo Stuckert Print system: Offset Sheet size: 30 stamps Paper: Gummed chalky paper Face value: R$2,00 Issue: 900.000 stamps Design area: 25mm x 35mm Stamp dimensions: 30mm x 40mm Perforation: 12 x 11,5 Date of issue: January 1st, 2011 Place of issue: Brasília/DF Printing: Brazilian Mint

A Tribute to President Lula
This postage stamp issued, as usual, soon after the presidential mandate was completed, honors Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, leader of the Country from 2003 to 2006 and from 2007 to 2010. President Lula was born on October 27, 1945, in the then district of Caetés, city of Garanhuns, Pernambuco. He was the seventh of eight children of Aristides Inácio da Silva and Euridice Ferreira de Mello, affectionately called ?Dona Lindu?. In December 1952, Dona Lindu, along with their children, migrated to the coast, traveling for 13 days in an open-back truck known as ?pau-de-arara? (for its resemblance to a macaw roost). They settled in Vicente de Carvalho, a poor neighborhood of Guarujá. Lula went to elementary school at Grupo Escolar Marcílio Dias and completed the primary school. In 1956, Lula and his family moved to São Paulo, to live in a one-room dwelling in the back of a bar in the neighborhood of Ipiranga. At the age of 12, Lula got his first job in a laundry. He was also a shoeshine boy and an office boy. At 14, he started working at a warehousing company called Armazéns Gerais Columbia, where he had his first formal work contract. He moved later to hardware factory, Fábrica de Parafusos Marte, and enrolled in a professional course at the National Industry Service - SENAI, to learn how to be a turner. Three years later, Lula became a metallurgist. In 1969, Steelworkers Union of São Bernardo do Campo and Diadema held an election to the new Board, and Lula was elected as a substitute. In the next election, in 1972, he became the first secretary. In 1975 he was elected president of the Union, with 92% of the votes, which represented, then, 100,000 workers. Lula gave a new direction to the Brazilian union movement. In 1978, he was reelected president of the Union (98% of the votes) and after 10 years without a workers? strike - because of the military regime in force - the first shutdowns took place in Brazil. On March 1979, 170,000 steel workers stopped São Paulo?s industrial region known as ABC (three cities: Santo André, São Bernardo do Campo, and São Caetano). The charismatic leader led, then, memorable meetings in the stadium of Vila Euclides, in São Bernardo, whose participants were not intimidated in front of the police troops. The repression of the strike and the near absence of politicians who would represent the workers? interests in the Brazilian Congress made Lula think for the first time about creating a workers? party. On February 10, 1980, Lula founded the Workers Party (PT), along with other trade unionists, intellectuals, politicians and representatives of social movements, such as rural and religious leaders. That same year, a new metalworkers? strike caused the Federal Government intervention in the São Bernardo?s Union and the imprisonment of Lula and other union leaders, based on the National Security Law. During his 31 days in jail, Lula received the news about the death of his mother. Lula led the party organization and, in 1982, it was already implemented in almost the entire Brazilian territory. He ran that year for the State government and was ranked fourth. In August 1983, he helped in the creation of the CUT - Central Única dos Trabalhadores, a workers? association. In 1984, he joined, as one of the main leaders, the ?Diretas Já? campaign, which claimed the right to vote for the country?s President. In 1986, he was the most voted Congressman in Brazil, elected with 650,134 votes for the National Constituent Assembly. The PT selected Lula to run for country?s President in 1989, after 29 years without the people being entitled to vote for that office. He lost in the second round of votes, by a small difference. In 1994 and 1998, Lula ran again for President, and was defeated by Fernando Henrique Cardoso. Lula persisted in his purpose, and ran again in 2002. Backed by broad political alliance, he was elected President of the Federative Republic of Brazil at the age of 57, with almost 53 million votes. He was reelected in 2006 with over 58 million votes. President Lula and his team began to implement measures aimed at rescuing the essential social debts that Brazil had with the vast majority of her people. They began a series of structural changes, which significantly reduced poverty and increased employment and income generation. Lula is married to Marisa Leticia since 1974 and has five children.