The Supreme Director of the United Provinces of the Río de la Plata ( es, Director Supremo de las Provincias Unidas del Río de la Plata) was a title given to the executive officers of the

United Provinces of the Río de la Plata The United Provinces of the Río de la Plata ( es, link=no, Provincias Unidas del Río de la Plata), earlier known as the United Provinces of South America ( es, link=no, Provincias Unidas de Sudamérica), was a name adopted in 1816 by the Cong ...

according to the form of government established in 1814 by the ' (Assembly of Year XIII). The supreme director was to wield power for a term of two years. The assembly hoped to confront the

royalist A royalist supports a particular monarch as head of state for a particular kingdom, or of a particular dynastic claim. In the abstract, this position is royalism. It is distinct from monarchism, which advocates a monarchical system of governme ...

s, who had been emboldened by internal dissension within the patriotic faction. To prevent abuses of power, the directorship would be combined with a state council of nine members and would be required to answer to a congress empowered to carry out legislation. After the resignation of

José Rondeau José Casimiro Rondeau Pereyra (March 4, 1773 – November 18, 1844) was a general and politician in Argentina and Uruguay in the early 19th century. Life and Politics He was born in Buenos Aires but soon after his birth, the family moved t ...

following the unitarian defeat at the Battle of Cepeda, the office of Supreme Director was briefly assumed by Juan Pedro Aguirre. He endorsed the

Buenos Aires Cabildo The Cabildo of Buenos Aires ( es, Cabildo de Buenos Aires) is the public building in Buenos Aires that was used as seat of the town council during the colonial era and the government house of the Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata. Today the bu ...

to name a governor for the

province of Buenos Aires Buenos Aires (), officially the Buenos Aires Province (''Provincia de Buenos Aires'' ), is the largest and most populous Argentine province. It takes its name from the city of Buenos Aires, the capital of the country, which used to be part of th ...

as the national congress dissolved itself on 16 February 1820, effectively ending the centralism in the national government and giving way to a new

federal Federal or foederal (archaic) may refer to: Politics General *Federal monarchy, a federation of monarchies *Federation, or ''Federal state'' (federal system), a type of government characterized by both a central (federal) government and states or ...

reorganization for the country, which was immediately formalized by the

Treaty of Pilar The Treaty of Pilar (in Spanish, ''Tratado del Pilar'') was a pact signed among the rulers of the Argentine provinces of Santa Fe, Entre Ríos and Buenos Aires, which is recognized as the foundation of the federal organization of the country. I ...

on 23 February 1820. For the traditional liberal historiography, exemplified by

Bartolomé Mitre Bartolomé Mitre Martínez (26 June 1821 – 19 January 1906) was an Argentine statesman, soldier and author. He was President of Argentina from 1862 to 1868 and the first president of unified Argentina. Mitre is known as the most versatile ...

's works, the aftermath of the dissolution of the centralist government led to the ' (Anarchy of the 1820s). Until 1826 there would not be any central authority among the

provinces of Argentina Argentina is subdivided into twenty-three federated states called provinces ( es, provincias, singular ''provincia'') and one called the autonomous city (''ciudad autónoma'') of Buenos Aires, which is the federal capital of the republic ( es ...

List of Supreme Directors

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Supreme Director of the United Provinces of the Rio de la Plata Heads of state of former countries Argentine War of Independence 1814 establishments in South America 1820 disestablishments in South America

List of Supreme Directors

See also

References