Carlos Alfonso Tomada (born 4 May 1948) 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 served as the country's Minister of Labour, Employment, and Social Security from 2003 to 2015, having first been appointed by former President

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 ...

, and reappointed by President

Cristina Fernández de Kirchner Cristina Elisabet Fernández de Kirchner (; born 19 February 1953), often referred to by her initials CFK, is an Argentine lawyer and former politician who served as the 56th president of Argentina from 2007 to 2015, and later as the 37th Vice ...

. Since 2020 he has been Argentina's ambassador to Mexico as well as Belize beginning the following year until 2023.

Early and personal life

Tomada was born in the

Palermo Palermo ( ; ; , locally also or ) is a city in southern Italy, the capital (political), capital of both the autonomous area, autonomous region of Sicily and the Metropolitan City of Palermo, the city's surrounding metropolitan province. The ...

neighborhood 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 ...

to a family with a history of involvement in politics: his mother, a teacher, was a

Socialist Socialism is an economic ideology, economic and political philosophy encompassing diverse Economic system, economic and social systems characterised by social ownership of the means of production, as opposed to private ownership. It describes ...

and daughter of a Socialist member of the

Argentine Chamber of Deputies The Chamber of Deputies (), officially the Honorable Chamber of Deputies of the Argentine Nation, is the lower house of the Argentine National Congress (). It is made up of 257 national deputies who are elected in multi-member constituencies c ...

, and his father was a

lawyer. He played rugby for the

Gimnasia y Esgrima de Buenos Aires Club de Gimnasia y Esgrima (also known for its acronym GEBA) is an Argentine multi-sports club placed in the city of Buenos Aires. The institution is one of the oldest in the country, having been established in 1880. Gimnasia y Esgrima is also one ...

club and at the

Colegio Nacional de Buenos Aires Colegio Nacional de Buenos Aires (''National School of Buenos Aires'') is a public high school in Buenos Aires, Argentina, affiliated to the University of Buenos Aires. In the tradition of the European ''gymnasium'' it provides a free educatio ...

. He 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 ...

, was active in the Peronist Youth (the youth wing of the

Justicialist Party The Justicialist Party (, ; abbr. PJ) is a major political party in Argentina, and the largest branch within Peronism. Following the 2023 presidential election, it has been the largest party in the opposition against President Javier Milei. Fo ...

), and earned a

law degree A law degree is an academic degree conferred for studies in law. Some law degrees are professional degrees that are prerequisites or serve as preparation for legal careers. These generally include the Bachelor of Civil Law, Bachelor of Laws, an ...

in 1973. He and his wife, Clarisa, married in 1971 and had two sons.

Career

As a lawyer, lecturer and trade unionist he has been involved in issues of employment and labor rights. He served as a consultant to the

International Labour Organization The International Labour Organization (ILO) is a United Nations agency whose mandate is to advance social and economic justice by setting international labour standards. Founded in October 1919 under the League of Nations, it is one of the firs ...

(ILO), the

United Nations Development Programme The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) is a United Nations agency tasked with helping countries eliminate poverty and achieve sustainable economic growth and human development. The UNDP emphasizes on developing local capacity towar ...

, and the

Friedrich Ebert Foundation The Friedrich Ebert Foundation (''German: Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung e.V.; Abbreviation: FES'') is a German political party foundation associated with, but independent from, the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD). Established in 1925 as t ...

from 1986 onward, and from 1987 to 1989, served as National Director of Labor Relations. Tomada was named Professor of

Labor Relations Labour relations in practice is a subarea within human resource management, and the main components of it include collective bargaining, application and oversight of collective agreement obligations, and dispute resolution. Academically, employe ...

at his alma mater in 1988, served as Department Dean, and taught at the

National University of La Matanza The National University of La Matanza (, UNLaM) is an Argentina, Argentine national university situated in La Matanza Partido, Buenos Aires Province. History The University was created under the National Law 23.748 on 23 October 1989. This law ...

. Retaining his teaching post, he served as a

labor law Labour laws (also spelled as labor laws), labour code or employment laws are those that mediate the relationship between workers, employing entities, trade unions, and the government. Collective labour law relates to the tripartite relationship be ...

advisor to the CGT, the nation's largest

trade union A trade union (British English) or labor union (American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers whose purpose is to maintain or improve the conditions of their employment, such as attaining better wages ...

