Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva was born in São Paulo in Brazil in 1945. A social democrat and former prisoner, he was the country's most left-wing Brazilian president since 1964. Da Silva helped found the central trade union organisation Central Única dos Trabalhadores in 1983. He became honorary president of this labour party. During Da Silva's eight years as president, Brazil won the challenge of economic growth and reducing social inequalities. During this period, 15 million jobs were created. Between 2003 and 2009, 27.9 million people emerged from poverty, while 35.7 million climbed to the middle class.