Dias was born on 13 August 1938 in
Criciúma,
Santa Catarina, the son of Anselmo Fortunato Dias and Cândida Borges Dias. He began his public life in the 1960s, when he was a leader in student unions. During this period, Dias graduated with a law degree from the
Federal University of Santa Catarina, and went on to practice law in Criciúma. He was elected as a city councilor in the city of
Içara in 1962 as a member of the
Brazilian Labour Party (PTB). His mandate, however, was revoked after the
1964 Brazilian coup d'état. He was forcibly imprisoned for 11 months. With the decreeing of
Institutional Act Number Five, in 1969, he was imprisoned again, with his political rights suspended for 10 years. After the PTB was eventually
reregistered as a political entity by
Ivete Vargas, he participated in the founding of the PDT in the beginning of the 1980s, jointly with
Leonel Brizola and other leaders. He was a candidate for state deputy in 1982, for governor in
2006 and for vice-governor in
2010, with leading the ticket, but was not elected to any post. Dias is currently the secretary-general of the PDT, the president of the state branch in Santa Catarina, and is also president of their think tank, the Fundação Leonel Brizola-Alberto Pasqualini. During the 1990s, he participated in the Brizola government in
Rio de Janeiro during his time as governor, being the director of the Banco do Estado do Rio de Janeiro (Banerj). == Minister of Labour and Employment ==