Federico Ramón Puerta (; born 9 September 1951) 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 ...

Peronist Peronism, also known as justicialism, is an Argentine ideology and movement based on the ideas, doctrine and legacy of Juan Perón (1895–1974). It has been an influential movement in 20th- and 21st-century Argentine politics. Since 1946, Pe ...

politician who has served as a

governor 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 ...

, national senator and deputy and briefly as

President of Argentina The president of Argentina, officially known as the president of the Argentine Nation, is both head of state and head of government of Argentina. Under Constitution of Argentina, the national constitution, the president is also the Head of go ...

in 2001.

Biography

Puerta was born in Apóstoles,

Misiones Province Misiones (, ''Missions'') is one of the Provinces of Argentina, 23 provinces of Argentina, located in the northeastern corner of the country in the Mesopotamia, Argentina, Mesopotamia region. It is surrounded by Paraguay to the northwest, Brazil ...

. He attended the Universidad Católica Argentina 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 ...

and qualified as a civil engineer. However, he entered the family business of the cultivation of yerba maté, and became a successful businessman and millionaire. Puerta was elected a national deputy for Misiones in 1987. In 1991, he was elected Governor of Misiones Province, re-elected in 1995 and served until 1999. He followed the neo-liberal economic model of President

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 ...

, including privatising the provincial bank of which his own grandfather had been a founder. In 1999, he was re-elected to the

Chamber of Deputies The chamber of deputies is the lower house in many bicameral legislatures and the sole house in some unicameral legislatures. Description Historically, French Chamber of Deputies was the lower house of the French Parliament during the Bourb ...

and in 2001 he was elected to the

Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

. In November of that year, he was elected provisory president of the

Argentine Senate The Honorable Senate of the Argentine Nation () is the upper house of the National Congress of Argentina. Overview The National Senate was established by the Argentine Confederation on July 29, 1854, pursuant to Articles 46 to 54 of the 185 ...

, constitutionally third in line to the nation's presidency. Puerta served as the acting head of the executive branch of the country for two days on 21–22 December 2001. He came to that position in his capacity as President Pro Tempore of the Senate and, as there was no vice president, he was next in line to the nation's highest office when President Fernando de la Rúa resigned amid

rioting A riot or mob violence is a form of civil disorder commonly characterized by a group lashing out in a violent public disturbance against authority, property, or people. Riots typically involve destruction of property, public or private. The p ...

. A week after giving up the presidency, Puerta resigned as leader of the Senate in order to avoid retaking the presidency, following a second institutional crisis. Puerta stood to be Governor of Misiones in 2003, but lost to his successor, Carlos Rovira. He retired from the Senate in 2005. He ran for governor of Misiones again in 2007, and was defeated in the October election, coming in third place with 15% of the vote.

Personal life

Puerta is unmarried and has two children.

References

External links

Sitio oficial de Ramón PuertaFormer senate profile'Quién es Ramón Puerta?'
BBC World, 2001-12-21, accessed 2006-08-13 {{DEFAULTSORT:Puerta, Ramon 1951 births Living people People from Apóstoles Argentine people of Spanish descent Pontifical Catholic University of Argentina alumni Argentine businesspeople Members of the Argentine Senate for Misiones Justicialist Party politicians Governors of Misiones Province Members of the Argentine Chamber of Deputies elected in Misiones Provisional presidents of the Argentine Senate Acting presidents of Argentina Knights Grand Cross of the Order of Isabella the Catholic Argentine deputies 2009–2011 Argentine deputies 2013–2015 Argentine deputies 2011–2013