Mario Octavio Amadeo French (11 January 1911 – 19 March 1983 Philip Rees, '' Biographical Dictionary of the Extreme Right Since 1890'',

Simon & Schuster Simon & Schuster LLC (, ) is an American publishing house owned by Kohlberg Kravis Roberts since 2023. It was founded in New York City in 1924, by Richard L. Simon and M. Lincoln Schuster. Along with Penguin Random House, Hachette Book Group US ...

, 1990, p. 9) 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 ...

conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civiliza ...

nationalist Nationalism is an idea or movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the State (polity), state. As a movement, it presupposes the existence and tends to promote the interests of a particular nation,Anthony D. Smith, Smith, A ...

politician, diplomat and writer who served as a minister in the government of

Eduardo Lonardi Eduardo Ernesto Lonardi Doucet (; September 15, 1896 – March 22, 1956) was an Argentine Lieutenant General and served as de facto president from September 23 to November 13, 1955. Biography Lonardi was born on September 15, 1896. His f ...

. He belonged to the highly influential

right-wing Right-wing politics is the range of political ideologies that view certain social orders and hierarchies as inevitable, natural, normal, or desirable, typically supporting this position based on natural law, economics, authority, property ...

tendency prominent in Argentine politics on either side of the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

Biography

Rise to prominence

A native 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 ...

, Amadeo studied

philosophy Philosophy ('love of wisdom' in Ancient Greek) is a systematic study of general and fundamental questions concerning topics like existence, reason, knowledge, Value (ethics and social sciences), value, mind, and language. It is a rational an ...

and briefly worked as an academic in that area. During the 1930s the youthful Amadeo was closely associated with the anti-

liberalism Liberalism is a Political philosophy, political and moral philosophy based on the Individual rights, rights of the individual, liberty, consent of the governed, political equality, the right to private property, and equality before the law. ...

tendency and took his inspiration from such

Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

writers as

Léon Bloy Léon Bloy (; 11 July 1846 – 3 November 1917) was a French Catholic novelist, essayist, pamphleteer (or lampoonist), and satirist, known additionally for his eventual (and passionate) defense of Catholicism and for his influence within Frenc ...

, Charles Péguy,

Jacques Maritain Jacques Maritain (; 18 November 1882 – 28 April 1973) was a French Catholic philosopher. Raised as a Protestant, he was agnostic before converting to Catholicism in 1906. An author of more than 60 books, he helped to revive Thomas Aqui ...

, G. K. Chesterton,

Hilaire Belloc Joseph Hilaire Pierre René Belloc ( ; ; 27 July 187016 July 1953) was a French-English writer, politician, and historian. Belloc was also an orator, poet, sailor, satirist, writer of letters, soldier, and political activist. His Catholic fait ...

Giovanni Papini Giovanni Papini (9 January 18818 July 1956) was an Italian journalist, essayist, novelist, short story writer, poet, literary critic, and Italian philosophy, philosopher. A controversial literary figure of the early and mid-twentieth century, he ...

and Ramiro de Maeztu. As such he belonged to the group of rightist authors and activists that included Carlos Ibarguren,

Manuel Gálvez Manuel Gálvez (18 July 1882 – 14 November 1962) was an Argentine novelist, poet, essayist, historian and biographer. Early years Gálvez, a member of one of the leading patrician families of Entre Ríos Province, was educated by the Jesuits b ...

Juan Carulla Juan Emiliano Carulla (20 July 1888 - 20 November 1968) was an Argentine physician and nationalist politician. He was most prominent under the military regime in power during the early 1930s. In France A native of the Entre Ríos Province, Carul ...

Ernesto Palacio Ernesto Palacio (born October 19, 1946, Lima) is a Peruvian tenor, particularly associated with Rossini and Mozart roles. Palacio first studied theology before turning to music. He began his vocal studies in Milan, and after winning first prize i ...

, Máximo Etchecopar and Rodolfo and

Julio Irazusta Julio Alberto Gustavo Irazusta (23 July 1899 – 5 May 1982) was an Argentine writer and politician who was one of the leading lights of the ''nacionalista'' movement of the 1920s and 1930s. He collaborated closely with his older brother Rodo ...

. He was also the President of ''Ateneo de la República'', an elitist semi-secret club active in the 1940s and accused of

fascism 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 social hie ...

by its opponents, which included a number of cabinet ministers amongst its members. A founder of the Argentine

Catholic Action Catholic Action is a movement of Catholic laity, lay people within the Catholic Church which advocates for increased Catholic influence on society. Catholic Action groups were especially active in the nineteenth century in historically Catholic cou ...

in 1931, as well as the later rightist journal ''El Baluarte'', Amadeo was influenced in his political ideas by Ramiro de Maeztu and

Hispanidad (, typically translated as "Hispanicity") is a Spanish term describing a shared cultural, linguistic, or political identity among speakers of the Spanish language or members of the Hispanic diaspora. The term can have various, different implicat ...

and advocated an anti-democratic traditionalism that also looked to

corporatism Corporatism is an ideology and political system of interest representation and policymaking whereby Corporate group (sociology), corporate groups, such as agricultural, labour, military, business, scientific, or guild associations, come toget ...

and an economic nationalism that sought to curtail the influence of foreign capital in Argentine life. He was an enthusiastic supporter of the regime of

Francisco Franco Francisco Franco Bahamonde (born Francisco Paulino Hermenegildo Teódulo Franco Bahamonde; 4 December 1892 – 20 November 1975) was a Spanish general and dictator who led the Nationalist faction (Spanish Civil War), Nationalist forces i ...

in Spain. During the

Amadeo became associated with a strand within Argentine politics that came out in favour of the

Axis Powers The Axis powers, originally called the Rome–Berlin Axis and also Rome–Berlin–Tokyo Axis, was the military coalition which initiated World War II and fought against the Allies of World War II, Allies. Its principal members were Nazi Ge ...

