Héctor Icazuriaga (born 9 January 1955) is the former
Secretary of Intelligence of
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 ...
who served from 2004 until 2014.
Icazuriaga was born in
Chivilcoy
Chivilcoy is a city in Buenos Aires Province, Argentina, the head town of the Chivilcoy Partido. It has 64,185 inhabitants according to the .
Tourism
February Carnivals
In the month of February, a three-day carnival is held over an extende ...
,
Buenos Aires Province
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 ...
to
Basque Argentine
Basque Argentines are Argentines, Argentine citizens of Basques, Basque descent or people from Basque residing in Argentina. Basque Argentines are one of the largest Basque diaspora groups in the world.
Basque settlement in Argentina took place ...
parents (his
Basque
Basque may refer to:
* Basques, an ethnic group of Spain and France
* Basque language, their language
Places
* Basque Country (greater region), the homeland of the Basque people with parts in both Spain and France
* Basque Country (autonomous co ...
descent inspired his nickname, ''El vasco'', though he is also known as ''Pancho'' and ''El Chango''). He enrolled at the
University of La Plata
The National University of La Plata (, UNLP) is a national public research university located in the city of La Plata, capital of Buenos Aires Province, Argentina. It has over 90,000 regular students, 10,000 teaching staff, 17 departments and 10 ...
, and earned a ''
juris doctor
A Juris Doctor, Doctor of Jurisprudence, or Doctor of Law (JD) is a graduate-entry professional degree that primarily prepares individuals to practice law. In the United States and the Philippines, it is the only qualifying law degree. Other j ...
''; he later married and had two children.
He relocated to
Santa Cruz Province, where he was elected to the Provincial Legislature on the
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 ...
ticket. Icazuriaga was elected vice president of the legislature by his peers, and upon Vice Governor
Sergio Acevedo's election to the
Argentine Chamber of Deputies
The Chamber of Deputies (), officially the Honorable Chamber of Deputies of the Argentine Nation, is the lower house of the Argentine National Congress (). It is made up of 257 national deputies who are elected in multi-member constituencies c ...
in 1999, he was nominated as 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 ...
's running mate, taking office as vice governor on 10 December.
Kirchner's own election to the presidency in April 2003 led to Icazuriaga's appointment as governor. Acevedo, who had been named President Kirchner's first
Intelligence Secretariat director, became a candidate for the post later that year, however, and upon the latter's election, Icazuriaga was named to replace him, effective 10 December 2004. He served President Néstor Kirchner, as well as his wife and successor,
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 ...
, as Director of Intelligence, becoming among the longest-serving officeholders in the post's history. Icazuriaga enjoyed a relatively good working relationship with both Presidents Kirchner, though his deputy director,
Francisco Larcher, is reportedly closer to the couple than the director himself.
''Seprin''
See also
* Francisco Larcher
*List of secretaries of intelligence of Argentina
The following is a semi complete list of secretaries of intelligence of Argentina :
Subsecretaries
See also
*Secretariat of Intelligence
Secretariat of Intelligence of the State (, mostly known by its acronym SIDE) is the premier intelli ...
External links
Santa Cruz province Chamber of Deputies
References
1955 births
Living people
People from Buenos Aires Province
Argentine people of Basque descent
National University of La Plata alumni
20th-century Argentine lawyers
Governors of Santa Cruz Province, Argentina
Vice governors of Santa Cruz Province, Argentina
Argentine secretaries of intelligence
Justicialist Party politicians
{{Argentina-politician-stub