Antonio Sáenz (June 6, 1780 – July 22, 1825) was an

Argentine Argentines (mistakenly translated Argentineans in the past; in Spanish (masculine) or (feminine)) are people identified with the country of Argentina. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Argentines, s ...

statesman, educator and cleric. He was a representative to the

Congress of Tucumán The Congress of Tucumán was the representative assembly, initially meeting in San Miguel de Tucumán, that declared the independence of the United Provinces of South America (modern-day Argentina, Uruguay, part of Bolivia) on July 9, 1816, fro ...

of July 9, 1816, which declared the Independence of Argentina. He was the first

rector Rector (Latin for the member of a vessel's crew who steers) may refer to: Style or title *Rector (ecclesiastical), a cleric who functions as an administrative leader in some Christian denominations *Rector (academia), a senior official in an edu ...

of the

University of Buenos Aires The University of Buenos Aires ( es, Universidad de Buenos Aires, UBA) is a public university, public research university in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Established in 1821, it is the premier institution of higher learning in the country and one o ...

. Sáenz was born in

Buenos Aires Buenos Aires ( or ; ), officially the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires ( es, link=no, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires), is the capital and primate city of Argentina. The city is located on the western shore of the Río de la Plata, on South ...

. He studied at the Real Colegio de San Carlos between 1794 and 1800, gained his degree in 1802, and became a doctor in

law Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior,Robertson, ''Crimes against humanity'', 90. with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. It has been vario ...

in Chuquisaca in 1804, having been ordained as a priest some years before. In 1804, he entered the Academia Carolina as a practising lawyer. He became shortly afterwards a teacher of theology, law and philosophy. In 1805, Sáenz was appointed secretary of the church '' cabildo'', which brought him into the public eye. His appointment was opposed by the Bishop of Buenos Aires, , and they fought publicly, culminating in Sáenz's imprisonment and trial. He was freed thanks to the intervention of the city's cabildo. He took part in the revolutionary events of May 1810 and represented

San Luis Province San Luis () is a province of Argentina located near the geographical center of the country (on the 32° South parallel). Neighboring provinces are, from the north clockwise, La Rioja, Córdoba, La Pampa, Mendoza and San Juan. History The cit ...

in the 1813 Assembly. Thanks to his profile and links, he was also part of the Lautaro Lodge. In 1812 it was Sáenz that found the dead body of Bishop Lue and suspicion was immediately placed on the younger priest, given the two men's history, an accusation he never shook off. The religious authorities sent him to Luján in a form of exile. He took no further part in church administration. Sáenz was elected by Buenos Aires to the Congress of Tucumán and helped to write the declaration of independence in 1816, in his capacity as President of the Academy of

Jurisprudence Jurisprudence, or legal theory, is the theoretical study of the propriety of law. Scholars of jurisprudence seek to explain the nature of law in its most general form and they also seek to achieve a deeper understanding of legal reasoning a ...

. In 1819 he was the Congress' President. He helped to found the University of Buenos Aires and became its first rector in 1821.

References

Profile
by the

House of Tucumán A house is a single-unit residential building. It may range in complexity from a rudimentary hut to a complex structure of wood, masonry, concrete or other material, outfitted with plumbing, electrical, and heating, ventilation, and air condi ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Saenz, Antonio 1780 births 1825 deaths Members of the Congress of Tucumán 19th-century Argentine lawyers Lawyers from Buenos Aires Members of the Assembly of the Year XIII People of the Argentine War of Independence Burials at La Recoleta Cemetery