Paulo Hartung began his political career in the student movement, in a troubled period of Brazilian history, which were the last years of the military regime in 1964, which started with the deposition of João Goulart.

At 25-year-old, he was elected state representative to a four-year term (1983–1987), standing out as the youngest parliamentarian of the Legislative Assembly of the Espírito Santo.

In his passage through the Assembly he was concerned with the defense of the civil service, and deal with fundamental issues for society, such as the environment, health, education, public transportation, among others.

He took office on January 1, 2003, to receive his predecessor, Jose Ignacio Ferreira, a free credit status among federal and global financial bodies, heavily in debt, with serious problems in the administrative machine and unable to investments necessary in social areas and the physical structure (construction of schools and rehabilitation of roads, for example).

In the first term at the head of the State Executive, he managed to somehow recover the finances and also, to some extent, the tarnished image of Espírito Santo at the federal level.