Juan Pistarini | |
|---|---|
 | |
| 21st Vice President of Argentina | |
| In office October 10, 1945 – June 4, 1946 | |
| President | Edelmiro Farrell |
| Preceded by | Juan Perón |
| Succeeded by | Hortensio Quijano |
| Minister of Public Works | |
| In office March 11, 1944 – June 4, 1952 | |
| President | Edelmiro Farrell Juan Perón |
| Preceded by | Ricardo Vago |
| Succeeded by | Roberto Dupeyron |
| Personal details | |
| Born | December 23, 1882 |
| Died | May 29, 1956(1956-05-29) (aged 73) |
| Nationality | Argentine |
| Profession | Army officer |
Juan Pistarini (23 December 1882 – 29 May 1956) was anArgentine general and politician.
Pistarini was born in the town ofVictorica,La Pampa Province. He graduated from theNational Military College with a degree incivil engineering, was promoted as army major by 1921, and became a close associate of the War Minister, GeneralAgustín Justo.[1] Justo was elected president in 1932, and appointed Pistarini Minister of Public Works in 1935. Pistarini's his first important initiative as minister was the proposed construction of a newinternational airport outsideBuenos Aires. He was promoted to the rank of general in 1937 and, between then and 1940, was stationed inGermany andItaly. Appointed Director of Army Engineers upon his return, Pistarini recommended German contractors for public works in Argentina and was open regarding hisNazi andFascist sympathies.[2]
His role in the1943 coup d'état resulted in his appointment as director of theCampo de Mayo army training base. He was returned to the post of Minister of Public Works in March 1944 and served a brief, concurrent term as vice president following the populistJuan Perón'sdismissal. Pistarini was retained as Public Works Minister by Perón when the latter was elected president in 1946, in which capacity he administered Perón's ambitious public works agenda. He oversaw and helped plan the construction or development of modern barracks, Argentina's first expressways, numerous public vacation resorts, 11,000 schools, water treatment plants, a modern merchant marine, 650,000 housing units and the planting of two million trees, the nation's firstinternational airport, among other works.[1] He also marshaled the dormantNational Mortgage Bank to extend subsidized loans to new homeowners, often at interest rates well below inflation.[3]
Ill health led to his retirement in June 1952 and following Perón'sSeptember 1955 overthrow, he had his property seized, was stripped of rank and imprisoned inUshuaia. The sub-Antarctic climate in Ushuaia led to a worsening in Pistarini's health, and he was returned to Buenos Aires, where he died at a military hospital in 1956.[4]
TheMinistro Pistarini International Airport, opened in 1949 inEzeiza, was named in his honor in 1985.[1]
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Vice President of Argentina 1945–1946 | Succeeded by |
