Leopoldo Bravo (March 15, 1919 – August 4, 2006) 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 ...

politician and diplomat. A

Senator A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

and

Ambassador An ambassador is an official envoy, especially a high-ranking diplomat who represents a state and is usually accredited to another sovereign state or to an international organization as the resident representative of their own government or sov ...

to the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...

, he was a three-time governor of San Juan Province, where he came to be regarded as a ''

caudillo A ''caudillo'' ( , ; osp, cabdillo, from Latin , diminutive of ''caput'' "head") is a type of personalist leader wielding military and political power. There is no precise definition of ''caudillo'', which is often used interchangeably with " ...

'' (kingmaker).

Career

Bravo was born in San Juan, the illegitimate son of Governor

Federico Cantoni Federico (; ) is a given name and surname. It is a form of Frederick, most commonly found in Spanish, Portuguese and Italian. People with the given name Federico Artists * Federico Ágreda, Venezuelan composer and DJ. * Federico Aguilar Alcuaz ...

, and Enoe Bravo. In an era in which men of higher social status could often opt not to do so, Cantoni acknowledged the child as his own, though young Leopoldo opted to keep his mother's last name when he came of age. Bravo graduated from the

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 ...

with a law degree in 1942. At a young age Bravo joined the leadership of the '' Partido Bloquista'', a provincial party which split from the ruling

Radical Civic Union The Radical Civic Union ( es, Unión Cívica Radical, UCR) is a centrist and social-liberal political party in Argentina. It has been ideologically heterogeneous, ranging from social liberalism to social democracy. The UCR is a member of the So ...

during the 1916-22 tenure of President

Hipólito Yrigoyen Juan Hipólito del Sagrado Corazón de Jesús Yrigoyen (; 12 July 1852 – 3 July 1933) was an Argentine politician of the Radical Civic Union and two-time President of Argentina, who served his first term from 1916 to 1922 and his second ...

. He was appointed

chargé d'affaires A ''chargé d'affaires'' (), plural ''chargés d'affaires'', often shortened to ''chargé'' (French) and sometimes in colloquial English to ''charge-D'', is a diplomat who serves as an embassy's chief of mission in the absence of the ambassador ...

at the Argentine Embassy in

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...

, in 1946, and in 1953 he was appointed as Ambassador to the

by President

Juan Perón Juan Domingo Perón (, , ; 8 October 1895 – 1 July 1974) was an Argentine Army general and politician. After serving in several government positions, including Minister of Labour and Vice President of a military dictatorship, he was elected P ...

, succeeding Cantoni, his father. He was one of the few ambassadors to have had an interview with

Joseph Stalin Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin (born Ioseb Besarionis dze Jughashvili; – 5 March 1953) was a Georgian revolutionary and Soviet political leader who led the Soviet Union from 1924 until his death in 1953. He held power as General Secreta ...

, as well as the last. He was elected Governor of San Juan with

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 ...

support in 1962, but President

Arturo Frondizi Arturo Frondizi Ércoli (October 28, 1908 – April 18, 1995) was an Argentines, Argentine lawyer, journalist, teacher and politician, who was elected President of Argentina and ruled between May 1, 1958 and March 29, 1962, when he was over ...

was forced to annul the

elections An election is a formal group decision-making process by which a population chooses an individual or multiple individuals to hold public office. Elections have been the usual mechanism by which modern representative democracy has operate ...

due to military and conservative objections to Peronism; he ran again in 1963, and took office, serving until 1966. A pragmatic and experienced politician, Bravo advised civilian and military governments, and he maintained ties with the exiled Perón, though was opposed to most of the CGT labor union and Peronist movement leadership. Bravo was a vice-presidential candidate on the ticket led by Brig. Gen. Ezequiel Martínez, backed by then-President

Alejandro Lanusse Alejandro is the Spanish form of the name Alexander. Alejandro has multiple variations in different languages, including Aleksander (Czech, Polish), Alexandre ( French), Alexandros (Greek), Alsander (Irish), Alessandro (Italian), Aleksandr (Rus ...

, in the March 1973 elections. Although they lost that election, Bravo was elected to the Senate for the first time that year. The Senate was dissolved in 1976 by a military coup. During the military government following the 1976 coup, Bravo was reappointed Ambassador to the Soviet Union and

Mongolia Mongolia; Mongolian script: , , ; lit. "Mongol Nation" or "State of Mongolia" () is a landlocked country in East Asia, bordered by Russia to the north and China to the south. It covers an area of , with a population of just 3.3 million, ...

, serving until 1981, and, briefly, Ambassador to

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

. He was appointed governor of San Juan in 1982. In 1983 his brother, Federico Bravo, succeeded him as ambassador in Moscow. When democracy returned in 1983, Leopoldo was again elected governor; but a poor showing in the 1985 legislative elections led him to resign halfway through the term. Bravo was elected senator for his province in 1989. He allied himself with 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 his vote was decisive in the Senate approval of the 1993

Olivos Pact The Olivos Pact ( es, Pacto de Olivos) refers to a series of documents signed on November 17, 1993, between the governing President of Argentina, Carlos Menem, and former President and leader of the opposition UCR, Raúl Alfonsín, that formed the ...

that allowed the President to stand for a second term. After his retirement as leader, Bravo became honorary president of the ''Partido Bloquista'', which went on to participate in the ruling Alliance of

Fernando de la Rúa Fernando de la Rúa (15 September 19379 July 2019) was an Argentine politician and a member of the Radical Civic Union (UCR) political party who served as President of Argentina from 10 December 1999 to 21 December 2001. De la Rúa was born in ...

and take over the government of San Juan once again after the impeachment of the incumbent. Bravo stepped down from the Senate in 2001. In his final years, he suffered from

Alzheimer's Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative disease that usually starts slowly and progressively worsens. It is the cause of 60–70% of cases of dementia. The most common early symptom is difficulty in remembering recent events. As t ...

, and had withdrawn from public life. He died of an intestinal

haemorrhage Bleeding, hemorrhage, haemorrhage or blood loss, is blood escaping from the circulatory system from damaged blood vessels. Bleeding can occur internally, or externally either through a natural opening such as the mouth, nose, ear, urethra, vagi ...

and

cardiac arrest Cardiac arrest is when the heart suddenly and unexpectedly stops beating. It is a medical emergency that, without immediate medical intervention, will result in sudden cardiac death within minutes. Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and possib ...

. Five hundred people attended his funeral, although his wife could not be present. He and his wife Ivelise Falcioni had six children. One of Bravo's sons, Leopoldo Alfredo Bravo, a former deputy, was appointed Ambassador to

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...

a week before his father's death, following in the footsteps of his father, uncle and grandfather.

References

El bloquismo de San Juan vuelve a poner un embajador en Rusia
'' Clarín''
Falleció el ex gobernador de San Juan Leopoldo Bravo
''Clarín''
"Con mucho gusto" (profile)
''Diario El Cuyo''

''Clarín''

External links

*
Account of interview with Stalin
''Urgente 24''
Photos of the life of Leopoldo Bravo
''Diario El Cuyo''
Memoria: entrevista con Stalin
''La Nacion'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Bravo, Leopoldo 1919 births 2006 deaths People from San Juan, Argentina National University of La Plata alumni 20th-century Argentine lawyers Argentine diplomats Members of the Argentine Senate for San Juan Governors of San Juan Province, Argentina Ambassadors of Argentina to the Soviet Union Ambassadors of Argentina to Italy Ambassadors of Argentina to Mongolia