Daniel Fernando Filmus (; born June 3, 1955) 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 ...

politician A politician is a person who participates in Public policy, policy-making processes, usually holding an elective position in government. Politicians represent the people, make decisions, and influence the formulation of public policy. The roles ...

and academic, who served as the country's Minister of Science, Technology and Innovation, from 2021 to 2023. Filmus formerly served as a National Senator for the

City of 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 ...

from 2007 to 2013, and as Minister of Education, Science and Technology in the government of

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...

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 ...

. From 2014 to 2015, and later from 2019 to 2021, he was Secretary of Affairs pertaining to the Malvinas (Falkland Islands).

Early life and career

Born in

La Paternal La Paternal or Paternal () is a ''Barrios of Buenos Aires, neighborhood'' or district in the centre of Buenos Aires city, Argentina. It was founded in 1904 by a city decree (''decreto'') and was named 'La Paternal' after the San Martín Line (Buen ...

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 ...

, to María Cecilia Cwik and Salomón Filmus, his mother was an

English language English is a West Germanic language that developed in early medieval England and has since become a English as a lingua franca, global lingua franca. The namesake of the language is the Angles (tribe), Angles, one of the Germanic peoples th ...

teacher of Polish descent, and his father a

Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

immigrant from

Bessarabia Bessarabia () is a historical region in Eastern Europe, bounded by the Dniester river on the east and the Prut river on the west. About two thirds of Bessarabia lies within modern-day Moldova, with the Budjak region covering the southern coa ...

(now

Moldova Moldova, officially the Republic of Moldova, is a Landlocked country, landlocked country in Eastern Europe, with an area of and population of 2.42 million. Moldova is bordered by Romania to the west and Ukraine to the north, east, and south. ...

) who arrived in Argentina in 1928 and became a shopkeeper. Daniel Filmus was briefly involved in the

Communist Communism () is a sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology within the socialist movement, whose goal is the creation of a communist society, a socioeconomic order centered on common ownership of the means of production, di ...

youth wing as a teenager, and enrolled at 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 ...

(UBA). He became involved in

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 ...

politics as a student union activist, and helped establish an office of the Permanent Assembly for Human Rights at UBA. He studied

psychology Psychology is the scientific study of mind and behavior. Its subject matter includes the behavior of humans and nonhumans, both consciousness, conscious and Unconscious mind, unconscious phenomena, and mental processes such as thoughts, feel ...

and

sociology Sociology is the scientific study of human society that focuses on society, human social behavior, patterns of Interpersonal ties, social relationships, social interaction, and aspects of culture associated with everyday life. The term sociol ...

at the university, and earned a degree in the latter in 1977. Filmus became a

secondary school A secondary school, high school, or senior school, is an institution that provides secondary education. Some secondary schools provide both ''lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper secondary education'' (ages 14 to 18), i.e., b ...

teacher, working in Entre Ríos and

Chaco Province Chaco (; Wichi languages, Wichi: ''To-kós-wet''), officially the Province of Chaco ( ) is one of the 23 provinces of Argentina, provinces of Argentina. Its capital and largest city is Resistencia, Chaco, Resistencia. It is located in the north- ...

s. He earned a specialization in

adult education Adult education, distinct from child education, is a practice in which adults engage in systematic and sustained educating activities in order to gain new knowledge, skills, attitudes, or values. Merriam, Sharan B. & Brockett, Ralph G. ''The Pr ...

at CREFAL, a literacy promotion program in

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

, and a master's degree in education at the Fluminense Federal University in

Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro, or simply Rio, is the capital of the Rio de Janeiro (state), state of Rio de Janeiro. It is the List of cities in Brazil by population, second-most-populous city in Brazil (after São Paulo) and the Largest cities in the America ...

in 1989. Filmus never married. He had a daughter in 1992 during his first long-term relationship, and another daughter in 2002 with his second partner, Marisa Factorovich, a psychoanalyst. Filmus became a professor of sociology at UBA in 1985 and served as president of the UBA Sociology Alumni Association, writing several books on the subject. He served in the Citizen Power Council of Buenos Aires and as staff researcher in the Latin American School of Social Studies (FLACSO), whose Argentine chapter he headed between 1992 and 2000.

Political career

Filmus was appointed secretary of education of the City of Buenos Aires by Mayor

Aníbal Ibarra Aníbal Ibarra (born March 1, 1958) is an Argentine lawyer and politician who served as mayor of Buenos Aires. Biography Ibarra was born in Lomas de Zamora, a district located in the southern region of Greater Buenos Aires. His father was a P ...

, who asked him to become his running mate for his successful 2003 bid for reelection. Newly inaugurated president

appointed Filmus Minister of Education before the mayoral race began, however. Filmus also served as staff researcher at the National Research Council from 1997, and as president of the

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO ) is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) with the aim of promoting world peace and International secur ...

Debt-for-Education task force from 2006. Filmus ran for mayor of Buenos Aires on the Kirchnerist Front for Victory ticket in

2007 2007 was designated as the International Heliophysical Year and the International Polar Year. Events January * January 1 **Bulgaria and Romania 2007 enlargement of the European Union, join the European Union, while Slovenia joins the Eur ...

. He came in second in the first round, and was defeated by

Republican Proposal Republican Proposal (), usually referred to by its abbreviation PRO, is a political party in Argentina. PRO was formed as an electoral alliance in 2005, but was transformed into a national party in 2010. It is the major component of the Juntos ...

candidate

Mauricio Macri Mauricio Macri (; born 8 February 1959) is an Argentine businessman and politician who served as President of Argentina from 2015 to 2019. He has been the leader of the Republican Proposal (PRO) party since its founding in 2005. He previously ...

by nearly 22% in the runoff. He was, however, elected

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

for Buenos Aires and took office in December 2007; he was named president of the Committee on the Environment and

Sustainable Development Sustainable development is an approach to growth and Human development (economics), human development that aims to meet the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.United Nations General ...

. He again ran as the Front for Victory candidate mayor of Buenos Aires in

2011 The year marked the start of a Arab Spring, series of protests and revolutions throughout the Arab world advocating for democracy, reform, and economic recovery, later leading to the depositions of world leaders in Tunisia, Egypt, and Yemen ...

, naming his rival in the primaries, Labor Minister Carlos Tomada, as his

running mate A running mate is a person running together with another person on a joint ticket during an election. The term is most often used in reference to the person in the subordinate position (such as the vice presidential candidate running with a pre ...

. The results were largely a replay of the 2007 election, however, with a second place showing in the first round and Macri's eventual reelection in the runoff by a margin of over 28%. In 2021, he was appointed as Minister of Science, Technology and Innovation in replacement of Roberto Salvarezza, as part of a cabinet reshuffle following the government's poor showings in the 2021 legislative primary elections.

References

External links

Daniel Filmus y Adriana Puiggrós: ¿A dónde va la educación?
Interview, '' Clarín'', 19 February 2006
Senate profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Filmus, Daniel 1955 births Living people Politicians from Buenos Aires Jewish Argentine politicians University of Buenos Aires alumni Alberto Fernández administration cabinet members Academic staff of the University of Buenos Aires Argentine educators Argentine sociologists Argentine people of Polish-Jewish descent Argentine people of Moldovan-Jewish descent UNESCO officials Argentine ministers of education Members of the Argentine Senate for Buenos Aires Members of the Argentine Chamber of Deputies elected in Buenos Aires Argentine deputies 2017–2019 Justicialist Party politicians 20th-century Argentine educators Argentine officials of the United Nations Kirchner administration cabinet members