Rodolfo Terragno (born 16 November 1943) is an Argentine politician and lawyer, former

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 journalist. From 2016 to 2019, he was Argentina's ambassador to

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...

Life and times

Terragno 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 ...

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 ...

, in 1943 and obtained a law degree from 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 1967, founding the law firm of Terragno & Associates. He married Sonia Pascual Sánchez, with whom he had two children. He became a prestigious journalist, appointed editor-in-chief for the

newsmagazine A news magazine is a typed, printed, and published magazine, radio or television program, usually published weekly, consisting of articles about current events. News magazines generally discuss stories, in greater depth than do newspapers or new ...

''Confirmado'' between 1967 and 1968, was a columnist for ''La Opinión'' newspaper, and an editor in ''Cuestionario'' magazine. Terragno became Adjuct Professor of Law at his alma mater in 1973. Intimidation by the

dictatorship A dictatorship is a form of government which is characterized by a leader, or a group of leaders, which holds governmental powers with few to no limitations on them. The leader of a dictatorship is called a dictator. Politics in a dictatorship are ...

installed in 1976 led to his exile in

Caracas Caracas (, ), officially Santiago de León de Caracas, abbreviated as CCS, is the capital and largest city of Venezuela, and the center of the Metropolitan Region of Caracas (or Greater Caracas). Caracas is located along the Guaire River in the ...

, where he became editor-in-chief of ''

El Diario de Caracas ''El Diario de Caracas'', was one of the best known newspapers of Venezuela. The paper was founded in 1979 by a group of investors who had the concern to launch a tabloid newspaper with a critical orientation both socio-culturally and politicall ...

''. In 1980, he was appointed researcher for the

Institute of Latin American Studies The Institute of Latin American Studies (ILAS) was one of nine research institutes that comprised the School of Advanced Study at the University of London. It was located in the landmarked Senate House building in Bloomsbury, central London. F ...

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

and for the

London School of Economics , mottoeng = To understand the causes of things , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £240.8 million (2021) , budget = £391.1 millio ...

, posts he held until 1982. He remained in London as editor-in-chief of ''Letters'', until 1987.Biografia, terragno.org
/ref> Affiliated to the centrist

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 ...

since 1961, he was appointed

Minister of Public Works This list indicates government departments in various countries dedicated to public works or infrastructure. See also * Public works * Ministry or Board of Public Works, the imperial Chinese ministry overseeing public projects from the Tang ...

by 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 1987, whereby he initiated a modest program of privatizations. Terragno received the

Ordre National du Mérite The Ordre national du Mérite (; en, National Order of Merit) is a French order of merit with membership awarded by the President of the French Republic, founded on 3 December 1963 by President Charles de Gaulle. The reason for the order's esta ...

from

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

President

François Mitterrand François Marie Adrien Maurice Mitterrand (26 October 19168 January 1996) was President of France, serving under that position from 1981 to 1995, the longest time in office in the history of France. As First Secretary of the Socialist Party, he ...

, in 1987. Elected

Congressman A Member of Congress (MOC) is a person who has been appointed or elected and inducted into an official body called a congress, typically to represent a particular constituency in a legislature. The term member of parliament (MP) is an equivalen ...

in 1993, he campaigned against the

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 ...

negotiated between UCR leader

and 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 ...

, who sought the deal in a bid to amend the Argentine Constitution to allow himself reelection. He sought the UCR's Vice-Presidential nomination in a ticket with

Federico Storani Federico Storani (born 5 August 1950) is an Argentinian politician, who served as Minister of the Interior during the presidency of Fernando de la Rúa between December 1999 and March 2001. A member of Radical Civic Union, he served several times ...

, but was defeated by Alfonsín's choice:

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 ...

Governor

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 ...

. Loyal to the struggling UCR, he agreed to be Massaccesi's Chief of Staff-designate in March, a move that did not stave off defeat in the May 1995 elections. Out of Congress, he sought and won election as President of the UCR, helping negotiate a successful alliance with the center-left

Frepaso The Front for a Country in Solidarity ( or ) was a center-left political coalition in Argentina. It was formed in 1994 out of the Broad Front (''Frente Grande''), which had been founded mainly by progressive members of the Peronist Justicialist ...

. The

Alliance An alliance is a relationship among people, groups, or states that have joined together for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose, whether or not explicit agreement has been worked out among them. Members of an alliance are called ...

's victory in the 1997 midterm elections paved the way for their victory in 1999. Terragno resigned from Congress to accept the influential post of

Chief of the Cabinet of Ministers The Chief of the Cabinet of Ministers of the Argentine Nation ( es, Jefe de Gabinete de Ministros de la Nación Argentina; JGM), more commonly known simply as the Cabinet Chief ( es, Jefe de Gabinete) is a ministerial office within the governmen ...

for

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 ...

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 ...

, though fallout over a bribery scandal involving the President led to his resignation in October 2000. He was elected Senator for

in 2001 and served until 2007, by which time he sat on a splinter UCR ticket. Terragno began efforts to join Vice President

Julio Cobos Julio César Cleto Cobos (; born 30 April 1955) is an Argentine politician who was the Vice President of Argentina in the administration of President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner from 2007 to 2011. He started his political career as member of ...

(a popular UCR figure distanced from the President,

Cristina Kirchner Cristina is a female given name, and it is also a surname. Notable people with the name include: Given name *Cristina (daughter of Edward the Exile), 11th-century English princess *Cristina (singer), Cristina Monet-Palaci (1956–2020), American s ...

) in an alliance with

ARI Ari may refer to: People and fictional characters * Ari (name), a name in various languages, including a list of people and fictional characters * Rabbi Isaac Luria (1534–1572), Jewish rabbinical scholar and mystic known also as Ari * Ari (foot ...

leader

Elisa Carrió Elisa María Avelina "Lilita" Carrió (born 26 December 1956) is an Argentine lawyer, professor, and politician. She is the leader of Civic Coalition ARI, one of the founders of Cambiemos, and was National Deputy for Chaco Province and Buenos Ai ...

in January 2009, though no agreement was reached.Articulos, terragno.org
/ref>

Selected publications

*''La Simulación'' (2005) *''El Peronismo de los '70'' (2005) *''Falklands/Malvinas'' (2002) *''Maitland & San Martín'' (1998) *''Bases para un Modelo de Crecimiento, Empleo y Bienestar'' (1996) *''El Nuevo Modelo'' (1994) *''Proyecto 95'' (1993) *''La Argentina del Siglo 21'' (1985) *''The Challenge of Real Development'' (1987). *''Muerte y Resurrección de los Políticos'' (1981) *''Memorias del Presente'' (1984) *''Contratapas'' (1976) *''Los 400 Días de Perón'' (1974) *''Los Dueños del Poder'' (1972)

References

External links

Official website

Biography at the National Senate
{{DEFAULTSORT:Terragno, Rodolfo 1943 births Living people Politicians from Buenos Aires Argentine people of Italian descent Chiefs of Cabinet of Ministers of Argentina Members of the Argentine Chamber of Deputies elected in Buenos Aires Members of the Argentine Senate for Buenos Aires Permanent Delegates of Argentina to UNESCO 20th-century Argentine lawyers Argentine journalists Male journalists Radical Civic Union politicians University of Buenos Aires alumni University of Buenos Aires faculty Fellows of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences