Jorge Capitanich

Jorge Capitanich
Governor of Chaco
Incumbent
Assumed office 10 December 2019
Vice Governor	Analía Rach Quiroga
Preceded by	Domingo Peppo
In office 10 December 2007 – 10 December 2015 On leave: 20 November 2013 – 27 February 2015
Vice Governor	Juan Carlos Bacileff Ivanoff
Preceded by	Roy Nikisch
Succeeded by	Domingo Peppo
Mayor of Resistencia
In office 10 December 2015 – 10 December 2019
Preceded by	Aída Ayala
Succeeded by	Gustavo Martínez
Chief of the Cabinet of Ministers
In office 20 November 2013 – 26 February 2015
President	Cristina Fernández de Kirchner
Preceded by	Juan Manuel Abal Medina
Succeeded by	Aníbal Fernández
In office 2 January 2002 – 3 May 2002
President	Eduardo Duhalde
Preceded by	Antonio Cafiero
Succeeded by	Alfredo Atanasof
National Senator
In office 10 December 2001 – 10 December 2007
Constituency	Chaco
Minister of Economy, Social Development, Labour and Health
In office 21 December 2001 – 23 December 2007
President	Ramón Puerta
Preceded by	Domingo Cavallo (as Minister of Economy)
Succeeded by	Rodolfo Frigeri (as Secretary of the Treasury)
Personal details
Born	(1964-11-28) 28 November 1964 Presidencia Roque Sáenz Peña, Argentina
Political party	Justicialist Party
Alma mater	National University of the Northeast University of Belgrano University of San Andrés

Jorge Milton Capitanich (born November 28, 1964) is an Argentine politician, businessman, and accountant who became Governor of Chaco Province in 2019, having held the position before from 2007 to 2013 and then from February to December 2015. A member of the Justicialist Party, he previously served as Chief of the Cabinet of Ministers from 2013 until 2015, serving under President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner, as intendente (mayor) of Chaco's capital city, Resistencia, and as National Senator, representing Chaco as well. Since 2007 he has also been president of the Sarmiento Athletic Club.

Capitanich's career, stated La Nación in November 2013, has been “punctuated by harsh allegations of corruption.” He has been described elsewhere as “a true symbol of the corruption of politics in Argentina” He is said to have been a favorite of the late President Nestor Kirchner, and La Nación has called him “a loyal Kirchnerista since the first hour” and a perennial Peronist. As of November 2013, he was considered a leading contender in the presidential election of 2015.

Early life and education

Capitanich (originally Kapitanić) descends from the first Montenegrins who settled in Chaco and created Colonia La Montenegrina, the biggest Montenegrin colony in South America. He was born in Presidencia Roque Sáenz Peña, the son of Daniel Capitanich and Mirca Popovich, who owned a small farm. The family hails from Banjani.

He attended the National University of the Northeast, graduating with a degree in accountancy in 1988. He earned a post-graduate degree in public administration from the University of Belgrano in 1991, and taught in his discipline. In 1999 he obtained a master's degree in Economics and Political Science at the School of Economics and Business Administration.

Capitanich destroying a Clarín newspaper after wrongly accusing the newspaper of publishing false information. 2015

Career

Early political career

Capitanich took up his first position in politics in 1987, serving as private secretary to the Governor of Chaco province, Danilo Baroni,

Capitanich thereafter experienced a quick rise through the government ranks. In 1994 he was named coordinator of a private-sector jobs-creation program in the Ministry of Assistance for the Reform of the Provincial Economy. The next year he became assistant secretary for technical-administrative coordination in the Ministry of Social Development. In 1998, he was appointed assistant secretary of social projects in the Ministry of Social Development. And in 2001, he was named Minister of Infrastructure.

Senate

Capitanich was elected Senator for Chaco in October 2001, and named Argentina's interim Minister of Economy of Argentina during the institutional crisis of December 21 of that year, serving for two days in the post. President Eduardo Duhalde appointed Capitanich Chief of the Cabinet of Ministers on January 2, 2002. While in that position under Duhalde, Capitanich was involved in the consulting firm M-Unit, for which he was accused of arranging covert government financing. He worked at M-Unit with Economy Minister Axel Kicillof, with whom he collaborated on a book. Capitanich held the position of Cabinet Chief until May 2002.

He retained his Senate seat, and supported President Néstor Kirchner's Front for Victory. In 2003 he stood to be governor of Chaco, but was defeated by Roy Nikisch of the Radical Civic Union.

Governor

In the 2007 provincial elections, Capitanich ran as a candidate for governor for the Frente Chaco Deserves More, an alliance of several parties with the majority weight of the Justicialist Party. On 16, 2007, he was elected governor of the Province of Chaco, defeating the candidate of the ruling party and former governor Ángel Rozas, belonging to the Radical Civic Union, against the initial estimates of the polls. In 2008 he received recognition from the Konex Awards for his career as a legislator in the "Institutions - Community - Company" category.8

In the elections of September 18, 2011, he obtained his re-election as governor by obtaining more than 66% of the votes.

In his 2013 session opening speech, Capitanich listed the achievements of his management, among which are: the province's cumulative growth rate in the 2003-2011 period was 78.5% and 38% if you consider the period 2009-2013. There was a reduction in provincial debt and growth in formal private employment.

In the area of ​​education, illiteracy fell from 8.8 to 5.4%. In terms of educational infrastructure, 12 schools were built, expanded and refurbished for more than 6,000 students, at different levels.

As far as health is concerned, during his government 25 new hospitals were inaugurated, a historical record for the province. Infant mortality went from 20.9 per thousand to 14.4 per thousand in 2011.

In the period 2008-2015, the number of routes built will be equivalent to 430 km. During his government, the work of the collector on National Route 16 was completed, which required an investment of more than 259 million pesos and which included the construction of embankments. and shoulders. Also, the first section of the highway that connects Resistencia with Makallé, which required an investment of 160 million pesos and works on provincial route No. 13 with an investment of almost 539 million pesos.

In addition, the works of the "Néstor Kirchner" Sports Complex, a Community Integration Center (CIC), a health module, the new micro-stadium of the Fontana Social and Sports Club, and housing for the Tobas were carried out.

Gabinet chief

In 2013, during the second term of Cristina Fernández, he was appointed Chief of the Cabinet of Ministers and Bacileff Ivanoff replaced him as acting governor of the province of Chaco. As Chief of Staff, he was characterized by regularly submitting reports to both houses of Congress and holding daily morning press conferences.

On February 26, 2015, his replacement by the Secretary General of the Presidency, Aníbal Fernández, was announced. Capitanich had announced that same day, his intention to run for Mayor of the City of Resistance. The next day, he resumed as governor of the Chaco.

Honors and awards

In 1997 Capitanich received the Annual ADEBA (Association of Argentine Banks) Award for efficiency in social spending.

In 2008 he was given a Konex Award in recognition of his career as a senator.

Personal life

Capitanich and Sandra Mendoza have two daughters together.

External links

• Argentine Senate website
• Madness checks for Argentine politicians, BBC News Online, 12 September 2002