Bernardo de Irigoyen (December 18, 1822 – December 27, 1906) was 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 ...

lawyer, diplomat and politician.

Biography

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 ...

, Irigoyen 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 ...

and earned a ''

juris doctor A Juris Doctor, Doctor of Jurisprudence, or Doctor of Law (JD) is a graduate-entry professional degree that primarily prepares individuals to practice law. In the United States and the Philippines, it is the only qualifying law degree. Other j ...

'' in 1843. He was commissioned by Governor

Juan Manuel de Rosas Juan Manuel José Domingo Ortiz de Rozas y López de Osornio (30 March 1793 – 14 March 1877), nicknamed "Restorer of the Laws", was an Argentine politician and army officer who ruled Buenos Aires Province and briefly the Argentine Confedera ...

to settle a boundary dispute with

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in western South America. It is the southernmost country in the world and the closest to Antarctica, stretching along a narrow strip of land between the Andes, Andes Mountains and the Paci ...

(Rosas was charged with the

Argentine Confederation The Argentine Confederation (Spanish: ''Confederación Argentina'') was the last predecessor state of modern Argentina; its name is still one of the official names of the country according to the Argentine Constitution, Article 35. It was the nam ...

's foreign policy during his 1835–1852 reign), and from 1844 to 1850, Irigoyen served as Justice Minister in

Mendoza Province Mendoza (), officially the Province of Mendoza, is a province of Argentina, in the western central part of the country in the Cuyo region. It borders San Juan to the north, La Pampa and Neuquén to the south, San Luis to the east, and the r ...

, where he enacted the first provincial judicial system, as well as reformist

military law Military justice (or military law) is the body of laws and procedures governing members of the armed forces. Many nation-states have separate and distinct bodies of law that govern the conduct of members of their armed forces. Some states us ...

and

land law Land law is the form of law that deals with the rights to use, alienate, or exclude others from land. In many jurisdictions, these kinds of property are referred to as real estate or real property, as distinct from personal property. Land use ...

statutes. He again negotiated with Chile over the disputed

Straits of Magellan The Strait of Magellan (), also called the Straits of Magellan, is a navigable sea route in southern Chile separating mainland South America to the north and the Tierra del Fuego archipelago to the south. Considered the most important natural ...

(1851), and following Rosas' overthrow, helped draft the 1852 San Nicolás Agreement. He participated in the

constitutional assembly A constituent assembly (also known as a constitutional convention, constitutional congress, or constitutional assembly) is a body assembled for the purpose of drafting or revising a constitution. Members of a constituent assembly may be elected b ...

that paved the way for the 1860 reunification with secessionist

Buenos Aires Province Buenos Aires, officially the Buenos Aires Province, is the largest and most populous Provinces of Argentina, Argentine province. It takes its name from the city of Buenos Aires, the capital of the country, which used to be part of the province an ...

, and was nominated to the

Argentine Supreme Court The Supreme Court of Argentina (), officially known as the Supreme Court of Justice of the Argentine Nation (, CSJN), is the highest court of law of the Argentine Republic. It was inaugurated on 15 January 1863. During much of the 20th century, ...

; he refused, however, and resumed his private practice. Irigoyen returned to public life in 1870 as a provincial legislator, and in 1875, was appointed Minister of Foreign Affairs by President

Nicolás Avellaneda Nicolás Remigio Aurelio Avellaneda Silva (3 October 1837 – 24 November 1885) was an Argentine politician and journalist, and President of Argentina from 1874 to 1880. Avellaneda's main projects while in office were banking and education ...

. He negotiated boundary treaties with

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

and

Paraguay Paraguay, officially the Republic of Paraguay, is a landlocked country in South America. It is bordered by Argentina to the Argentina–Paraguay border, south and southwest, Brazil to the Brazil–Paraguay border, east and northeast, and Boli ...

in the wake of the

Paraguayan War The Paraguayan War (, , ), also known as the War of the Triple Alliance (, , ), was a South American war that lasted from 1864 to 1870. It was fought between Paraguay and the Triple Alliance of Argentina, the Empire of Brazil, and Uruguay. It wa ...

against the latter nation, and was named Internal Affairs Minister in 1879, during which tenure he drafted the 1880

federalization of Buenos Aires The federalization of Buenos Aires was the process by which the city of Buenos Aires, until then capital of the province of Buenos Aires, was politically separated from the latter to put it under direct control of the national government as a fed ...

