Carlos Rafael Fernández (born 1954) is an Argentine economist and was, from April 2008 to July 2009, the Minister of the Economy of the country.

Biography

Fernández was born in

La Plata La Plata () is the capital city of Buenos Aires province, Argentina. According to the 2022 Argentina census, census, the La Plata Partido, Partido has a population of 772,618 and its metropolitan area, the Greater La Plata, has 938,287 inhabit ...

Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...

, in 1954, and was raised in nearby City Bell. Enrolling at the prestigious University of La Plata, he received a degree in economics in 1979, specializing in

public administration Public administration, or public policy and administration refers to "the management of public programs", or the "translation of politics into the reality that citizens see every day",Kettl, Donald and James Fessler. 2009. ''The Politics of the ...

. Affiliated to the populist

Justicialist Party The Justicialist Party (, ; abbr. PJ) is a major political party in Argentina, and the largest branch within Peronism. Following the 2023 presidential election, it has been the largest party in the opposition against President Javier Milei. Fo ...

, the new administration of

Carlos Menem Carlos Saúl Menem (2 July 1930 – 14 February 2021) served as the 50th president of Argentina for ten years, from 1989 to 1999. He identified as Peronism, Peronist, serving as President of the Justicialist Party for 13 years (from 1990 to 200 ...

appointed him Director of National Budget Policy for Provincial Spending. Remaining in the post during the difficult transition of numerous important federal programs to provincial budgets, Fernández was appointed Undersecretary of Budgetary Policy for the

Province of Buenos Aires Buenos Aires, officially the Buenos Aires Province, is the largest and most populous Provinces of Argentina, Argentine province. It takes its name from the city of Buenos Aires, the capital of the country, which used to be part of the province an ...

, Argentina's largest, in 1997 by Governor

Eduardo Duhalde Eduardo Alberto Duhalde (; born 5 October 1941) is an Argentina, Argentine former peronist politician who served as the interim President of Argentina from January 2002 to May 2003. He also served as Vice President of Argentina, Vice President ...

.Ecolink: Carlos Fernández
/ref> Following the May 2003 election of Governor

Néstor Kirchner Néstor Carlos Kirchner Ostoić (; 25 February 195027 October 2010) was an Argentine lawyer and politician who served as the president of Argentina from 2003 to 2007. A member of the Justicialist Party, he previously served as Governor of Sa ...

as President, Fernández was named Secretary for Provincial Relations, the President's chief liaison with the nation's

Governors A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political regions, political region, in some cases, such as governor-general, governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the ...

, remaining in the post until May 2006 to fill a vacancy in the Domestic Economy Secretariat (an important post in the Economy Ministry). Tapped as Economy Minister of the Province of Buenos Aires by Governor

Felipe Solá Felipe Solá (born 23 July 1950) is an Argentine agricultural engineer and politician. He previously served as Governor of Buenos Aires Province, from 2002 to 2007, and as Minister of Foreign Affairs and Worship under President Alberto Fernández ...

in March 2007, he was returned to the President's office as Budget Director on Cristina Kirchner's inauguration in December of that year. A conflict between the

National Customs ''National Customs'' () is a 1935 Chinese film directed by Luo Mingyou and Zhu Shilin. The film was silent film star Ruan Lingyu's last performance before she died in 1935. This film is a propaganda film promoting the New Life Movement, which ...

Administrator, Ricardo Echegaray, and the head of the National Revenue Bureau, Alberto Abad, led to the dismissal of both and to Fernández's appointment on 18 March 2008 as National Revenue chief. Following the

2008 Argentine government conflict with the agricultural sector The 2008 Argentine agrarian strike refers to the conflict between the Argentine national government and the 4 entities that represented the agriculture sector. The crisis began in March 2008 with four agricultural sector employers organizations tak ...

, touched off by a proposed increase in export taxes, the economist's non-confrontational style helped lead to his 25 April replacement of the less conciliatory

Martín Lousteau Martín Lousteau (born 8 December 1970) is an Argentine economist and politician of the Radical Civic Union (UCR). He is a Argentine Senate, National Senator for the Buenos Aires, City of Buenos Aires. Since 2023, he has been President of the UCR ...

as Minister of the Economy. The ruling

Front for Victory The Front for Victory (, 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 were elected as representatives ...

's defeat in the 28 June 2009, mid-term elections led to a cabinet reshuffle, and Fernández tendered his resignation to the President, effective July 7. He was replaced by Amado Boudou, Director of the National Social Security Administration (ANSeS).''Clarín''
. Accessed 25 September 2023.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fernandez, Carlos Rafael 1954 births Living people Ministers of economy of Argentina People from La Plata National University of La Plata alumni Argentine people of Spanish descent Justicialist Party politicians Fernández de Kirchner administration cabinet members