Jorge Omar Sobisch (born January 16, 1943) is 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 ...
peronist
Peronism, also called justicialism,. The Justicialist Party is the main Peronist party in Argentina, it derives its name from the concept of social justice., name=, group= is an Argentine political movement based on the ideas and legacy of Ar ...
centre-right
Centre-right politics lean to the Right-wing politics, right of the Left–right politics, political spectrum, but are closer to the Centrism, centre. From the 1780s to the 1880s, there was a shift in the Western world of social class structure a ...
politician, formerly governor of
Neuquén Province
Neuquén () is a province of Argentina, located in the west of the country, at the northern end of Patagonia. It borders Mendoza Province to the north, Rio Negro Province to the southeast, and Chile to the west. It also meets La Pampa Province a ...
. He led the
Neuquén People's Movement
The Neuquén People's Movement ( es, Movimiento Popular Neuquino, MPN) is a Peronist provincial political party in Neuquén, Argentina.
The party was founded by, amongst others, Carlos Sobisch, Elías Sapag, Felipe Sapag and his brothers, Peron ...
and was candidate for
President of Argentina
The president of Argentina ( es, Presidente de Argentina), officially known as the president of the Argentine Nation ( es, Presidente de la Nación Argentina), is both head of state and head of government of Argentina. Under Constitution of Ar ...
in
2007
File:2007 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Steve Jobs unveils Apple's first iPhone; TAM Airlines Flight 3054 overruns a runway and crashes into a gas station, killing almost 200 people; Former Pakistani Prime Minister of Pakistan, Pr ...
.
Biography
Sobisch 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 ...
and moved to
Neuquén
Neuquén (; arn, Nehuenken) is the capital city of the Argentine province of Neuquén and of the Confluencia Department, located in the east of the province. It occupies a strip of land west of the confluence of the Limay and Neuquén rivers w ...
as a young boy with the military family of his father,
Carlos Sobisch
Carlos may refer to:
Places
;Canada
* Carlos, Alberta, a locality
;United States
* Carlos, Indiana, an unincorporated community
* Carlos, Maryland, a place in Allegany County
* Carlos, Minnesota, a small city
* Carlos, West Virginia
;Elsewher ...
. He studied in Neuquén and Buenos Aires, then moved to
Trelew
Trelew (, from cy, tref "town" and the name of the founder, Lewis Jones) is a city in the eastern part of the Chubut Province of Argentina. Located in Patagonia, the city is the largest and most populous in the low valley of the Chubut River, wi ...
,
Chubut as a young man to work in a friend's design company. He became a graphics operator and
typesetter
Typesetting is the composition of text by means of arranging physical ''type'' (or ''sort'') in mechanical systems or ''glyphs'' in digital systems representing ''characters'' (letters and other symbols).Dictionary.com Unabridged. Random Ho ...
, later establishing his own company. He completed his military service in
Sarmiento, Chubut
Sarmiento is a town in the province of Chubut, Argentina. It has about 8,000 inhabitants as per the , and is the head town of the department of the same name. It is located on the so-called Central Corridor of Patagonia, in a fertile valley amidst ...
.
Sobisch assisted his
Peronist
Peronism, also called justicialism,. The Justicialist Party is the main Peronist party in Argentina, it derives its name from the concept of social justice., name=, group= is an Argentine political movement based on the ideas and legacy of Ar ...
father in founding the
Neuquén People's Movement
The Neuquén People's Movement ( es, Movimiento Popular Neuquino, MPN) is a Peronist provincial political party in Neuquén, Argentina.
The party was founded by, amongst others, Carlos Sobisch, Elías Sapag, Felipe Sapag and his brothers, Peron ...
in 1961, following him into politics. The party won the Neuquén city elections in 1983 after the return of democracy and Sobisch became mayor, taking took a leading role in renewing the party. He also led the
Club Atlético Independiente
Club Atlético Independiente () is an Argentina, Argentine professional sports club, which has its headquarters and stadium in the city of Avellaneda in Greater Buenos Aires. The club is best known for its Association football, football team, wh ...
football club
A football team is a group of players selected to play together in the various team sports known as football. Such teams could be selected to play in a match against an opposing team, to represent a football club, group, state or nation, an all- ...
from 1971.
