Former senator and former governor of Rio Grande do Norte, Geraldo Melo, died today (6th), at the age of 86. 
Businessman and politician, he commanded the state from 1987 to 1991. His career began at the extinct Superintendence for the Development of the Northeast (Sudene) and he was secretary of planning for Rio Grande do Norte in the early 1960s. Between 1979 and 1982, he was deputy governor, in the administration of governor Lavoisier Maia Sobrinho.
In 1994, he was elected state senator. During his term, he held the post of vice president of that Legislative House between 1995 and 1997. Melo ran again for the senate in 2002, but ended up in 3rd place, without being elected.
After a hiatus without running for seats, he ran for a Senate seat again in 2018, but failed to get elected. He was in 3rd place, behind Styvenson Valentin (Rede) and Zenaide Maia (PHS), who had the two spots up for grabs.
In addition to being a politician, Melo was director of a TV channel, TV Potengi. The potiguar broadcaster was an affiliate of Rede Bandeirantes.
The death occurred due to lung cancer, which he had been fighting since 2020.
