# Commander of the Brazilian Air Force

The Commander of the Brazilian Air Force (Brazilian Portuguese: Comandante da Aeronáutica, lit. 'Aeronautics Commander') is the head of the Brazilian Air Force and the leader of its Aeronautics Command (Comando da Aeronáutica or COMAer). The Commander holds the rank of Tenente-Brigadeiro-do-Ar (lit. Air Lieutenant Brigadier, a 4 star rank), is appointed by the president and reports directly to the Brazilian Minister of Defence. Prior to mid-1999 the Air Force was run by a military Ministry of Aeronautics.

## Third and Fourth Brazilian Republics

| No | Name | Start | Finish | President |
| 1 | Joaquim Pedro Salgado Filho | 20 January 1941 | 30 October 1945 | Getúlio Vargas |
| 2 | Armando Trompowsky | 30 October 1945 | 31 January 1946 | José Linhares |
| 2 | Armando Trompowsky | 31 January 1946 | 31 January 1951 | Eurico Dutra |
| 3 | Nero Moura | 31 January 1951 | 18 August 1954 | Getúlio Vargas |
| 4 | Epaminondas Gomes dos Santos | 18 August 1954 | 24 August 1954 | Getúlio Vargas |
| 5 | Eduardo Gomes | 24 August 1954 | 11 November 1955 | Café Filho |
| 6 | Vasco Alves Seco | 11 November 1955 | 31 January 1956 | Nereu Ramos |
| 6 | Vasco Alves Seco | 31 January 1956 | 20 March 1956 | Juscelino Kubitschek |
| 7 | Henrique Fleiuss | 20 March 1956 | 30 July 1957 | Juscelino Kubitschek |
| 8 | Francisco de Assis Correia de Melo | 30 July 1957 | 1 February 1961 | Juscelino Kubitschek |
| 9 | Gabriel Grün Moss | 1 February 1961 | 8 September 1961 | Jânio Quadros |
| 10 | Clóvis Monteiro Travassos | 8 September 1961 | 7 September 1961 | Ranieri Mazzilli |
| 10 | Clóvis Monteiro Travassos | 7 September 1961 | 17 September 1962 | João Goulart |
| 11 | Reinaldo Joaquim Ribeiro de Carvalho Filho | 17 September 1962 | 14 June 1963 | João Goulart |
| 12 | Anísio Botelho | 14 June 1963 | 4 April 1964 | João Goulart |

## Military dicatorship (Fifth Brazilian Republic)

| No | Name | Start | Finish | President |
| 13 | Francisco de Assis Correia de Melo | 4 April 1964 | 15 April 1964 | Ranieri Mazzilli |
| 14 | Nélson Freire Lavanére-Wanderley | 20 April 1964 | 15 December 1964 | Castelo Branco |
| 15 | Márcio Melo | 15 December 1964 | 11 January 1965 | Castelo Branco |
| 16 | Eduardo Gomes | 11 January 1965 | 15 March 1967 | Castelo Branco |
| 17 | Márcio Melo | 15 March 1967 | 31 August 1969 | Costa e Silva |
| 17 | Márcio Melo | 31 August 1969 | 30 October 1969 | Military Junta of 1969 |
| 17 | Márcio Melo | 30 October 1969 | 29 November 1971 | Emílio Médici |
| 18 | Joelmir Campos de Araripe Macedo | 15 March 1971 | 15 March 1974 | Emílio Médici |
| 18 | Joelmir Campos de Araripe Macedo | 15 March 1974 | 15 March 1979 | Ernesto Geisel |
| 19 | Délio Jardim de Matos | 15 March 1979 | 15 March 1985 | João Figueiredo |

## Sixth Brazilian Republic

| No. | Name | Took office | Left office | Time in office | President |
| 20 | Lima, OctávioOctávio Júlio Moreira Lima [pt] (1926–2011) | 15 March 1985 | 15 March 1990 | 5 years, 0 days | José Sarney |
| 21 | Monteiro, SócratesSócrates da Costa Monteiro [pt] (1930–2019) | 15 March 1990 | 1 October 1992 | 2 years, 200 days | Fernando Collor |
| 22 | Lobo, LélioLélio Viana Lobo [pt] (born 1931) | 6 October 1992 | 31 December 1994 | 2 years, 86 days | Itamar Franco |
| 23 | Gandra, MauroMauro José Miranda Gandra [pt] (1933–2018) | 1 January 1995 | 20 November 1995 | 323 days | Fernando Henrique Cardoso |
| (22) | Lobo, LélioLélio Viana Lobo [pt] (born 1931) | 20 November 1995 | 4 January 1999 | 3 years, 45 days | Fernando Henrique Cardoso |
| 24 | Bräuer, WalterWalter Werner Bräuer [pt] (1937–2018) | 4 January 1999 | 10 June 1999 | 157 days | Fernando Henrique Cardoso |
| Commander of the Air Force Comandante da Aeronáutica |||||||
| (24) | Bräuer, WalterWalter Werner Bräuer [pt] (1937–2018) | 10 June 1999 | 21 December 1999 | 194 days | Fernando Henrique Cardoso |
| 25 | Baptista, CarlosCarlos de Almeida Baptista (1937–2018) | 21 December 1999 | 31 December 2002 | 3 years, 10 days | Fernando Henrique Cardoso |
| 26 | Bueno, LuizLuiz Carlos da Silva Bueno [pt] (1940–2023) | 1 January 2003 | 28 February 2007 | 4 years, 58 days | Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva |
| 27 | Saito, JunitiJuniti Saito (born 1942) | 1 March 2007 | 29 January 2015 | 7 years, 334 days | Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva Dilma Rousseff |
| 28 | Rossato, NivaldoNivaldo Luiz Rossato (born 1951) | 30 January 2015 | 4 January 2019 | 3 years, 340 days | Dilma Rousseff Michel Temer |
| 29 | Bermudez, AntonioAntonio Carlos Moretti Bermudez (born 1956) | 4 January 2019 | 30 March 2021 | 2 years, 85 days | Jair Bolsonaro |
| 30 | Baptista , CarlosCarlos de Almeida Baptista Júnior (born 1960) | 12 April 2021 | 2 January 2023 | 1 year, 265 days | Jair Bolsonaro |
| 31 | Damasceno, MarceloMarcelo Kanitz Damasceno (born 1963) | 2 January 2023 | Incumbent | 1 year, 288 days | Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva |