Simon Schwartzman (born July 1939 in Belo Horizonte, Brazil) is a Brazilian social scientist. He has published extensively, with many books, book chapters and academic articles in the areas of comparative politics, sociology of science, social policy, and education, with emphasis on Brazil and Latin America. He was the President of the Brazilian Institute for Geography and Statistics (IBGE) and is a retired professor from the Federal University of Minas Gerais. He is member of the Brazilian Academy of Sciences, holder of the Grand Cross of the Brazilian Order of Scientific Merit (1996). He is currently associate researcher at the Institute for Studies in Economic Policy Instituto de Estudos de Política Econômica / Casa das Garças - Rio de Janeiro.