Ministry of External Relations

Responsible for advising the President of the Republic of Brazil on the formulation and execution of Brazilian foreign policy, the Foreign Office - Itamaraty, as it is known - has three landmarks in its history. The first one was in 1750 with the signing of the Treaty of Madrid, when Alexandre de Gusmao negotiated the borders issue established by the Treaty of Tordesillas. The second was in 1808 with the transfer of the Portuguese Court from Lisbon to Rio de Janeiro as a result of Portugal being occupied by Napoleons forces; lastly, in the years following independence in 1822, came the process of the recognition of Brazil during the monarchic period. It was over that period, spanning almost two and a half centuries, that Brazilian diplomacy laid down its fundamental principles, with the peaceful resolution of disputes, non-intervention and then chiefly from 1945 onwards with the creation of the UN and Brazils close yet unbiased involvement in the most important international foru...