Former governor and founder of Tocantins, Siqueira Campos dies at 94

The former governor of Tocantins, José Wilson Siqueira Campos, died this Tuesday (4) from a generalized infection after spending six days in a hospital in Palmas, the state capital. The politician was 94 years old and was fighting bone cancer.

The governor of Tocantins, Wanderlei Barbosa (Republicans), declared official mourning for seven days in the state. “His audacious vision and dedication were instrumental in the development of our state of Tocantins, and therefore his accomplishments will be forever remembered. His inspiring leadership served as a beacon to many, and his absence will be deeply missed,” he said.

Born in Crato (CE), Siqueira Campos was the creator of the creation of Tocantins, a state that governed for four terms, the last one from 2011 to 2014. He was also a federal deputy four times.

In July 2019, he was the oldest parliamentarian to take office in the Senate, at the age of 91, as the first alternate of Senator Eduardo Gomes (PL). On the occasion, the leader who sparked the popular movement for the creation of the states of Tocantins and Amapá, during the Constituent Assembly of 1988, defended the creation of 13 more states in Brazil.