A history with purpose, a commitment to the future
Inspired by international models and guided by excellence and civic commitment.
How FMP was born
It was the early 1980s. Brazil was at a turning point - new laws were on the way, the Public Prosecutor's Office was gaining strength and, with it, a clear need emerged: to train jurists prepared for this new era.
It was in this context that a group of prosecutors, led by the then president of the Public Prosecutors' Association, Luiz Antônio Rocha - “Rochinha” -, decided to act. They did not just want to adapt to the changes: they wanted to lead them. And so, on November 30, 1983, the Fundação Escola Superior do Ministério Público was officially born.
But FMP's history did not begin with a signature at the notary's office alone. It began with the bold idea of creating a different kind of school. Inspired by international models, such as the judicial schools of Italy, Spain and Portugal, Prosecutor and Professor Jorge Trindade immersed himself in research, visited institutions, brought back ideas and planted the first seeds of what would become one of the country's leading references in legal education.
The first home was modest: a space on the 10th floor of the Attorney General's building which, due to high demand, later moved to rooms on the 1st floor. There was also a true joint effort among friends - furniture was brought from Rio Grande to Porto Alegre in a freight truck. The mission was clear: to train jurists with technical excellence and a commitment to citizenship.
In the 1990s, with the changes in Brazilian higher education, the school updated its curriculum and adapted to the new National Education Guidelines and Framework Law (LDB), always faithful to the idea of training jurists prepared for the challenges of the present.
FMP took another important step in the early 2000s: it began offering graduate certificate programs. In 2005 it earned accreditation as a higher education institution, and in 2006 it launched its Law undergraduate program. A few years later, in 2010, it officially received its new name: FMP Law School (Faculdade de Direito da Fundação Escola Superior do Ministério Público).
The pursuit of excellence continued. In 2015, FMP started the project for the Master's in Citizenship Rights. The following year, the first class began the program. At the same time, the institution invested in innovation: it structured its Distance Learning Center, NEAD, and in 2017 began offering online graduate certificate programs.
In 2019 came new recognition: the highest score in the institutional re-accreditation by the Ministry of Education (MEC). The quality of its teaching, now formally proven, was also reflected in the numbers: FMP is the best private law school in Rio Grande do Sul, the 6th in Brazil, and was awarded the OAB Recomenda Seal in two consecutive editions.
But growth was never merely quantitative. The institution expanded its fronts without giving up its public essence. Projects such as CAES (Esperança Garcia Anti-Racist Collective) and FMP Plural are proof of that. The Model Law Office serves vulnerable communities, and the partnership with the Rio Grande do Sul School of Government helps train public servants who receive migrants at the state's borders.
In 2024, this commitment to transformation took on new dimensions in the face of the tragedy that struck Rio Grande do Sul. In a gesture of solidarity and social responsibility, FMP created an initiative to support students and staff affected by the floods, offering certified courses at accessible prices and donating all proceeds to help those who needed it most. Once again, the Law was placed at the service of empathy, concrete action and the collective building of a better future.
Today, the institution offers an undergraduate Law program, a Master's program, more than 13 on-campus and online graduate courses, and continuing education. More than 1,500 jurists have graduated from the institution, which holds the OAB Recomenda Seal for the fourth consecutive time - a feat never achieved by any other private law school in Porto Alegre.
More than four decades after that signature in 1983, FMP remains faithful to what brought it into being: the idea that the Law is a tool for transformation.
