Jorge Alberto Rodríguez (born 1944) is an

Argentine Argentines, Argentinians or Argentineans are people from Argentina. This connection may be residential, legal, historical, or cultural. For most Argentines, several (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their ...

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 ...

politician who served as

Chief of the Cabinet of Ministers The chief of the Cabinet of Ministers of the Argentine Nation (; JGM), more commonly known simply as the Cabinet chief () is a Ministries of the Argentine Republic, ministerial office within the Government of Argentina, government of Argentina t ...

and as

Minister of Education An education minister (sometimes minister of education) is a position in the governments of some countries responsible for dealing with educational matters. Where known, the government department, ministry, or agency that develops policy and deli ...

during the second presidency 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 ...

Early life

Rodríguez was born in 1944 in Coronel Hilario Lagos, a rural village in

La Pampa Province La Pampa () is a sparsely populated province of Argentina, located in the Pampas in the center of the country. Neighboring provinces are from the north clockwise San Luis, Córdoba, Buenos Aires, Río Negro, Neuquén and Mendoza. History In ...

. He became politically active in the Peronist movement as a student in the

University of Buenos Aires The University of Buenos Aires (, UBA) is a public university, public research university in Buenos Aires, Argentina. It is the second-oldest university in the country, and the largest university of the country by enrollment. Established in 1821 ...

Faculty of Agronomy and Veterinary Sciences, from which he graduated in 1971. He continued to participate in political activities until the 1976 coup d'état, later settling in the United States, where he earned a master's degree in science at the

University of Nebraska A university () is an educational institution, institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several Discipline (academia), academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly ...

Political career

From 1983 to 1987, Rodríguez served as Undersecretary of Agrarian Affairs of La Pampa Province, during the governorship of

Rubén Marín Rubén Hugo Marín (1 May 1934 – 27 January 2024) was an Argentine politician who was a Senator for La Pampa Province. He was also a governor of the province on two occasions. Marín, a lawyer by profession, was a member of the Justicialist Pa ...

. Later, from 1987 to 1989, he served as the province's Minister of Education, but resigned to run for a seat in the National Chamber of Deputies. In 1992, Rodríguez was appointed as Minister of Education and Culture of Argentina by President

, succeeding Antonio Salonia. In 1996, Menem appointed Rodríguez as

. He was the second person to serve in the post, following its creation by the 1994 constitutional amendments. Despite rumours of his intention to resign in 1997, Rodríguez remained in the position throughout the remainder of Menem's presidency, serving until December 1999. In 2004, Rodríguez testified in the trial against fellow Menem administration secretary

María Julia Alsogaray María Julia Alsogaray (October 8, 1942 – September 24, 2017) was an Argentine politician and engineer convicted in 2004 for financial crimes against the state. Biography The second of three children of socialite Edith Gay and conservative poli ...

, who stood accused of corruption. Later, in 2006, Rodríguez was formally accused of

embezzlement Embezzlement (from Anglo-Norman, from Old French ''besillier'' ("to torment, etc."), of unknown origin) is a type of financial crime, usually involving theft of money from a business or employer. It often involves a trusted individual taking ...

on his own, for having allegedly allowed the use of public money for a seminar conducted by a private company.

Personal life

Rodríguez was married to María Susana Pangallo, with whom he has two children.

References

, - {{DEFAULTSORT:Rodriguez, Jorge 1944 births Justicialist Party politicians Chiefs of Cabinet of Ministers of Argentina Living people People from La Pampa Province University of Buenos Aires alumni University of Nebraska alumni