Leopoldo Galtieri | |
|---|---|
(b).jpg) Galtieri in 1981 | |
| 46th President of Argentina | |
| In office 22 December 1981 – 18 June 1982 | |
| Appointed by | Military junta |
| Vice President | None |
| Preceded by | Carlos Lacoste (interim) |
| Succeeded by | Alfredo Oscar Saint Jean (interim) |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1926-07-15)15 July 1926 |
| Died | 12 January 2003(2003-01-12) (aged 76) Buenos Aires, Argentina |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 3 |
| Alma mater | Colegio Militar de la Nación |
| Profession | Military |
| Signature |  |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance |  Argentina |
| Branch/service |  Argentine Army |
| Years of service | 1944–1982 |
| Rank |  (Pre-1991 epaulette)Lieutenant General |
| Battles/wars | Falklands War |
Leopoldo Fortunato Galtieri Castelli[a] (15 July 1926 – 12 January 2003) was an Argentine military officer who served as thede factoPresident of Argentina from December 1981 to June 1982. Galtieri ruled as amilitary dictator during theNational Reorganization Process as leader of the Third Junta withJorge Anaya andBasilio Lami Dozo.[2]
Galtieri was chiefcombat engineer of theArgentine Army and a patron of the1976 military coup d'état which helped him becomecommander-in-chief of the army in 1980. Galtieri overthrewRoberto Eduardo Viola, was appointed president, and established Argentina as a strongCold War ally ofNATO and theUnited States, while introducingfiscally conservative economic reforms, and increasingArgentine covert support for theanti-communistContras guerrillas during theNicaraguan civil war. In domestic policy, General Galtieri continued theDirty War with the601 Intelligence Battaliondeath squad reporting directly to him.[3]
Galtieri's declining popularity due to hishuman rights abuses and the worseningeconomic stagnation caused him to order an invasion of theFalkland Islands in April 1982. Galtieri was removed from power after Argentina's defeat by theBritish Armed Forces in theFalklands War in June, which led to therestoration of democracy and, in 1986, his court martial prosecution and conviction forwar crimes and other offenses. Galtieri was pardoned byCarlos Menem in 1989 and lived in obscurity until his arrest for new charges shortly before his death in 2003.
Leopoldo Fortunato Galtieri was born on 15 July 1926 inCaseros,Buenos Aires Province to working-classItalian Argentine parents Francisco Rosario Galtieri and Nélida Victoria Castelli.[4] In 1943, at 17 years-old, he enrolled at theNational Military Academy to studycivil engineering, and his early military career was as an officer in the engineering branch of theArgentine Army. As well as rising through the ranks of the military, he continued his studies in engineering until the mid-1950s. In 1949 he graduated from theUS Army School of the Americas.[5] In 1958, he became a professor of engineering at the Senior War College.[6]
Galtieri was married to Lucía Noemí Gentili, and the couple had one son and two daughters.[7]
In 1975, after more than 25 years as acombat engineer, Galtieri became commander of the Argentine engineering corps. He was an enthusiastic supporter of theMarch 1976 coup d'état that overthrew PresidentIsabel Perón and started the self-styledNational Reorganisation Process, the establishment of a right-wingmilitary junta government in Argentina. This helped him rise through the ranks, becoming amajor general in 1977, andcommander-in-chief of the army in 1980 with the rank oflieutenant general. During the junta's rule,Congress was suspended,trade unions,political parties, andprovincial governments were banned, and in what became known as theDirty War, between 9,000 and 30,000 people deemed left-wing subversivesdisappeared from society withtorture andmass executions being commonplace. Argentina's economy had been in dire condition prior to the coup and recovered for a short time. An impending economic collapse was one of the main justifications for the overthrow of Perón and the civilian government.
In March 1981, Galtieri visited theUnited States and was warmly received, as theReagan administration viewed the regime as abulwark againstcommunism. National Security AdvisorRichard V. Allen described him as a "majestic general". An adherent to the Argentine military'sCold War-era doctrine of "ideological frontiers", Galtieri secured his country's support forContra rebel groups opposing the SocialistSandinista government inNicaragua during theNicaraguan Revolution. In August, he sent advisers to help organize theNicaraguan Democratic Force (FDN, for a time the principal Contra group), as well as training FDN leaders in Argentine bases. His support for this initiative allowed Galtieri to remove a number of rival generals.
On 22 December 1981, Galtieri was appointedPresident of Argentina eleven days after oustingRoberto Eduardo Viola, who had been in power since March. Officially Viola resigned due to a health issue and designated Interior Minister Horacio Liendo as his successor. In reality, Viola was removed from power due to his regime's inability to reverse the economic crisis which caused infighting within the military.
