Departures of note

José Maria Lucena was a Brazilian magistrate and politician from Ceará. He spent a long career in the federal judiciary, serving from 1984 to 2015, and rose to become a federal appellate judge (desembargador federal) on the Tribunal Regional Federal da 5ª Região (TRF-5), which he presided over from 1999 to 2001. He was also the idealizer of the Escola de Magistratura Federal da 5ª Região (ESMAFE), inaugurated in 1999 during his presidency of the court.

After retiring from the bench, Lucena entered municipal politics, being elected mayor of Limoeiro do Norte in 2016 and re-elected in 2020, governing the city for two terms. He requested leave from the office in October 2023 and was succeeded by his vice-mayor. His later tenure drew controversy when he remained out of public view for months, prompting an investigation by the state prosecutor's office.

Lucena died on 24 August 2026 at the age of 81. He was the father of Juliana Lucena, a state deputy and secretary of Women of Ceará. The municipality of Limoeiro do Norte declared three days of official mourning in his honor.