Admiral Bento Albuquerque is the Brazilian minister of mines and energy. Before becoming a minister, he was director general of the Inter-American Defense Board under the Organization of American States in Washington, DC and also military observer in Dubrovnik, Croatia. He has a PhD in naval sciences and holds a graduate degree in political sciences from the University of Brasília, an MBA in public management from Fundação Getúlio Vargas, and an MBA in international management from COPPEAD/Federal University of Rio de Janeiro.