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| President of the Argentine Nation | |
|---|---|
| Presidente de la Nación Argentina | |
 Presidential standard | |
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| Executive branch of the Government of Argentina | |
| Style | The Most Excellent |
| Status | Head of state Head of government Commander-in-chief |
| Residence | Quinta presidencial de Olivos(official residence) Chapadmalal Residence(summer house) Casa Rosada(government office) |
| Appointer | Direct popular vote or succession from thevice presidency |
| Term length | Four years renewable once consecutively |
| Constituting instrument | Constitution of Argentina (1853) |
| Formation | February 8, 1826 (199 years ago) (1826-02-08) |
| First holder | Bernardino Rivadavia |
| Deputy | Vice President |
| Salary | ARS 2,156,418.21 (US$8,262) monthly(as of June 2023)[1] |
| Website | casarosada.gob.ar |
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 Argentina portal |
Thepresident of Argentina, officially known as thepresident of the Argentine Nation,[2][a] is bothhead of state andhead of government ofArgentina. Underthe national constitution, the president is also thechief executive of thefederal government andcommander-in-chief of thearmed forces.
Throughout Argentine history, theoffice of head of state has undergone many changes, both in its title as in its features and powers. The current presidentJavier Milei was sworn into office on 10 December 2023. He succeededAlberto Fernández.
The constitution of Argentina, along with severalconstitutional amendments, establishes the requirements, powers, and responsibilities of the president, the term of office and the method of election.
The origins of Argentina as a nation can be traced to 1776, when it was separated by KingCharles III of Spain from the existingViceroyalty of Peru, creating the newViceroyalty of the Río de la Plata. The head of state continued to be the king, but he was represented locally by theviceroy. These viceroys were seldom natives of the country.
TheBritish invasions of the River Plate kindled thePorteño identity sentiment. By the 18–25May Revolution in 1810, the first Argentineautonomous government, known as thePrimera Junta, was formed inBuenos Aires. It was later known as theJunta Grande when representatives from the provinces joined. These early attempts at self-government were succeeded by twoTriumvirates and, although the firstjuntas had presidents, theking of Spain was still regarded as head of state.
Executive power was still not in the hands of a single person until the position ofsupreme director was created by the1813 National Assembly. In 1817, Congress declared independence[clarification needed] and composed a constitution. This established the Supreme Director as head of state and vested the position with presidential powers. This constitution gave the supreme director the power of appointing governors of the provinces. Owing to political circumstances, this constitution never came into force, and the central power was dissolved, leaving the country as a federation of provinces.
A new constitution was drafted in 1826. This constitution was the first to create a president, although this office retained the powers described in the 1816 constitution. This constitution did come into force, resulting in the election of the first president,Bernardino Rivadavia. Because of theCisplatine War, Rivadavia resigned after a short time, and the office was dissolved shortly thereafter.
A civil war betweenunitarios (unitarians, i.e. Buenos Aires centralists) andfederalists ensued in the following decades. At this time, there was no central authority, and the closest to that was the chairman of foreign relations, typically the governor of the province of Buenos Aires. The last to bear this title wasJuan Manuel de Rosas, who in the last years of his governorship was electedSupreme Chief of the Confederation, gaining effective rule of the rest of the country.
In 1852, Rosas was deposed, and a constitutional convention was summoned. This constitution, still in force, established a national federal government, with the office of president. The term was fixed as six years, with no possibility of reelection. The first elected president under the constitution wasJusto José de Urquiza, but Buenos Aires seceded from theArgentine Confederation as theState of Buenos Aires.Bartolomé Mitre was the first president of the unified country, when Buenos Aires rejoined the confederation. Thus, Rivadavia, Urquiza, and Mitre are considered the first presidents of Argentina by different historians: Rivadavia for being the first one to use the title, Urquiza for being the first one to rule under the 1853 constitution, and Mitre for being the first president of Argentina under its current national limits.[3]
In 1930, 1943, 1955, 1962, 1966, and 1976, military coups deposed elected presidents. In 1966 and 1976, the federal government was undertaken by amilitary junta, where power was shared by the chiefs of the armed forces. In 1962, the president of the Senate ruled, but in the other cases, a military chief assumed the title of president.
It is debatable whether these military presidents can properly be called presidents, as there are issues with the legitimacy of their governments. The position of the current Argentine government is that military presidentsJorge Rafael Videla andLeopoldo Fortunato Galtieri were explicitlynot legitimate presidents. They and their immediate successors were denied the right to a presidentialpension after the conclusion of their terms. The status of earlier military presidents, however, remains more uncertain.
The president of the nation has the following powers granted by Constitution (Article 99):
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Article 89 of the Constitution detail the requirements:
Article 89. To be elected president or vice president of the Nation, it is necessary to have born in Argentine territory, or be the son of a native citizen, having been born in a country foreign; and the other qualities required to be elected senator.
Article 55. The requirements to be elected senator are: to be thirty years old, to have been a citizen of the Nation for six years, enjoy an annual income of two thousand pesos or an equivalent income, and be a native of the province that chooses it, or with two years of residence immediate in it.
