Barbosa the first African descent to head Brazil's Supreme Court

Joaquim Barbosa has become the first person of African descent to head up the Brazilian Supreme Court.

Justice Barbosa had already become the only black person to have served the court when he joined it in 2003, even though more than half of Brazil's 192 million people identify themselves as having African descent.

President Dilma Rousseff, foreign and national authorities as well as various celebrities attended the ceremony that took place in the country's capital, Brasilia.

Barbosa's personally thanked his mother Benedita Gomes da Silva who was also in attendance.

In his speech to the court Barbosa spoke of the importance of a judge maintaining his independence and keeping away from "the multiple and harmful influences that can gradually undermine his independence".

Barbosa, who is presiding over a high-profile corruption trial involving a congressional cash-for-votes scheme, has seen his popularity soar due to his harsh rulings against corruption.

In the trial involving the ruling Worker's Party, the court has convicted 25 people including the former chief of staff of ex-president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.

During the trial many Brazilians strongly voiced their support for him on social networking sites, some even started a fake presidency campaign calling for Barbosa to be the country's next leader.

Having come from a very poor background, Barbosa was born in the small city of Paracatu in the state of Minas Gerais and later went on to study and live abroad, becoming fluent in five languages.

His two-year tenure comes after the retirement of the court's former president, Carlos Ayres Britto.