Néstor Kirchner

Néstor Carlos Kirchner (born 25 February 1950) is the current President of Argentina. He was sworn in on May 25, 2003. A Peronist with leftist leanings, Kirchner was governor of the province of Santa Cruz prior to being elected president.

Early years

Kirchner was born in Río Gallegos, in the Patagonian province of Santa Cruz. His father, a post office official, was of Swiss descent; his mother, born in southern Chile, was of Croatian background. He received his primary and secondary education at local public schools; he obtained his high-school diploma from the Colegio Nacional República de Guatemala.

Related Topics:
Río Gallegos - Patagonia - Swiss - Chile - Croatia

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Early on, Kirchner participated in the Movimiento Justicialista, first as a member of the Young Peronists, whose leftwing radicalism was strongly opposed to the military dictatorships. In the mid-1970s, Kirchner studied law at La Plata National University, receiving his law degree in 1976. He returned to Río Gallegos with his wife, Cristina Fernández, also a lawyer and member of the Justicialist Party (JP), to practice law. During the Videla junta, he was incarcerated at one point, the reason for and duration of which is not known.

Related Topics:
1970s - La Plata National University - 1976 - Cristina Fernández - Justicialist Party - Videla

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After the downfall of the military dictatorship and restoration of democracy in 1983, Kirchner became a public officer in the provincial government. The following year, he was briefly president of the Río Gallegos social welfare fund, but was forced out by the governor because of a dispute over financial policy. The affair made him a local celebrity and laid the foundation for his subsequent political career.

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By 1986, Kirchner had developed sufficient political capital to be put forward as the PJ's candidate for mayor of Río Gallegos. He won the 1987 elections for this post by the slimmest of margins — some one hundred votes. Fellow PJ member Ricardo del Val became governor, which kept Santa Cruz firmly within the hands of the PJ.

Related Topics:
1986 - 1987 - Ricardo del Val

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Kirchner's performance as mayor from 1987 to 1991 was satisfactory enough from both the point of view of the electorate and the party to enable him to run for governor in 1991, which he won with 61% of the votes. By this time his wife was also member of the provincial congress.

Related Topics:
1987 - 1991

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