Rosane Malta Collor de Mello (née Rosane Brandão Malta) was the First Lady

First Lady

First Lady or First Gentlemanis the unofficial title used in some countries for the spouse of an elected head of state.It is not normally used to refer to the spouse or partner of a prime minister; the husband or wife of the British Prime Minister is usually informally referred to as prime...

 of Brazil

Brazil

Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...

 during the presidency of her husband, Fernando Collor de Mello

Fernando Collor de Mello

Fernando Affonso Collor de Mello was the 32nd president of Brazil from 1990 to 1992, when he resigned in a failed attempt to stop his trial of impeachment by the Brazilian Senate...

, from 1990 until 1992. She was Collor's second wife and part of the politically powerful Malta family of Alagoas

Alagoas

Alagoas is one of the 27 federative units of Brazil and is situated in the eastern part of the Northeast Region. It borders: Pernambuco ; Sergipe ; Bahia ; and the Atlantic Ocean . It occupies an area of 27,767 km², being slightly larger than Haiti...

.

As first lady, she was given the honorary position of president of the Legião Brasileira de Assistência (LBA), a welfare organization, a position she resigned in 1991. LBA was extinguished by Fernando Collor's orders in 1991. In September 1992 she was indicted for embezzling funds from the LBA and directing them to friends and family. Visible rifts occurred between Rosane and Collor during his presidency, with the President often appearing in public without his wedding ring. In April 2000, she was found guilty on charges of abuse of power and misuse of funds and sentenced to 11 years in prison, although this sentence was annulled on June 26 of that year.