Alejandro Agustín Lanusse

Alejandro Lanusse
38th President of Argentina
De facto
In office
March 22, 1971 – May 24, 1973
Preceded by Roberto M. Levingston
Succeeded by Héctor Cámpora
Personal details
Born August 28, 1918(1918-08-28)
Buenos Aires, Argentina
Died August 26, 1996(1996-08-26) (aged 77)
Buenos Aires, Argentina
Nationality Argentine
Political party none
Profession Military

Alejandro Agustín Lanusse Gelly (August 28, 1918 – August 26, 1996) was the 38th president of the Argentine Republic between March 22, 1971 and May 25, 1973, during the penultimate military dictatorship.

Contents

Career

A graduate of the Army Academy (Colegio Militar de la Nación, class of 1938), he was head of the Regimiento de Granaderos a Caballo (Regiment of Horse Grenadiers, presidential escort unit). In 1951 he was sentenced to life imprisonment for his part in an attempted coup to overthrow Juan Perón. He was released in 1955 with the Revolución Libertadora, a military uprising which ousted General Perón and set up a military dictatorship which was in power from 1955 to 1958. In 1956 he was designated Ambassador to the Holy See. In 1960 he became Assistant Director of the Superior Military School and later Commander of the First Armored Cavalry Division. In 1962 he took part in the overthrowing of president Arturo Frondizi, and in 1966 supported General Juan Carlos Onganía in the ousting of president Arturo Illia. In 1968 Lanusse became Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces.

Presidency

Lanusse became president of Argentina in 1971. During his administration he established diplomatic relations with China and continuously faced political unrest, with an increase in guerrilla activity. Many political opponents were jailed, and Lanusse decided to negotiate with the Montoneros (a Peronist guerrilla movement) for the return of the corpse of Evita (Eva Duarte de Perón), the legendary second wife of Juan Domingo Perón, whose body had been hidden by the "Revolución Libertadora". On August 22, 1971 several imprisoned guerrillas attempted to escape from the Naval Base of Rawson in Patagonia, and were executed without trial in the Trelew massacre. In 1973 presidential elections were held, and won by Hector Cámpora.[1][2]

Later years

In 1985 Lanusse published his autobiography and criticized the human rights violations that took place during the Dirty War. He was placed under house arrest in 1994 for criticizing president Carlos Menem in a magazine interview.

References

External links

Preceded by
Roberto Levingston
President of Argentina
1971–1973
Succeeded by
Héctor Cámpora