Brazil

Gilberto Gil leaves government to devote himself to music

Article published on the 2008-07-31 Latest update 2008-07-31 12:07 TU

Gilberto Gil
(Photo: Reuters)

Brazil's Minister of Culture Gilberto Gil resigned on Wednesday to go back to his career as a musician, saying that he wants to devote all his time to his creative activities. The 66-year old is a major personality in Brazilian music. "Even on my first day as a minister, I was still an artist,' he declared.

"Now I need more time to do what I like doing best in life: singing,"  Gil explained.

President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva accepted the resignation, saying that the country couldn't do without the music of this great singer. He had refused Gil's two earlier attempts to resign.

Gilberto Gil, whose eclectic style ranges from Brazilian samba, forró and bossa nova to African music, reggae and rock, has 40 albums to his credit.

With artist Caetano Veloso, he was a key figure in the Musica Popular Brasileira and Tropicalismo movements of the 1960s and both were imprisoned under the dictatorship in 1968.  The following year, both went into exile in Great Britain.

Gil entered politics in 1987, becoming the Secretary of Culture in Salvador, the city where he was born. 

He has always been interested in environmental protection and in 1990 he left the Brazilian Democratic Movement Party to join the Green Party. He then founded the environmental protection body, Onda Azul (Blue Wave) that worked to protect Brazilian waters.

In May Environment Minister Marina Silva resigned after failing to win several battles to save the Amazon rainforest.

After his appointment as Minister of Culture five years ago, Gil set up a programme of grants to provide music technology and education to people in poor areas of Brazilian cities.

On leaving his post, Gil declared himself satisfied with the results of his time in office but RFI French-service Rio de Janeiro correspondent Annie Gasnier says that he only managed to win modest increases in the culture budget.

He has recently spent a month on a concert tour which took him to seven countries, including France, but now wants to spend time on recording a new album.

"There are many ways of making music," says Gil. "I prefer them all."