. He was returned to the Foreign Minister's post by Avellaneda's successor, President

Julio Roca Alejo Julio Argentino Roca Paz (July 17, 1843 – October 19, 1914) was an Argentine army general and statesman who served as President of Argentina from 1880 to 1886 and from 1898 to 1904. Roca is the most important representative of the ...

, and secured the boundary treaty of 1881 between Chile and Argentina. He was elected to 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 ...

in 1884, and ran unsuccessfully for President in 1886. He later represented Argentina in talks with

U.S. Secretary of State The United States secretary of state (SecState) is a member of the executive branch of the federal government of the United States and the head of the U.S. Department of State. The secretary of state serves as the principal advisor to the p ...

James Blaine for the formation of a Pan-American Congress; ultimately, however, the Argentine relationship with the

British Empire The British Empire comprised the dominions, Crown colony, colonies, protectorates, League of Nations mandate, mandates, and other Dependent territory, territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It bega ...

led Irigoyen, who was otherwise amenable to the idea, to reject Blaine's proposals for closer economic ties with the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. Irigoyen joined

Bartolomé Mitre Bartolomé Mitre (26 June 1821 – 19 January 1906) was an Argentine statesman, soldier and author. He was President of Argentina from 1862 to 1868 and the first president of Argentine Civil Wars#National unification, unified Argentina. Mitre i ...

, Leandro Alem, and others in establishing the Civic Union in 1890. Formed to challenge the paramount

National Autonomist Party The National Autonomist Party (; PAN) was the ruling political party of Argentina from 1874 to 1916. In 1880, Julio Argentino Roca assumed the presidency under the motto "peace and administration". History The PAN was created on March 15, 187 ...

(PAN), the Civic Union organized its first presidential ticket in 1892. Irigoyen was nominated as Mitre's running mate, though before the campaign could begin in earnest, Alem's opposition led to Mitre's quitting the race. Irigoyen attempted to create a coalition of more conservative Civic Union figures and reformists from within the ruling PAN. His faction, however, was overshadowed by

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 who served as President of Argentina from 1916 to 1922 and again from 1928 until his overthrow in ...

's newly formed

Radical Civic Union The Radical Civic Union (, UCR) is a major political party in Argentina. It has reached the national government on ten occasions, making it one of the most historically important parties in the country. Ideologically, the party has stood for r ...

, which espoused a policy of "breaking before bending" on the subject of

electoral reform Electoral reform is a change in electoral systems that alters how public desires, usually expressed by cast votes, produce election results. Description Reforms can include changes to: * Voting systems, such as adoption of proportional represen ...

s to the undemocratic system then prevailing. The aging lawmaker ran instead, in 1898, for Governor of Buenos Aires Province, and was elected, serving until 1902. Bernardo de Irigoyen retired afterwards and died in Buenos Aires in 1906. His death deprived the influential former President Roca of one of his most respected allies, and Roca's hegemony over national policy ended shortly afterwards.

References

*''Historical Dictionary of Argentina''. London: Scarecrow Press, 1978. {{DEFAULTSORT:Irigoyen, Bernardo De 1822 births 1906 deaths Lawyers from Buenos Aires University of Buenos Aires alumni 19th-century Argentine lawyers Government ministers of Argentina Foreign ministers of Argentina Members of the Argentine Senate for Buenos Aires Members of the Argentine Senate for Buenos Aires Province Governors of Buenos Aires Province Argentine diplomats Candidates for President of Argentina Burials at La Recoleta Cemetery Presidents of the Argentine Chamber of Deputies Members of the Argentine Chamber of Deputies elected in Buenos Aires Province