Agustín Oscar Rossi (born 18 October 1959) is an Argentine

Justicialist Party The Justicialist Party (, ; abbr. PJ) is a major political party in Argentina, and the largest branch within Peronism. Following the 2023 presidential election, it has been the largest party in the opposition against President Javier Milei. Fo ...

politician. Rossi has held a number of important political posts throughout his career, most notably as

Minister of Defense A ministry of defence or defense (see spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is the part of a government responsible for matters of defence and military forces, found in states where the government is divid ...

during the presidencies of

Cristina Fernández de Kirchner Cristina Elisabet Fernández de Kirchner (; born 19 February 1953), often referred to by her initials CFK, is an Argentine lawyer and former politician who served as the 56th president of Argentina from 2007 to 2015, and later as the 37th Vice ...

(2013–2015) and

Alberto Fernández Alberto Ángel Fernández (; born 2 April 1959) is an Argentine politician, lawyer, and academic who served as President of Argentina from 2019 to 2023. He was also the Chief of the Cabinet of Ministers from 2003 to 2008. His tenure as Cabin ...

(2019–2021). Rossi was a National Deputy for his native Santa Fe, and served as leader of the

Front for Victory The Front for Victory (, FPV) was a centre-left Peronist electoral alliance in Argentina, and is formally a faction of the Justicialist Party. Former presidents Néstor Kirchner and Cristina Fernández de Kirchner were elected as representatives ...

parliamentary bloc in the lower house. Since 15 February 2023, Rossi has been

Chief of the Cabinet of Ministers The chief of the Cabinet of Ministers of the Argentine Nation (; JGM), more commonly known simply as the Cabinet chief () is a Ministries of the Argentine Republic, ministerial office within the Government of Argentina, government of Argentina t ...

to the incumbent president Alberto Fernandez. He was the running mate of Sergio Massa in the

2023 Argentine general election General elections were held in Argentina on 22 October 2023 to elect the President of Argentina, president, Vice President of Argentina, vice president, members of the National Congress of Argentina, National Congress, and the governors of mos ...

, seeking the vice presidency as part of the

Union for the Homeland The Union for the Homeland (, UP) is a centre-left political and electoral coalition of Peronist political parties in Argentina. It has been the main opposition coalition since December 2023. The coalition was formed to compete in the 2023 gen ...

coalition until Massa lost to

Javier Milei Javier Gerardo Milei (born 22 October 1970) is an Argentine politician and economist who has served as President of Argentina since 2023. Milei also served as a national deputy representing the City of Buenos Aires for the party La Libertad ...

in runoff.

Early life and education

Rossi was born in

Vera Vera may refer to: Names *Vera (surname), a surname (including a list of people with the name) * Vera (given name), a given name (including a list of people and fictional characters with the name) **Vera (), archbishop of the archdiocese of Tarr ...

, a small city in the north of Santa Fe Province, where he spent his early youth. He moved to

Rosario Rosario () is the largest city in the central provinces of Argentina, Argentine province of Santa Fe Province, Santa Fe. The city, located northwest of Buenos Aires on the west bank of the Paraná River, is the third-most populous city in the ...

when he was 17 years old, and graduated as a

civil engineer A civil engineer is a person who practices civil engineering – the application of planning, designing, constructing, maintaining, and operating infrastructure while protecting the public and environmental health, as well as improving existing i ...

at the

National University of Rosario The National University of Rosario (, UNR) is a research public university located in the city of Rosario, province of Santa Fe, Argentina. Overview Rosario National University (UNR) was created in 1968 by Law 17.987. Its foundational struct ...

Political career

Provincial career

Rossi was a member of the Peronist University Youth in the 1970s, and joined the Justicialist Party in the 1980s. He was elected to the Rosario

Deliberative Council The Deliberative Council of Princes and Ministers (), also known as the Council of Princes and High Officials and Assembly of Princes and High Officials, or simply as the Deliberative Council (; ), was an advisory body for the emperors of the earl ...

in 1987, but returned to his private practice in the 1991. He returned to politics in 2001, was elected to the Deliberative Council in 2002, and presided said body from 2004 to 2005. In the 2005 legislative elections he ran for a seat in the Lower House of Congress for the

, the largest faction of the Justicialist Party, formed by supporters of

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...

Néstor Kirchner Néstor Carlos Kirchner Ostoić (; 25 February 195027 October 2010) was an Argentine lawyer and politician who served as the president of Argentina from 2003 to 2007. A member of the Justicialist Party, he previously served as Governor of Sa ...

