Brazil’s President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva has picked Justice Minister Flávio Dino to fill an empty seat on the country’s top court. Many allies of the leftist leader hoped he would pick another woman to replace Minister Rosa Maria Weber, who stepped down as chief justice of the Supreme Federal Court in September after turning 75. Weber’s departure as chief justice left one remaining female jurist on the 11-person court. The Brazilian Senate is expected to vote before the end of the year on Dino’s nomination, which requires a simple majority for confirmation. The 55-year-old governed the state of Maranhão before becoming Lula’s justice minister.