Sobisch was elected governor of the province in 1991, serving until 1995. He took over the leadership of the party in 1997. He won again as governor in 1999 and 2003, with 57% of the vote, his term expiring in 2007 when he stepped down.
Sobisch led the founding of the Movement of the United Provinces, a new, conservative party, and was the movement's candidate for the Presidency in 2007. He had previously formed a centre-right alliance with
Mauricio Macri
Mauricio Macri (; born 8 February 1959) is an Argentine businessman and politician who served as the President of Argentina from 2015 to 2019. He has been the leader of the Republican Proposal (PRO) party since its founding in 2005. He previou ...
, although it did not survive Macri's alliance with
Ricardo López Murphy
Ricardo Hipólito López Murphy (born 10 August 1951) is an Argentine economist, academic and politician. He served as Minister of Defense and Minister of Economy during the presidency of Fernando de la Rúa. His time at the helm of the econom ...
(who is not on good terms with Sobisch); López Murphy was a conservative presidential candidate in both 2003 and 2007.
![Remerafuentealba](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a5/Remerafuentealba.JPG)
Sobisch is also seen as an ally of former
Justicialist Party
The Justicialist Party ( es, Partido Justicialista, ; abbr. PJ) is a major political party in Argentina, and the largest branch within Peronism.
Current president Alberto Fernández belongs to the Justicialist Party (and has, since 2021, served ...
President
Carlos Menem
Carlos Saúl Menem (2 July 1930 – 14 February 2021) was an Argentine lawyer and politician who served as the President of Argentina from 1989 to 1999. Ideologically, he identified as a Peronist and supported economically liberal policies. H ...
and had hoped to become the candidate of those Peronists opposed to President
Néstor Kirchner
Néstor Carlos Kirchner (; 25 February 195027 October 2010) was an Argentine lawyer and politician who served as the President of Argentina from 2003 to 2007, Governor of Santa Cruz Province from 1991 to 2003, Secretary General of UNASUR and ...
. Following a scandal in his home province, concerning the April 7 death of local teachers' union member
Carlos Fuentealba
Carlos may refer to:
Places
;Canada
* Carlos, Alberta, a locality
;United States
* Carlos, Indiana, an unincorporated community
* Carlos, Maryland, a place in Allegany County
* Carlos, Minnesota, a small city
* Carlos, West Virginia
;Elsewhere ...
(who was reportedly fired upon by provincial police during a protest despite being unarmed), Sobisch was largely shunned by disgruntled Peronists who mainly backed
Alberto Rodríguez Saá
Alberto José Rodriguez Saá (born August 21, 1949) is an Argentine lawyer and politician. He is the Governor of San Luis Province. He was presidential candidate for the center-right peronism, Federal Peronism, in 2007 and 2011.
The Rodrigue ...
. Sobisch was, however, backed by crime victims' rights activist
Juan Carlos Blumberg
Juan Carlos Blumberg (born in 1945) is an Argentine textile entrepreneur and victims' rights advocate who rose to prominence following the 2004 murder of his son, Axel Blumberg.
Early life and tragedy
Blumberg was born in Avellaneda, Buenos ...
.
In 2007, Sobisch and his running mate,
Jorge Asís
Jorge Cayetano Zaín Asís (3 March 1946, Avellaneda) is an Argentine writer, journalist and politician. His literary career took off in the 1970s, when he published a daily column in ''Clarín'', and published a number of novels that dealt with ...
, gained 284,161 votes in the
presidential elections
A presidential election is the election of any head of state whose official title is President.
Elections by country
Albania
The president of Albania is elected by the Assembly of Albania who are elected by the Albanian public.
Chile
The pr ...
, amounting to 1.56% of the national vote, in sixth place. His wife of 38 years, Liliana Planas, died on December 22, 2009, after falling from their ninth story Neuquén apartment building, in what local coroners determined to be a suicide.
''Clarín''
/ref>
External links
Sobisch 2007 official site
(Spanish)
'' Clarín'', 2001-01-30 (Spanish)
Neuquen Province
(Spanish)
Neuquino People's Movement
(Spanish)
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sobisch, Jorge
1943 births
Living people
People from Buenos Aires
Argentine people of German descent
Argentine people of Croatian descent
Argentine businesspeople
Governors of Neuquén Province
Mayors of places in Argentina
Candidates for President of Argentina
Neuquén People's Movement politicians