[2] At the beginning of the 20th century, many Syrian-Lebanese immigrants settled in Nilópolis, among them the patriarchs of the Sessim and Abraão David families, who established themselves as local merchants in the 1920s.

He was the attorney-general of Nilópolis and advised the presidency of the Foundation for the Development of the Metropolitan Region of Rio de Janeiro (FUNDREN) in the Faria Lima government (1974–1979}.

[7][13] During the Michel Temer presidency, he voted in favour of the Constitutional Amendment of the Public Expenditure Cap, limiting the growth of the Brazilian government's expenses for 20 years.

[13] Simão was not re-elected in 2018, and on 16 August 2021 he died at the age of 85, battling cancer, but succumbing of the complications from as a result of Covid-19 in the Hospital Pró-Cardíaco in Botafogo, Rio de Janeiro.

[12] In April 1994, Sessim's name was discovered on a list of people who allegedly received money from operators of the illicit lottery, known as Jogo do Bicho, in Rio de Janeiro.

[17] Simão was investigated by the Supreme Federal Court (STF) for being accused by whistleblowers of receiving bribes in the scandal known as Operation Car Wash, which embezzled funds from the state-owned oil company Petrobras.