Ricardo Hipólito López Murphy (born 10 August 1951) is an Argentine economist, academic and politician. He served as Minister of Defense and Minister of Economy during the presidency of

Fernando de la Rúa Fernando de la Rúa (15 September 19379 July 2019) was an Argentine politician and a member of the Radical Civic Union (UCR) political party who served as President of Argentina from 10 December 1999 to 21 December 2001. De la Rúa was born in ...

. His time at the helm of the economy portfolio lasted only 15 days, as he was forced to leave office after announcing an unpopular austerity plan. Since 2021, he has been a National Deputy elected in

Buenos Aires Buenos Aires ( or ; ), officially the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires ( es, link=no, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires), is the capital and primate city of Argentina. The city is located on the western shore of the Río de la Plata, on South ...

for the

Juntos por el Cambio ( en, Together for Change) is a centre-right political coalition in Argentina. It was created in 2015 as Cambiemos ( en, Let's Change), and renamed in 2019. It is composed of Republican Proposal, Radical Civic Union, Civic Coalition ARI and ...

coalition. He was chairman of

Liberal Network for Latin America The Liberal Network for Latin America ( es, Red Liberal de América Latina), ( pt, Rede Liberal da América Latina), abbreviated to RELIAL, is a network of 42 liberal institutions from 17 Latin American countries. Members of RELIAL include poli ...

, an association of institutions to promote

liberalism Liberalism is a political and moral philosophy based on the rights of the individual, liberty, consent of the governed, political equality and equality before the law."political rationalism, hostility to autocracy, cultural distaste for c ...

. Currently, he chairs the think tank Republican Civic Foundation. Originally a member of the centrist Radical Civic Union (UCR), López Murphy describes himself ideologically as a

republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * a supporter of liberalism ** Liberalism by country * an adherent of a Liberal Party * Liberalism (international relations) * Sexually liberal feminism * Social liberalism Arts, entertainment and m ...

. Since 2020, he has chaired his own political party, United Republicans.

Early years

López Murphy was born in Adrogué, Buenos Aires Province of Basque and Irish descent. He was named Ricardo after Argentine politician

Ricardo Balbín Ricardo Balbín (29 July 1904 – 9 September 1981) was an Argentine lawyer and politician, and one of the most important figures of the centrist Radical Civic Union (UCR), for which he was the presidential nominee four times: in 1951, 1958, an ...

(who was his godfather) and Hipólito after radical president

Hipólito Yrigoyen Juan Hipólito del Sagrado Corazón de Jesús Yrigoyen (; 12 July 1852 – 3 July 1933) was an Argentine politician of the Radical Civic Union and two-time President of Argentina, who served his first term from 1916 to 1922 and his second ...

. He attended the

National University of La Plata The La Plata National University ( es, Universidad Nacional de La Plata, UNLP) is one of the most important Argentine national universities and the biggest one situated in the city of La Plata, capital of Buenos Aires Province. It has over 90 ...

, where he was awarded the title degree in Economics, comprising four years of study in 1975. He then obtained a

Master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is an academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice.

Economics Economics () is the social science that studies the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services. Economics focuses on the behaviour and interactions of economic agents and how economies work. Microeconomics analyzes ...

from the

University of Chicago The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, U of C, or UChi) is a private university, private research university in Chicago, Illinois. Its main campus is located in Chicago's Hyde Park, Chicago, Hyde Park neighborhood. The University of Chic ...

in 1980.

Private sector

In his professional activity he worked as a consultant and economic advisor to companies, international investors and financial institutions in Argentina and Latin America. He was a consultant to the Inter-American Development Bank,

World Bank The World Bank is an international financial institution that provides loans and grants to the governments of low- and middle-income countries for the purpose of pursuing capital projects. The World Bank is the collective name for the Inte ...

International Monetary Fund The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is a major financial agency of the United Nations, and an international financial institution, headquartered in Washington, D.C., consisting of 190 countries. Its stated mission is "working to foster glo ...

and chief economist of the Latin American Economic Research Foundation. He received the Konex Prize in 1996.

Minister of Defense

In 1999, he entered politics when he was appointed Minister of Defense as a member of the Radical Civic Union (UCR). He remained in this position until 2001 when he briefly took the position of Minister of Economy in the government of Argentina.

Minister of Economy

Enjoying little political support from President,

, he was fired within two weeks after a wave of protest over his proposed

fiscal austerity Austerity is a set of political-economic policies that aim to reduce government budget deficits through spending cuts, tax increases, or a combination of both. There are three primary types of austerity measures: higher taxes to fund spend ...

project, by which he sought to prevent the 2001 economic crisis but which sharply cut education spending.

