Álvaro Alsogaray
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Álvaro Carlos Alsogaray (Esperanza, Santa Fe, 22 June 1913 – Buenos Aires, 1 April 2005) was an Argentine politician. He was one of the principal proponents of economic liberalism in modern Argentina.
He was a member of the Alsogaray military dynasty, and retired from the military with the rank of captain (and two engineering degrees, which led to his being called el capitán ingeniero).
A graduate of Argentina's Military Academy as an infantry officer, Alsogaray learned military engineering in the Army's technical academy and civil and aeronautical engineer in Córdoba University.
He retired from the army with the rank of captain and entered business, being involved mainly with transportation enterprises such as FAMA, the predecessor of flag carrier Aerolíneas Argentinas. In this capacity, he briefly held public office during the presidency of Juan Perón, whose politics and policies would later be anathema to Alsogaray's thinking.
After the coup that removed Perón, he held the posts of Under-secretary of Commerce and Minister of Industry.
During the presidency of Arturo Frondizi, Alsogaray was appointed Minister of Finance, and he held several ministerial and planning post under his successor, de-facto president José María Guido. After the 1966 coup, Alsogaray was designated ambassador to the United States, a post he held until 1968.
Alsogaray founded the Independent Civic Party (1956), New Force (1972) and the Union of the Democratic Centre (UCeDé) in 1982, a centre-right economically liberal party for which he stood for the Presidency in 1983 and 1989. Alsogaray gained two million votes in his 1989 presidential bid, behind Carlos Menem and Eduardo Angeloz.
He and his daughter María Julia Alsogaray were elected national deputies for UCeDé in 1983. He served until 1999. Although a vehement anti-Peronist and anti-socialist, Alsogaray was in favour of Carlos Menem's pro-market liberalising policies. He and his daughter served Menem's presidency, María Julia as a cabinet minister during Menem's second term and his party effectively endorsed Menem in the 1995 election, and endorsed similar free market Justicialists in subsequent presidential races.
