Carlos Santiago Fayt (1 February 1918'' Página/12''
Fayt canta los noventa
1 February 2008 – 22 November 2016) was an Argentine lawyer, politician, academic and a member of the Supreme Court of Justice of Argentina from 1983 to 2015.Supreme Court CV
. Accessed 5 May 2008.

Early life and career

Fayt was born in 1918 in

Salta Salta () is the capital and largest city in the Argentine province of the same name. With a population of 618,375 according to the 2010 census, it is also the 7th most-populous city in Argentina. The city serves as the cultural and economic ce ...

, but his family was from Tartagal. His father, Emilio Moisés Fayt, was an Arab Christian of Syrian and Lebanese descent and his mother, Sara Pérez Robles, was of

criollo Criollo or criolla (Spanish for creole) may refer to: People * Criollo people, a social class in the Spanish race-based colonial caste system (the European descendants) Animals * Criollo duck, a species of duck native to Central and South Ameri ...

background. At a young age he moved to

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 graduated as a lawyer in 1941 from the

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

(UBA). He played an active role in trade union life, heading the Buenos Aires Lawyers' Association 1963–1965, and had an extensive academic career. Fayt taught at UBA and at the

National University of La Plata The La Plata National University ( es, Universidad Nacional de La Plata, UNLP) is one of the most important Argentine national universities and the biggest one situated in the city of La Plata, capital of Buenos Aires Province. It has over 90 ...

, specialising in political law. He was

Emeritus Professor ''Emeritus'' (; female: ''emerita'') is an adjective used to designate a retired chair, professor, pastor, bishop, pope, director, president, prime minister, rabbi, emperor, or other person who has been "permitted to retain as an honorary title ...

at UBA and taught at Belgrano University during the last years of his life. He was also an active member of the Socialis Party, and stood to be

governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

of Salta Province in 1958. A supporter of

Nicolás Repetto Nicolás Repetto (21 October 1871 – 29 November 1965) was an Argentine physician and leader of the Socialist Party of Argentina. Biography Nicolás Repetto was born in Buenos Aires in 1871 and enrolled at the prestigious Colegio Nacional de Bue ...

and

Alfredo Palacios Alfredo Lorenzo Palacios (August 10, 1880 – April 20, 1965) was an Argentine socialist politician. Palacios was born in Buenos Aires, and studied law at University of Buenos Aires, after graduation he became a lawyer and taught at the univer ...

, he later became part of the faction of Carlos Sánchez Viamonte. After splits in the Socialist Party, however, he dedicated himself to civic and academic life.''

La Nación ''La Nación'' () is an Argentine daily newspaper. As the country's leading conservative newspaper, ''La Nación''s main competitor is the more liberal '' Clarín''. It is regarded as a newspaper of record for Argentina. Its motto is: "''La Na ...

''
Fayt presidirá la transición en la Corte
5 July 2003. Three of his 35 books are on the subject of Peronism.

Career in the Supreme Court

Fayt was appointed to the Supreme Court by the new democratic government of President

Raúl Alfonsín Raúl Ricardo Alfonsín (12 March 1927 – 31 March 2009) was an Argentine lawyer and statesman who served as President of Argentina from 10 December 1983 to 8 July 1989. He was the first democratically elected president after more than ...

in 1983, despite never having served as a judge. In the 1990s, when President Carlos Menem had increased the size of the Court and appointed several sympathetic Justices, Fayt was one of those who generally opposed the majority view. Fayt is the longest serving Supreme Court Justice in Argentina ever. He had previously been approached by President

Arturo Illia Arturo Umberto Illia (; 4 August 1900 – 18 January 1983) was an Argentine politician and physician, who was President of Argentina from 12 October 1963, to 28 June 1966. He was a member of the centrist Radical Civic Union. Illia reached t ...

in the 1960s to join the Supreme Court, but had turned the role down on that occasion.''

''
"Ahora, la Argentina tiene una verdadera Corte Suprema"
23 February 2008. From July 2003 he presided over the court for some months. In 2008 Konex Foundation from Argentina granted him the Diamond

Konex Award Konex Foundation Awards, or simply Konex Awards, are cultural awards from the Konex Foundation honouring Argentine cultural personalities. History and purpose Konex Awards are granted by the Konex Foundation, created in 1980 in Argentina. The pur ...

for Institutions - Community - Enterprise as the most important community personality in the last decade in his country. On 15 September 2015, Fayt submitted his resignation from the Supreme Court. The resignation took effect on 11 December 2015, the day after the end of the Presidential administration. Fayt died on 22 November 2016 at the age of 98.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Fayt, Carlos 1918 births 2016 deaths People from Salta Argentine agnostics 20th-century Argentine judges Argentine people of Lebanese descent Argentine people of Syrian descent Burials at La Recoleta Cemetery Supreme Court of Argentina justices Socialist Party (Argentina) politicians University of Buenos Aires alumni