Néstor Kirchner
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| Became President: | May 25, 2003 |
| Predecessor: | Eduardo Duhalde |
| Date of Birth: | February 25, 1950 |
| Place of Birth: | Río Gallegos |
Néstor Carlos Kirchner Ostoic (born 25 February 1950) is the president of Argentina. He was sworn in on May 25, 2003. A Peronist with leftist leanings, Kirchner was governor of Santa Cruz previous to being elected president.
Early years
Kirchner was born in Río Gallegos, in the Patagonian province of Santa Cruz. His father, a post office official, was of Swiss descent; his mother of Croatian background. He received his primary and secondary education at local public schools; he obtained his B.A. from the Colegio Nacional República of Guatemala.
Early on, Kirchner participated in the Movimiento Justicialista, first as a member of the Young Peronists, whose leftwing radicalism was strongly opposed to the military dictatorships. In the mid-1970s, Kirchner studied law at La Plata National University, receiving his law degree in 1976. He returned to Río Gallegos with his wife, Cristina Fernández, also a lawyer and member of the Justicialist Party (JP), to practice law. During the Videla junta, he was incarcerated at one point, the reason for and duration of which is not known.
After the fall of the military dictatorship and restoration of democracy in 1982, Kirchner became a public functionary in the provincial government. The following year, he was briefly president of the the Río Gallegos social welfare fund, but was forced out by the governor over a dispute over financial policy. The affair made him a local celebrity and laid the foundation for his subsequent political career.
Governor of Santa Cruz
Kirchner was governor of Santa Cruz from 1991 until 2003, when he became president of Argentina, defeating Carlos Menem, a fellow member of the JP who was president from 1989 to 1999.
Presidential election
Although Menem won the first round of the election on April 27, 2003, he only got 24% of the valid votes – just 2% ahead of Kirchner. This was a Pyrrhic victory, as Menem had an extremely negative image among a large segment of the Argentine population and had virtually no chance of winning on the run-off. After days of speculation, during which polls forecasted a massive Kirchner victory with about a 30%-40% difference, Menem finally decided to stand down. This automatically made Kirchner president of Argentina.
Kirchner succeeded Duhalde on May 25, 2003.
Next elections would normally be held in 2007.
His sister Alicia Margarita Kirchner is the Minister for Social Development.
| Preceded by: Eduardo Duhalde |
Presidents of Argentina | Succeeded by: -Currently in office- |