Joaquim Benedito Barbosa Gomes (Portuguese pronunciation: [ʒwɐˈkĩ beneˈdʒitu bɐʁˈbɔzɐ ˈɡomis]; born October 7, 1954) is a former Justice of the Supreme Federal Court in Brazil. He served as the president of the court (Chief Justice) between 2012 and 2014.

Barbosa studied law at University of Brasília (1979) and holds a master's degree (1990) and a doctorate (1993) from Panthéon-Assas University. He is a Doctor Honoris Causa of Hebrew University (2015).

In 2013, he was elected by Time magazine as one of the 100 most influential people in the world.

Barbosa is the oldest son of a bricklayer father and a housewife mother. He started his education in the Brazilian public school system in his hometown, later completed in Brasília.

He worked as a cleaner and typesetter before attending law school at the University of Brasília

Barbosa studied law at University of Brasília (1979). He holds a Master (1990) and a Doctor (1993) of Laws from DEA - Droit Public Interne - Panthéon-Assas University.

After graduating from the University of Brasila, Barbosa began working for the Brazilian diplomatic service, Itamaraty, as a chancery official. His first assignment was to Helsinki, Finland.

Barbosa was a member of the Federal Public Ministry and adjunct professor at Rio de Janeiro State University. He was also a visiting scholar at the Human Rights Institute at Columbia Law School, in New York City (1999 to 2000), and at UCLA School of Law (2002 to 2003).