José Graziano da Silva is the director-general of the Food and Agriculture Organization. He has worked on issues of food security, rural development and agriculture for over 30 years. Prior to his election as FAO's director-general, he headed the organization's regional office for Latin America and the Caribbean. He led the team that designed Brazil's "Zero Hunger" program, which helped lift 28 million people of out extreme poverty. In 2003, he was named special minister of Food Security and Fight against Hunger by then Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.