Francisco de Narváez

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Francisco de Narváez (born 22 September 1953, Bogotá), known as 'El Colorado', is a Colombian-born businessman and politician who ran for governor of Buenos Aires Province on the PRO ballot in the 2007 elections in Argentina. He is a member of the Argentine Chamber of Deputies.

De Narváez arrived in Argentina at the age of three. His father was a Colombian coffee merchant. His mother's family owned the Casa Tía chain of supermarkets, started by his grandfather, Karel Steuer, in Eastern Europe as 'Te-Ta', the Czech for 'aunt', as 'tía' is in Spanish. Upon relocating to Argentina, it became a major chain. De Narváez began work there at the age of 17 years old and was appointed Chief Executive in 1989, a position which he held for ten years.[1] In 2002, his group bought 50% of La Rural, a major and historic exhibitions centre. In 2007 he bought one of Argentina's most important TV stations, América TV. He owns 20% of the Ambito Financiero and is also a director of Clarin.[2]

In 1983, de Narváez took Argentine citizenship to vote for Raul Alfonsin. Following the 2001 crisis, he decided to enter politics and joined the Justicialist Party. He aided the presidential campaign of Carlos Menem in 2003 as a candidate for a ministerial post. He was elected as a National Deputy for Buenos Aires Province in 2005, the first foreigner to be elected to the Chamber. As a centre-right pro business politician, he supported the senatorial bid of Hilda de Duhalde and sits with dissident Peronists in Congress, opposed to the government of the Kirchners.[3] He stood to be governor of the province in 2007, gaining over a million votes. Jorge Macri, cousin of Mauricio Macri, was his running mate and their campaign was supported by Macri's party Commitment to Change and the PRO coalition.

His second wife is former model Agustina Ayllón with whom he has two children.[4]