, from 1989 to 1992. He acted as a

labor dispute A labor dispute is a disagreement between an employer and employees regarding the terms of employment. This could include disputes regarding conditions of employment, fringe benefits, hours of work, tenure, and wages to be negotiated during ...

mediator Mediation is a structured, voluntary process for resolving disputes, facilitated by a neutral third party known as the mediator. It is a structured, interactive process where an independent third party, the mediator, assists disputing parties ...

in subsequent years, and in 1997, was invited to the First World Summit of Labor Mediation.

Ministry of Labour

President

Eduardo Duhalde Eduardo Alberto Duhalde (; born 5 October 1941) is an Argentina, Argentine former peronist politician who served as the interim President of Argentina from January 2002 to May 2003. He also served as Vice President of Argentina, Vice President ...

appointed Tomada Secretary of Labour in 2002. He was a founding member of the Calafate Group, a

think tank A think tank, or public policy institute, is a research institute that performs research and advocacy concerning topics such as social policy, political strategy, economics, military, technology, and culture. Most think tanks are non-governme ...

organized with Governor

in 1998, and on 25 May 25 2003, he was sworn into the Cabinet in his current post as Minister of Labour, Employment, and Social Security by the newly elected President Kirchner. Tomada headed the

Front for Victory The Front for Victory (, FPV) was a centre-left Peronist electoral alliance in Argentina, and is formally a faction of the Justicialist Party. Former presidents Néstor Kirchner and Cristina Fernández de Kirchner were elected as representatives ...

(FpV)

party list An electoral list is a grouping of candidates for election, usually found in proportional or mixed electoral systems, but also in some plurality electoral systems. An electoral list can be registered by a political party (a party list) or can c ...

in 2007 for the election of National Deputies representing the city of Buenos Aires. He was elected in October 2007; but forfeited his seat for reappointment as Minister of Labour by President

. Serving both Kirchner administrations in this capacity, he became the longest-serving cabinet member since the advent of

Kirchnerism Kirchnerism ( ) is an Argentine political movement based on ideals formed by the supporters of spouses Néstor Kirchner and Cristina Fernández de Kirchner, who consecutively served as Presidents of Argentina. Although considered a branch of Pero ...

in 2003. His tenure was highlighted by the August 2004 establishment of the National Council on Employment, Productivity, and Minimum Wages, which he presides and which periodically sets

minimum wage A minimum wage is the lowest remuneration that employers can legally pay their employees—the price floor below which employees may not sell their labor. List of countries by minimum wage, Most countries had introduced minimum wage legislation b ...

s and other labour guidelines. High inflation further underscored the importance of the council, which took part in numerous

collective bargaining Collective bargaining is a process of negotiation between employers and a group of employees aimed at agreements to regulate working salaries, working conditions, benefits, and other aspects of workers' compensation and labour rights, rights for ...

talks between management and organized labour. Tomada also served as President of the ILO Administrative Council in 2005 and 2006, and remained active in the ILO afterwards. He announced his candidacy for

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 ...

in 2011 as a FpV candidate. Tomada was not nominated, but instead became the running mate to FpV nominee

Daniel Filmus Daniel Fernando Filmus (; born June 3, 1955) is an Argentine politician 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 B ...

. Their ticket was defeated in a July

runoff election The two-round system (TRS or 2RS), sometimes called ballotage, top-two runoff, or two-round plurality, is a single-winner electoral system which aims to elect a member who has support of the majority of voters. The two-round system involves one ...

by incumbent Mayor

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 ...

. Tomada retained his Labour portfolio.

Ambassador to Mexico

In 2020, Tomada was appointed ambassador of Argentina to Mexico by the government of

Alberto Fernández Alberto Ángel Fernández (; born 2 April 1959) is an Argentine politician, lawyer, and academic who served as President of Argentina from 2019 to 2023. He was also the Chief of the Cabinet of Ministers from 2003 to 2008. His tenure as Cabin ...

. He is due to present his credentials before the Mexican government in October 2020.

References

External links

2011 Campaign website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tomada, Carlos 1948 births Living people Lawyers from Buenos Aires University of Buenos Aires alumni 20th-century Argentine lawyers Academic staff of the University of Buenos Aires United Nations Development Programme officials Ministers of labor of Argentina Justicialist Party politicians Argentine officials of the United Nations Ambassadors of Argentina to Mexico Ambassadors of Argentina to Belize Fernández de Kirchner administration cabinet members Kirchner administration cabinet members