Graciela Giannettasio | |
|---|---|
 Giannettasio in 2007 | |
| National Deputy | |
| In office 10 December 2007 – 27 November 2015 | |
| Constituency | Buenos Aires |
| In office 10 December 1999 – 7 January 2002 | |
| Constituency | Buenos Aires |
| Vice Governor of Buenos Aires | |
| In office 10 December 2003 – 10 December 2007 | |
| Governor | Felipe Solá |
| Preceded by | Felipe Solá |
| Succeeded by | Alberto Balestrini |
| Minister of Education, Science and Technology | |
| In office 7 January 2002 – 25 May 2003 | |
| President | Eduardo Duhalde |
| Preceded by | Ricardo Biazzi |
| Succeeded by | Daniel Filmus |
| Provincial Senator of Buenos Aires | |
| In office 10 December 1987 – April 1992 | |
| Constituency | Third Electoral Section |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1950-10-20)20 October 1950 Remedios de Escalada, Argentina |
| Died | 5 April 2022(2022-04-05) (aged 71) |
| Political party | Justicialist Party |
| Other political affiliations | Front for Victory(2003–2015) |
| Alma mater | University of Buenos Aires |
Graciela María Giannettasio de Saiegh[1] (20 October 1950 – 5 April 2022)[2] was an Argentine politician belonging to theJusticialist Party. She served in a number of high-profile posts during her career, most notably asMinister of Education during the interim presidency ofEduardo Duhalde from 2002 to 2003, and later asVice Governor ofBuenos Aires Province underFelipe Solá from 2003 to 2007.
Giannettasio was born on 20 October 1950 inRemedios de Escalada, in theLanús Partido ofBuenos Aires Province. She attended anEscuela Normal to become a teacher, and later attained a law degree from theUniversity of Buenos Aires, specialising inadministrative law.[3]
Giannettasio's first political post was as director of legal affairs at the municipal government ofLomas de Zamora, during the mayorship ofEduardo Duhalde. Since then, she forged a close political relationship with Duhalde and his wife,Hilda González de Duhalde, who were important members of the Buenos Aires ProvinceJusticialist Party (PJ).[3][4]
Giannettasio later served in a number of posts in the municipality ofFlorencio Varela, up until her election to theProvincial Senate in 1987 on the Justicialist Party ticket. She was re-elected for a second four-year term in 1991, but resigned in 1992 when she was appointed Director General of Culture and Education in the provincial government, then led by Duhalde.[5] During her tenure, she introduced a controversial education reform which transformed primary education into the "Educación General Básica" (EGB) and secondary education into thepolimodal systems.[3] She later supported efforts to reverse the reform during the tenure ofAdriana Puiggrós as education minister of Buenos Aires.[6]
In the1999 legislative election, Giannettasio ran for one of Buenos Aires's 35 seats in theNational Chamber of Deputies as part of the Justicialist Party list. With 41.68% of the vote, the Justicialist Party received enough votes for Giannettasio to gain a seat, and she took office on 10 December 1999.[7] In January 2002, in the aftermath of theDecember 2001 rioting and presidential succession crisis, Eduardo Duhalde was appointed interim president of Argentina, and Giannettasio becameMinister of Education, Science and Technology in his government.[8]
In the 2003 provincial election,Felipe Solá and Giannettasio ran on the Justicialist Party ticket for the governorship and vice-governorship of Buenos Aires, respectively.[9] The Solá–Giannettasio ticket won with 43.32% of the vote. She was the second woman to hold the position of Vice Governor in Buenos Aires, afterElva Roulet did so from 1983 to 1987. In 2004, Giannettasio briefly served as the interim head of the provincial ministry of security after the resignation of Raúl Rivara.[10] During her tenure, she supported efforts to include women in high-ranking executive and legislative posts.[11]
Giannettasio did not run for a second term as Vice Governor in 2007, andAlberto Balestrini was Solá's running mate in the 2007 provincial election. Instead, she ran for a seat in the Chamber of Deputies inthat year's legislative election, as the sixth candidate on theFront for Victory (FPV) list. With 46.02% of the vote, the FPV received sufficient support for Giannettasio to be elected.[12] She wasre-elected in 2011, this time as the 10th candidate on the FPV list.[13] She did not run for a third term in 2015.[14]
Giannettasio was married to businessman and fellow Justicialist Party politician Miguel Saiegh.[15] She lived inFlorencio Varela. In 2006, her private residence was burgled while she was abroad.[16]
She died on 5 April 2022 at the age of 71 after a long illness.[17]