Politics

He founded a

conservative liberal Conservative liberalism or right-liberalism is a variant of liberalism, combining liberal values and policies with conservative stances, or simply representing the right-wing of the liberal movement. M. Gallagher, M. Laver and P. Mair, ''Repre ...

political party,

Recreate for Growth Recreate for Growth ( es, Recrear para el Crecimiento, often just Recrear) was a centre-right political party in Argentina, principally active in the Province of Buenos Aires. It existed from 2002 to 2009 and again during 2020, from August to ...

(RECREAR), in 2002, and ran for the presidency in the April 2003 elections, finishing third behind Carlos Menem and

Néstor Kirchner Néstor Carlos Kirchner (; 25 February 195027 October 2010) was an Argentine lawyer and politician who served as the President of Argentina from 2003 to 2007, Governor of Santa Cruz Province from 1991 to 2003, Secretary General of UNASUR and ...

, with 16.3% of the popular vote. López Murphy won abroad. He was the favorite of the hundreds of Argentines who voted in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It i ...

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east a ...

Uruguay Uruguay (; ), officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay ( es, República Oriental del Uruguay), is a country in South America. It shares borders with Argentina to its west and southwest and Brazil to its north and northeast; while bordering ...

and

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

. He later teamed with

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

in 2005 to create a new center-right coalition called

Republican Proposal Republican Proposal ( es, link=no, Propuesta Republicana) is a centre-right political party in Argentina. It is usually referred to by its abbreviation, PRO. PRO was formed as an electoral alliance in 2005, but was transformed into a national p ...

(PRO), which tacitly supported his unsuccessful second bid to the presidency in the 2007 presidential election. López Murphy did poorly, gaining just 1% of the vote; PRO, however, did somewhat better in provincial and congressional elections, and won the mayoral election in Buenos Aires that year. He left RECREAR in April 2008, citing differences over party list strategy, and in December established Federal Convergency. He ran for

Mayor of Buenos Aires , image = R larreta.jpg , alt = Mayor of Buenos Aires , incumbent = Horacio Rodríguez Larreta , incumbentsince = 10 December 2015 , style = No courtesy, title or style , residence = Buenos Aires ...

in 2011 on this ticket, but obtained only 1.4% of the vote.

Personal life

López Murphy is married with three children. López Murphy is often referred to in the media as "the

Bulldog The Bulldog is a British breed of dog of mastiff type. It may also be known as the English Bulldog or British Bulldog. It is of medium size, a muscular, hefty dog with a wrinkled face and a distinctive pushed-in nose.University of Chicago The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, U of C, or UChi) is a private university, private research university in Chicago, Illinois. Its main campus is located in Chicago's Hyde Park, Chicago, Hyde Park neighborhood. The University of Chic ...

, a militant

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

and a fan of

San Lorenzo de Almagro Club Atlético San Lorenzo de Almagro, commonly known as San Lorenzo de Almagro or simply San Lorenzo (in English: ''Saint Lawrence''), is a sports club of Argentina in the Boedo district of Buenos Aires. It is best known for its football team ...

. He is against

gay marriage Same-sex marriage, also known as gay marriage, is the marriage of two people of the same sex or gender. marriage between same-sex couples is legally performed and recognized in 33 countries, with the most recent being Mexico, constituting ...

, decriminalization of drug use, and

abortion Abortion is the termination of a pregnancy by removal or expulsion of an embryo or fetus. An abortion that occurs without intervention is known as a miscarriage or "spontaneous abortion"; these occur in approximately 30% to 40% of pre ...

. He has called himself "an

Alem : Alem is a village in the Dutch province of Gelderland. It is a part of the municipality of Maasdriel, and lies about 10 km north of 's-Hertogenbosch. It used to part of the province in North Brabant. In 1934, it became part of Gelderland. ...

and Alberdi

I follow the Argentine liberal tradition of uan BautistaAlberdi, eandroAlem and arcelo T.Alvear. I am very proud of that. My ascription to liberal theories is not economic. That is a minor issue. I am part of a philosophical and moral tradition that has to do with defending the division of powers, controlling whoever exercises power, ensuring equality before the law and preventing someone from claiming the project of my happiness. With having the freedom and autonomy to decide my own future. I think it is very bad that the defense of liberal ideas is in charge of economists, because in general they start on the wrong side.

References

External links

BullblogCorriente Convergencia Federal
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lopez Murphy, Ricardo 1951 births Living people People from Adrogué Argentine people of Basque descent Argentine people of Irish descent National University of La Plata alumni Argentine economists Argentine Ministers of Finance Members of the Argentine Chamber of Deputies elected in Buenos Aires Candidates for President of Argentina Radical Civic Union politicians Republican Proposal politicians Recreate for Growth politicians Defense ministers of Argentina Articles containing video clips Argentine anti-communists Conservatism in Argentina