Sections 94 to 98 detail the electoral requirements. A modifiedtwo-round system, orballotage, is used (Section 94). Unlike in most countries using a two-round system, presidential candidates in Argentina do not need to win a majority of the vote to win the presidency in a single round. To win the election in the first round, the winning candidate's party must receiveeither more than 45 percent of so-called "positive votes", orvotos positivos (Section 97)or at least 40 percent of positive votesand be more than 10 percentage points ahead of the next most-voted candidate (Section 98). Positive votes are valid votes cast for any of the candidates, leaving out of the count blank and spoiled ballots.
If no candidate obtains the necessary votes to win in the first round, then the two candidates with the most votes compete in the second round, held two weeks later, when the candidate with the most votes in that round is elected president.
Under the 1994 constitutional amendment, the president serves for four years, with a possibility of immediatereelection for one more term. A president who has served two consecutive terms may be elected again after an interval of one term. There is no limit on how many times a candidate may seek the presidency if they are unsuccessful. The same rules apply,mutatis mutandis, to the vice presidency of Argentina.[6]
Under the constitution of 1853, the president served for six years, with no possibility of consecutive reelection. In 1949, the constitution was amended to allow the president to run for an unlimited number of six-year terms. This provision was repealed in 1957. After the 1966 military coup d'état, the regime shortened the presidential term to four years. However, political instability led to frequent turnovers in office. With the restoration of democracy in 1983, the term was restored to six years.
Prior to the 1994 constitutional reform, the president and vice president were required to be Roman Catholics. This stipulation was abolished in 1994.
| Presidential styles of Javier Milei | |
|---|---|
| |
| Reference style | Excelentísimo Señor Presidente de la Nación "His Most Excellent Mister President of the Nation" |
| Spoken style | Presidente de la Nación "President of the Nation" |
| Alternative style | Señor Presidente "Mister President" |
As of 2015, the president and vice president enjoy a salary paid by the national treasury, which cannot be altered during the period of their appointment. During the same period, they may not hold any other office nor receive any other emolument from the nation or from any province. The president's salary is $131,421Argentine pesos per month.[7]
TheCasa Rosada inBuenos Aires is the official workplace of the president and theQuinta de Olivos their official residence. The president is entitled to use its staff and facilities. It has a summer residence in the town ofChapadmalal, inBuenos Aires Province, which is called the Presidential Unit Chapadmalal. The Presidential Guard is responsible for the security of the entire presidential family.
To move the president uses aircraft that are part of thePresidential Air Group:
The main aircraft was aBoeing 757 known as Tango 01 after its military registry: "T-01" (the "T" stands for "Transport", although it is fortuitously pronounced "Tango", as in the Argentinenational dance, in theNATO alphabet). The 757 entered the service in 1995 replacing the former T-01, aBoeing 707. The aircraft was nicknamedVirgen de Luján after Argentina'spatron saint. The Tango 01 was defunct in 2016 and eventually replaced in 2023 by a Boeing 757-200 in VIP design, designatedARG-01.[8]
The current presidential fleet also includes twoFokker F28 (T-02 and T-03) (one always in service) andLearjet 60 (T-10). The Learjet is also used by the Air Force chief of staff.
Ashelicopters, aSikorsky S-70 (H-01pic) and twoSikorsky S-76 (H-02pic and H-03pic) also make-up the fleet, with an additional Air ForceBell 212, as needed. DuringNéstor Kirchner andCristina Fernández administration AAP used different aircraft for their global flights, most notablyBoeing 747 loaned fromAerolíneas Argentinas and a privateBombardier Global 5000.[9]
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Following military coups that overthrew the constitutional government werede facto military presidents in 1930–1932, 1943–1946, 1955–1958, 1966–1973 and 1976–1983 that brought in addition to the powers of the president also corresponding to Congress. The subsequent analysis of the validity of their actions led to the subsequent formulation of the doctrine ofde facto governments.
That doctrine was nullified by the constitutional reform of 1994, which added Article 36 (see below).
Article 29 of the constitution of 1853 had an article that considered the usurpation of public power as 'treason', but was referred to thede jure rulers. For this reason the constitutional reform of 1994 included Article 36 which says:[10]
In summary, the article states:
The office of vice president was established by the1853 constitution for the purpose of providing a succession in case the president is unable to complete their term via death, resignation, or removal from office. TheArgentine constitution (art. 88) entitles the vice president to exercise the duties of the president, both in the case of a temporary absence and in the case of a permanent absence for health reasons.
In the absence of both the president and the vice president, thesuccession is regulated by theLaw 20,972 ("Acephaly Law"). It provides that the executive power must be temporarily exercised (without assuming the title of president) by theprovisional president of theSenate; in his or her absence, by thepresident of theChamber of Deputies; and in the absence of both, by the president of theSupreme Court.
In case of the permanent absence of both the president and the vice president, due to resignation, death, or removal, the Constitution (art. 88) entitles theNational Congress Assembled to select a new president from among the current senators, deputies andgovernors, within the following two days of the death or resignation of the former president.
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