Juan Pistarini (23 December 1882 – 29 May 1956) 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 ...

general and politician.

Biography

Pistarini was born in the town of Victorica,

La Pampa Province La Pampa () is a sparsely populated province of Argentina, located in the Pampas in the center of the country. Neighboring provinces are from the north clockwise San Luis, Córdoba, Buenos Aires, Río Negro, Neuquén and Mendoza. History In ...

. He graduated from the

National Military College National may refer to: Common uses * Nation or country ** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen Places in the United States * National, Maryland, ce ...

with a degree in

civil engineering Civil engineering is a regulation and licensure in engineering, professional engineering discipline that deals with the design, construction, and maintenance of the physical and naturally built environment, including public works such as roads ...

, was promoted as army major by 1921, and became a close associate of the War Minister, General

Agustín Justo Agustín is a Spanish given name and sometimes a surname. It is related to Augustín. People with the name include: Given name * Agustín Adorni (born 1990), Argentine footballer * Agustín Allione (born 1994), Argentine footballer * Ag ...

. Justo was elected president in 1932, and appointed Pistarini Minister of Public Works in 1935. Pistarini's his first important initiative as minister was the proposed construction of a new

international airport An international airport is an airport with customs and border control facilities enabling passengers to travel between countries. International airports are usually larger than domestic airports, and feature longer runways and have faciliti ...

outside

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 ...

. He was promoted to the rank of general in 1937 and, between then and 1940, was stationed in

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

and

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

. Appointed Director of Army Engineers upon his return, Pistarini recommended German contractors for public works in Argentina and was open regarding his

Nazi Nazism (), formally named National Socialism (NS; , ), is the far-right politics, far-right Totalitarianism, totalitarian socio-political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Germany. During H ...

and

Fascist Fascism ( ) is a far-right, authoritarian, and ultranationalist political ideology and movement. It is characterized by a dictatorial leader, centralized autocracy, militarism, forcible suppression of opposition, belief in a natural soci ...

sympathies. Juan Pistarini

His role in the 1943 coup d'état resulted in his appointment as director of the

Campo de Mayo Campo de Mayo is a military base located in Greater Buenos Aires, Argentina, northwest of Buenos Aires. Campo de Mayo covers an area of and is one of the most important military bases in Argentina, including Argentine Army's: * Army NCO Schoo ...

army training base. He was returned to the post of Minister of Public Works in March 1944 and served a brief, concurrent term as vice president following the populist

Juan Perón Juan Domingo Perón (, , ; 8 October 1895 – 1 July 1974) was an Argentine military officer and Statesman (politician), statesman who served as the History of Argentina (1946-1955), 29th president of Argentina from 1946 to Revolución Libertad ...

's dismissal. Pistarini was retained as Public Works Minister by Perón when the latter was elected president in 1946, in which capacity he administered Perón's ambitious public works agenda. He oversaw and helped plan the construction or development of modern barracks, Argentina's first expressways, numerous public vacation resorts, 11,000 schools, water treatment plants, a modern merchant marine, 650,000 housing units and the planting of two million trees, the nation's first

, among other works. He also marshaled the dormant National Mortgage Bank to extend subsidized loans to new homeowners, often at interest rates well below inflation. Ill health led to his retirement in June 1952 and following Perón's September 1955 overthrow, he had his property seized, was stripped of rank and imprisoned in

Ushuaia Ushuaia ( , ) is the capital city, capital of Tierra del Fuego Province, Argentina, Tierra del Fuego, Antártida e Islas del Atlántico Sur Province, Argentina. With a population of 82,615 and a location below the 54th parallel south latitude, U ...

. The sub-Antarctic climate in Ushuaia led to a worsening in Pistarini's health, and he was returned to Buenos Aires, where he died at a military hospital in 1956.''Historical Dictionary of Argentina.'' London: Scarecrow Press, 1978. The

Ministro Pistarini International Airport Ministro Pistarini International Airport () , also known as Ezeiza International Airport owing to its location in Ezeiza in Greater Buenos Aires, is an international airport south-southwest of the autonomous city of Buenos Aires, the capital c ...

, opened in 1949 in Ezeiza, was named in his honor in 1985.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pistarini, Juan 1882 births 1956 deaths People from La Pampa Province Argentine people of Italian descent Vice presidents of Argentina Ministers of agriculture of Argentina Argentine generals Argentine anti-communists 20th-century Argentine engineers Colegio Militar de la Nación alumni Burials at La Recoleta Cemetery Ministers of social welfare of Argentina Argentine civil engineers