. His campaign capitalized on, and was centered on gaining support for, the successful policies implemented by Kirchner on the national level; Rossi, who was not yet well known in the province, presented himself as "Kirchner's candidate." The Front for Victory

party list An electoral list is a grouping of candidates for election, usually found in proportional or mixed electoral systems, but also in some plurality electoral systems. An electoral list can be registered by a political party (a party list) or can c ...

headed by Rossi came in second (with 33% of votes) after the

Socialist Party Socialist Party is the name of many different political parties around the world. All of these parties claim to uphold some form of socialism, though they may have very different interpretations of what "socialism" means. Statistically, most of th ...

list headed by Hermes Binner (43%).

Congressional terms and Ministry of Defense

He then became the head of the Front for Victory bloc in the lower house of Congress. In that capacity, he took on the task of imposing party discipline while rallying legislative support of Kirchner's policies; he stated that "the bloc elonging to the ruling partyhas the fundamental role of being the legislative arm of the government. I cannot conceive a overnment partyblock that has doubts or criticism for the government's projects. Society tells us: 'I choose you to strengthen the course of action initiated by the President." He also courted controversy with his rhetoric, notably in August 2010 when he described lawmakers who presented a bill that sought reverse a government decision to revoke an expired license for the Fibertel

internet service provider An Internet service provider (ISP) is an organization that provides a myriad of services related to accessing, using, managing, or participating in the Internet. ISPs can be organized in various forms, such as commercial, community-owned, no ...

, as "lawyers" for the

Clarín Group Grupo Clarín S.A. is an Argentine media conglomerate headquartered in Buenos Aires. Overview Established as such in 1999, it includes the newspaper (the most-widely circulated in Latin America), Papel Prensa (the nation's principal newsprint m ...

(Fibertel's parent company); there have been ongoing controversies between Clarín and Kirchnerism since 2008 over a number of issues. Rossi was a candidate in the FpV primary for the governorship of Santa Fe in the 2007 elections. His rival within the party was Rosario-born National Deputy and former Foreign Relations Minister

Rafael Bielsa Rafael Antonio Bielsa Caldera (born February 15, 1953) is an Argentine Justicialist Party politician from Rosario, province of Santa Fe. He was the Minister of Foreign Affairs from 2003 to 2005. From 2020 to 2023 he was also Argentina's amba ...

. The Mayor of

Rafaela Rafaela is a city in Argentina, located in the central-west region of the Santa Fe Province. It serves as the head of the Castellanos Department and is the third most populous and significant urban center in the province, following Rosario, Santa ...

, Omar Perotti, campaigned for some time as well, but finally gave up and turned to support Bielsa. In the classical caudillist fashion that has prevailed in Argentina’s last century of politics, although some in the party, including Bielsa, would have rather negotiated on a consensus candidacy, Rossi insisted on conducting a primary election. Rossi also stated that he wanted Bielsa's sister María Eugenia (then vice-governor of Santa Fe), on his party list, though he instead chose Jorge Fernández, former Minister of Education during the governorship of Víctor Reviglio. Bielsa was eventually chosen as the party's candidate in

primary election Primary elections or primaries are elections held to determine which candidates will run in an upcoming general election. In a partisan primary, a political party selects a candidate. Depending on the state and/or party, there may be an "open pr ...

s on July 1, 2007, but subsequently lost the election to

Socialist Socialism is an economic ideology, economic and political philosophy encompassing diverse Economic system, economic and social systems characterised by social ownership of the means of production, as opposed to private ownership. It describes ...

Hermes Binner. Rossi continued in his role as Majority Leader of the Chamber of Deputies as head of the Front for Victory bloc, which retained a majority in the Chamber. President

nominated him to the post of Minister of Defense of Argentina on 30 May 2013.

Electoral history

Executive

Legislative

References

External links

Official website of the Ministry of Defense
(in Spanish) {{DEFAULTSORT:Rossi, Agustin 1959 births Living people People from Vera Department Argentine people of Italian descent National University of Rosario alumni Argentine civil engineers Justicialist Party politicians Fernández de Kirchner administration cabinet members Alberto Fernández administration cabinet members Members of the Argentine Chamber of Deputies elected in Santa Fe Defense ministers of Argentina Chiefs of Cabinet of Ministers of Argentina Argentine deputies 2005–2007 Argentine deputies 2007–2009 Argentine deputies 2009–2011 Argentine deputies 2011–2013 Argentine deputies 2017–2019