Pablo Federico Verani (7 February 1938 – 25 September 2013) 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, formerly of the

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 ...

(UCR), from

Río Negro Province Río Negro (, ''Black River'') is a province of Argentina, located in northern Patagonia. Neighboring provinces are from the south clockwise Chubut, Neuquén, Mendoza, La Pampa and Buenos Aires. To the east lies the Atlantic Ocean. Its capit ...

Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...

Early life and education

Verani was born in the

Province of Reggio Emilia The Province of Reggio Emilia ( it, Provincia di Reggio nell'Emilia, Emilian: ''pruvînsa ed Rèz'') is one of the nine provinces of the Italian Region of Emilia-Romagna. The capital city, which is the most densely populated comune in the provin ...

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 ...

, in 1938 to a well-to-do farming family, and his father was prominent in provincial politics. The elder Verani was separated from his family, however, when he joined the

Italian resistance The Italian resistance movement (the ''Resistenza italiana'' and ''la Resistenza'') is an umbrella term for the Italian resistance groups who fought the occupying forces of Nazi Germany and the fascist collaborationists of the Italian Socia ...

, and they were not reunited until after the Allied liberation of the region. The family left Italy in 1947, and settled in

Allen, Río Negro Allen is a city in the province of Río Negro, Argentina. It has 26,083 inhabitants as per the . It is located on the left-hand (northern) side of the Alto Valle of the Río Negro, near its beginning in the confluence of the Neuquén and Limay ri ...

, then a largely agrarian community in the Argentine

Patagonia Patagonia () refers to a geographical region that encompasses the southern end of South America, governed by Argentina and Chile. The region comprises the southern section of the Andes Mountains with lakes, fjords, temperate rainforests, and gl ...

region.''Fruticultura Sur'': Corazón de chacarero
The Veranis prospered, and Pablo Verani completed his studies 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 ...

, earning a

law degree A law degree is an academic degree conferred for studies in law. Such degrees are generally preparation for legal careers. But while their curricula may be reviewed by legal authority, they do not confer a license themselves. A legal license is gra ...

at 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 ...

in 1964. He returned to Río Negro and inherited his share in the family

orchard An orchard is an intentional plantation of trees or shrubs that is maintained for food production. Orchards comprise fruit- or nut-producing trees which are generally grown for commercial production. Orchards are also sometimes a feature of larg ...

s, later purchasing the

Deportivo Roca The Club Social y Deportivo General Roca is an Argentine sports club, based on General Roca, in the Río Negro Province. The club, founded on September 1, 1974, is mostly known for its football and basketball teams. The football team currently ...

football team 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-st ...

(a 4th level team). This latter venture proved a bad investment, however, and he returned to farming.

Political career

His tenure at owner of the football club made him well known in the province, and he was elected Mayor of

General Roca A general officer is an officer of high rank in the armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry. In some usages the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colonel."general, adj. and n.". OED O ...

, the province's largest city, in 1983. He joined

Horacio Massaccesi Horacio Massaccesi (born September 12, 1948) is an Argentine politician and former Governor of Río Negro Province. Life and times Early career Massaccesi was born in 1948 to an Italian Argentine family in Villa Regina, then a largely agricult ...

as running mate on the UCR gubernatorial ticket in 1987, and served in the post until 1991, when he was elected to the Provincial Legislature. Following a term as UCR caucus leader, he was elected Governor of Río Negro in 1995 and was re-elected in 1999. His tenure was marked by significant investments in roads,

irrigation Irrigation (also referred to as watering) is the practice of applying controlled amounts of water to land to help grow Crop, crops, Landscape plant, landscape plants, and Lawn, lawns. Irrigation has been a key aspect of agriculture for over 5,00 ...

works,

rural electrification Rural electrification is the process of bringing electrical power to rural and remote areas. Rural communities are suffering from colossal market failures as the national grids fall short of their demand for electricity. As of 2017, over 1 billion ...

, as well as higher subsidies for

apple An apple is an edible fruit produced by an apple tree (''Malus domestica''). Apple fruit tree, trees are agriculture, cultivated worldwide and are the most widely grown species in the genus ''Malus''. The tree originated in Central Asia, wh ...

and

pear Pears are fruits produced and consumed around the world, growing on a tree and harvested in the Northern Hemisphere in late summer into October. The pear tree and shrub are a species of genus ''Pyrus'' , in the family Rosaceae, bearing the p ...

exporters. After stepping down in 2003, Verani then served as provincial minister for planning and development.Senate profile
Verani was elected President of the provincial chapter of the UCR. Like his successor as governor,

Miguel Saiz Miguel Saiz (May 17, 1949 – October 22, 2019) was an Argentine politician latterly of the Radical Civic Union (UCR), who served as governor of Río Negro Province from 2003 until 2011. Born in Montevideo, Uruguay, Saiz studied at the National ...

, Verani is a leading figure in the ranks of those Radicals who support the ruling

Front for Victory The Front for Victory ( es, Frente para la Victoria, 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 we ...

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: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...

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 politician who has served as the Vice President of Argentina since 2019. She also served as the President ...

and

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 ...

, the so-called ''Radicales K''. Following a struggle to wrest control of the provincial party, Verani and Saiz were expelled from the UCR in December 2007. Verani was elected as the third-seat Senator for his province, on the Alliance Consensus for Development ticket. He represented

in the

Argentine Senate The Honorable Senate of the Argentine Nation ( es, Honorable Senado de la Nación Argentina) is the upper house of the National Congress of Argentina. Overview The National Senate was established by the Argentine Confederation on July 29, 185 ...

on the

Plural Consensus Plural Consensus ( es, Concertación Plural) was a center-left Kirchnerist electoral alliance in Argentina acting as a political bloc in the Argentine Senate and elsewhere. The coalition is largely made up of members of the Radical Civic Union, a ...

caucus, which supports the Front for Victory, and chaired the Committee on Science and Technology. Verani announced his support for his erstwhile Vice-Governor, Bautista Mendioroz, to run against Governor Saiz in the UCR primaries ahead the 2011 gubernatorial race.''Política/24'': Verani apoyará a Mendioroz como candidato a gobernador
Pablo Verani died on 25 September 2013.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Verani, Pablo 1938 births 2013 deaths People from the Province of Reggio Emilia Argentine people of Italian descent University of Buenos Aires alumni 20th-century Argentine lawyers Mayors of General Roca, Río Negro Governors of Río Negro Province Vice Governors of Río Negro Province Radical Civic Union politicians Members of the Argentine Senate for Río Negro Members of the Legislature of Río Negro