Air Commodore Air commodore (Air Cdre or Air Cmde) is an air officer rank used by some air forces, with origins from the Royal Air Force. The rank is also used by the air forces of many countries which have historical British influence and it is sometimes ...

Juan Jose Guiraldes (January 17, 1917 – September 18, 2003) was an Argentine writer, pilot, news reporter, thinker and airline company president. He was, for a short period during the 1950's, the president of Argentina's flag airline carrier,

Aerolíneas Argentinas Aerolíneas Argentinas, formally ''Aerolíneas Argentinas S.A.'', is the state-owned flag carrier of Argentina and the country's largest airline. The airline was created in 1949, from the merger of Aeroposta Argentina (AA), Aviación del Lito ...

Biography

Güiraldes was the grandson of Manuel Güiraldes, who was once

mayor of Buenos Aires This is a list of mayors and chiefs of government of the city of Buenos Aires, Argentina's capital, since its federalization. Its first Mayor (, Intendant) was Torcuato de Alvear, who was appointed by President Julio Argentino Roca followin ...

, and of Dolores Goñi, and the son of José Antonio Güiraldes Goñi and Elsa Videla Dorma Duportal. He was born in

Buenos Aires Buenos Aires, controlled by the government of the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires, is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Argentina. It is located on the southwest of the Río de la Plata. Buenos Aires is classified as an Alpha− glob ...

but is mostly connected by historians to the

San Antonio de Areco San Antonio de Areco is a city in northern Buenos Aires Province, Argentina, and administrative seat of the Partidos of Buenos Aires, partido of San Antonio de Areco Partido, San Antonio de Areco. It is located on the Areco River away from Bueno ...

area. His uncle was the famed writer, Ricardo Güiraldes. In 1936, Güiraldes graduated from Argentina's military college at age 19. At the age of 22, in 1939, he was one of the founding members of Argentine airline company, Lineas Aereas Del Estado (LADE). Gŭiraldes later graduated from one of the

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the Air force, air and space force of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. It was formed towards the end of the World War I, First World War on 1 April 1918, on the merger of t ...

colleges in Great Britain. Gūiraldes married Ernestina Holmberg Lanusse. Gūiraldes was also the president of the Confederacion Gaucha, a group which organized honoring ceremonies to visiting heads of state in Argentina. In that position, he was able to meet such dignitaries as the then

Prince Charles Charles III (Charles Philip Arthur George; born 14 November 1948) is King of the United Kingdom and the 14 other Commonwealth realms. Charles was born at Buckingham Palace during the reign of his maternal grandfather, King George VI, and ...

of the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

Aerolíneas Argentinas

Late during the 1950s, Gũiraldes became the president 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 ...

's flag carrier; Aerolíneas Argentinas. He was a busy president when with the airline, seeking to improve the then young air company's economical situation. However, he only lasted a bit over one year at this position. Despite Aerolíneas Argentinas' position as the

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a considerably smaller portion in the Northern Hemisphere. It can also be described as the southern Subregion#Americas, subregion o ...

n country's flag carrier, it competed for routes during Gūiraldes' tenure with private companies, most notably one led by brigadier Juan Fabri. Notably, as president of Aerolíneas Argentinas, Gūiraldes was able to convince the then Argentine president,

Arturo Frondizi Arturo Frondizi Ércoli (Paso de los Libres, October 28, 1908 – Buenos Aires, April 18, 1995) was an Argentine lawyer, journalist, teacher, statesman, and politician. He was elected president of Argentina and governed from May ...

, to buy six Comet jet airplanes for the airline.

Book

Once retired both as an airline businessman and Air Force pilot, Gūirales published one book, named "Los Gauchos".

Honors

The city of San Antonio de Areco decided, soon after Gūiraldes' death in 2003, to honor him by naming a local park after him.

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gūiraldes, Juan José 1917 births 2003 deaths Argentine aviators 20th-century Argentine businesspeople Argentine writers Argentine Air Force officers Aerolíneas Argentinas

Biography

Aerolíneas Argentinas

Book

Honors

See also

External links