Galtieri retained direct control of the army whilst President of the governing Military Junta and did not appoint a new commander-in-chief.[8]
Galtieri instituted limited political reforms which allowed theexpression of dissent, and anti-junta demonstrations soon became common, as did agitation for a return todemocracy.[9]
Galtieri appointedconservative economist and publisherRoberto Alemann asEconomy Minister. Alemann inherited an economy in deep recession in the aftermath ofJosé Alfredo Martínez de Hoz's economic policies of the late 1970s. Alemann slashedspending, began selling off government-owned industries (with only minor success), enacted a tightmonetary policy, and ordered salaries frozen (amid 130% inflation).[10]
TheCentral Bank Circular 1050, which tied mortgage rates to the value of theUS dollar locally, was maintained, however, leading to further deepening of the crisis; GDP fell by 5%, and business investment by 20% over the weakened levels of 1981.[11]
One of Galtieri's closest allies, the head of the First Army Corps, GeneralGuillermo Suárez Mason, was named Chairman ofYacimientos Petrolíferos Fiscales (YPF), at the time the state petroleum concern, and the largest company of any type in Argentina. Suárez Mason's role would contribute to a US$6 billion loss for the company, the largest recorded corporate loss in the world, up to that point.[12]
Galtieri supported theCentral Intelligence Agency in its fight against the Sandinistas in Nicaragua, while he was warmly welcomed during his visit to theWhite House.[13] Argentina support became the principal source of funds and training for the Contras during Galtieri's tenure.[14]
Argentine military and intelligence cooperation with theReagan Administration ended in 1982 when Argentina invaded theFalkland Islands.
By April 1982, Galtieri had been in office for four months and his popularity was low.[15] On 2 April, on his orders, Argentine forces invaded theFalkland Islands, aUnited Kingdom territory subject to a long-standing Argentine claim.
Initially the invasion was popular in Argentina, and the anti-junta demonstrations were replaced by patriotic demonstrations in support of Galtieri.
Galtieri and most of his government mistakenly believed theUnited Kingdom would not respond militarily.[16][13]
The British government led by the prime minister,Margaret Thatcher, dispatched a naval task force to retake the islands militarily if Argentina refused to comply with aUnited Nations resolution demanding an immediate Argentine withdrawal. Argentina did not comply with the resolution which resulted in asurrender to British forces on 14 June 1982.
Argentina was supported by Israel during the conflict, even though Galtieri's regime was openly anti-Semitic.[17][18]
On 14 June 1982, the Falklands' capital,Stanley, wasretaken by British forces. The fact that an administration ruled by military figures failed to contain the British military response provoked an unprecedented crisis inside the Junta. Galtieri was blamed for the defeat and was removed from power, and he spent the next 18 months at a well-protected country retreat while democracy was restored to Argentina. Along with other members of the former junta, he was arrested in late 1983 and charged in a military court with human rights violations during the Dirty War and with mismanaging the Falklands War. The Argentine Army's internal investigation, known as the Rattenbach report after the general who led it,[19] recommended that those responsible for the misconduct of the war be prosecuted under the Code of Military Justice.[20] In 1986 he was sentenced to twelve years in prison.[21]
Galtieri was cleared of the civil rights charges in December 1985, but (together with the Air Force and Navy commanders-in-chief) in May 1986 he was found guilty of mishandling the war and sentenced to prison. All three appealed in a civil court, and the prosecution appealed for heavier sentences. In November 1988 the original sentences were confirmed, and all three commanders were stripped of their rank. In 1989, Galtieri and 39 other officers of the dictatorship received PresidentCarlos Menem'spardon.[22]
Galtieri was heavily blamed for Argentina's defeat in the Falklands War. Following his release from prison, he moved to theVilla Devoto suburb of Buenos Aires, and lived modestly with his wife Lucía. He became a recluse and refused most requests for interviews by journalists, though in a rare interview he stated he had "no regrets" over anything he had done during the Dirty War. He lived on an army pension of 9,000pesos per month, and attempted to claim a Presidential pension, but a judge denied it. In her ruling, the judge stated that his presidency had been illegal due to his never having been elected, and she also ordered him to pay court costs.In May 2002, he was invited to the military parade of theArgentine Army for the celebrations of Argentine Army Day (Día del Ejército Argentino): the presence of the former "president de facto" caused a huge controversy in public opinion after he was confronted and questioned by the journalist Martín Ciccioli in the television programmeKaos en la Ciudad.
In July 2002, new civil charges were brought concerning the kidnapping of children and the disappearance of 18 leftist sympathizers in the late 1970s (while Galtieri was commander of the Second Army Corps), and the disappearance or death of threeSpanish citizens at about the same time. Galtieri faced prosecution with 28 other officials, but due to his poor health, he was allowed to remain at home.[23][24]
Galtieri underwent surgery forpancreatic cancer on 16 August 2002 at a hospital in Buenos Aires. He died there of aheart attack on 12 January 2003, aged 76.[25] His body is interred in a small mausoleum atLa Chacarita Cemetery.[26]
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| Preceded by | President of Argentina 1981-1982 | Succeeded by |
