Ministry of External Relations (Brazil)
| Ministério das Relações Exteriores | |
 Itamaraty Palace |
|
| Agency overview | |
|---|---|
| Formed | 8 July 1736 |
| Headquarters |
Itamaraty Palace Esplanada dos Ministérios, Bloco H Brasília–DF 15°48′36″S 47°52′12″W / 15.81000°S 47.87000°W |
| Annual budget |
 BRL 1.89 billion (2015) |
| Minister responsible |
|
| Agency executive |
|
| Child agencies | |
| Website | itamaraty.gov.br |
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MRE; Portuguese: Ministério das Relações Exteriores) conducts Brazil's foreign relations with other countries. It is commonly referred to in Brazilian media and diplomatic jargon as Itamaraty, after the palace which houses the ministry (originally in Rio de Janeiro, and currently in a second location which also bears this name in Brasília). As of May 15, 2016 the ministry is headed by Chancellor José Serra.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs operates the Rio Branco Institute and the Alexandre de Gusmão Foundation.
There were three relevant moments that defined the Ministry of Foreign Affairs as the institution that would later be established. The first was the signature of the 1750 Spanish–Portuguese treaty, which re-established the borders set in the Treaty of Tordesillas. This moment was not a foreign issue policy of Brazil per se, but was instead a pursuit of interests by the Portuguese in their largest colony. There was, however, a notable Brazilian in the diplomatic corps, Alexandre de Gusmão, who directed the Portuguese foreign policy of trying to separate the Americas from the subject of European successions. The height of Gusmão's diplomatic effort was the signing of the Treaty of Madrid of 1750, in which territorial issues in South America were resolved.
The second relevant historic moment was the transfer of the Portuguese Court to Brazil in 1808 as a result of the Napoleonic Wars, when the capital of the Portuguese Empire and all its bureaucracy were transferred to Rio de Janeiro. The transfer of the Portuguese Court heavily influenced the Brazilian institutions that would later form.
Finally, there was the participation of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in the process of recognizing Brazilian independence. This moment's relevance surpassed the creation of Brazilian diplomatic institutions and for the first time tested the negotiation skills of Emperor Peter I's diplomatic corps, which achieved recognition from every world power.
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