José Frejat, father of Barão Vermelho musician Roberto Frejat and former federal deputy, died on Saturday (April 25) at age 102. The family confirmed the death but did not disclose the cause. He had been hospitalized.
José Frejat was born in March 1924 in Cururupu (MA) and graduated in Law from Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ), entering in 1947. In 1950, he was elected president of the União Nacional dos Estudantes (UNE) and the Diretório Central dos Estudantes da UFRJ. He later helped found the Movimento Nacionalista Brasileiro (MNB) as secretary-general and served as editor-in-chief of O Semanário newspaper in 1958, which closed after the 1964 coup.
He opposed Brazil's military dictatorship (1964-1985) and held public administration roles, including procurador da Fazenda Nacional, positions in the Ministries of Mines and Energy and Foreign Affairs in the early 1960s, and director of the Coordenação do Comércio com os Países Socialistas (1963-1964).
In politics, he was a Rio de Janeiro councilor in 1975 for MDB and elected federal deputy for Rio in 1978, taking office in 1979 for PDT, reelected in 1983. He served two consecutive terms (1979-1983 and 1983-1987), on committees including Constitution and Justice, Mines and Energy, Economy, Industry and Commerce, Interior, Health, and Foreign Affairs. He was vice-president of the Health Committee, fourth secretary of the Board (1985-1986), and part of the CPI on Rio São Francisco floods in 1980.
He later joined parties including PDB, PSB, and PSDB after leaving PDT.