. As a consequence the

United States Department of State The United States Department of State (DOS), or simply the State Department, is an United States federal executive departments, executive department of the U.S. federal government responsible for the country's foreign policy of the United State ...

's so-called 'Blue Book on Argentina' listed Amadeo as being 'a trusted collaborator' of the SD'. Amadeo was close to

Juan Carlos Goyeneche Juan Carlos Goyeneche (6 January 1913 – 16 October 1982) was an Argentine Catholic nationalist politician. Also highly sympathetic to Nazism, during the Second World War Goyeneche travelled to Nazi Germany where he met a number of leading figures ...

, a frequent visitor to

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany, officially known as the German Reich and later the Greater German Reich, was the German Reich, German state between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party controlled the country, transforming it into a Totalit ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, and it was Amadeo who ensured communication between Goyeneche and

Foreign Minister In many countries, the ministry of foreign affairs (abbreviated as MFA or MOFA) is the highest government department exclusively or primarily responsible for the state's foreign policy and relations, diplomacy, bilateral, and multilateral r ...

Enrique Ruiz Guiñazú Enrique Ruiz Guiñazú (14 October 1882 – 13 November 1967) was an Argentine politician who is best remembered for his spell as Minister of Foreign Affairs, International Trade and Worship in the 1940s. His daughter is Magdalena Ruiz Guiñazú ...

. In his later career as an ambassador to the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...

he would demonstrate further

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 ...

sympathies when he attacked

Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...

for kidnapping

Adolf Eichmann Otto Adolf Eichmann ( ;"Eichmann"
''Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary''. ; 19 March 1906 – 1 Ju ...

Peronism

Within General Lonardi's cabinet, he was part of a Catholic nationalist strain that recalled the earlier ideas of the likes Carulla and the Irazustas and also included Labour Minister Luis Cerruti Costa and the President's brother in law Clemente Villada Achaval. Amadeo sought to place himself within the conservative traditions of

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 ...

and argued that the

Peronism 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, P ...

he came to serve was also part of the same tradition. Amadeo initially remained loyal to Perón, and indeed saved his life when, following the latter's overthrow on September 19, 1955, the deposed leader slipped on the launch that was taking him to

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 ...

and would have drowned had Amadeo not rescued him.Iain Guest, ''Behind the Disappearances'', 1990, p. 484 Despite this Amadeo would later come to criticise Perón for using the workers as a basis for his regime, rather than following the old nationalist blueprint of

hierarchy A hierarchy (from Ancient Greek, Greek: , from , 'president of sacred rites') is an arrangement of items (objects, names, values, categories, etc.) that are represented as being "above", "below", or "at the same level as" one another. Hierarchy ...

which he and his contemporaries endorsed. In response, author

Ernesto Sabato Ernesto Sabato (; June 24, 1911 – April 30, 2011) was an Argentine novelist, essayist, painter, and physicist. According to the BBC he "won some of the most prestigious prizes in Hispanic literature" and "became very influential in the litera ...

published an

open letter An open letter is a Letter (message), letter that is intended to be read by a wide audience, or a letter intended for an individual, but that is nonetheless widely distributed intentionally. Open letters usually take the form of a letter (mess ...

to Amadeo, ''The Other Face of Peronism'', in which, without denying his own opposition to the populist leader, Sabato appealed for less hostility towards Perón's largely

working class The working class is a subset of employees who are compensated with wage or salary-based contracts, whose exact membership varies from definition to definition. Members of the working class rely primarily upon earnings from wage labour. Most c ...

supporters. Following the coup against Perón, on September 25, Amadeo was appointed

for President

; his spell in the post ended, however, when General Lonardi was replaced by General

Pedro Aramburu Pedro Eugenio Aramburu Silveti (May 21, 1903 – June 1, 1970) was an Argentine Army general and the ''de facto'' President of Argentina from 1955 to 1958. He was a major figure behind the ''Revolución Libertadora'', the military coup against J ...

on November 13. For the

1957 Events January * January 1 – The Saarland joins West Germany. * January 3 – Hamilton Watch Company introduces the first electric watch. * January 5 – South African player Russell Endean becomes the first batsman to be Dismissal (cricke ...

and

1958 elections The following elections occurred in the year 1958. Africa * 1958 French Togoland parliamentary election * 1958 Nigerien Constituent Assembly election * 1958 South African general election * 1958 Southern Rhodesian general election * 1958 Sudanese ...

Amadeo led his own party, the ''Unión Federal Democrática Crisitiana'' although the group failed to attract any support. He was also a founder member of the Argentine autonomous sister organization of the ''Tradición, Familia y Propiedad'' movement initially founded in

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 ...

in 1960.

United Nations

Following his failure to win support as a political leader in his own right Amadeo pursued a long career with the

, serving in a number of capacities such as being the Permanent Representative of Argentina and the inaugural vice-chairman of the

United Nations Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space The United Nations Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space (COPUOS) is a United Nations committee whose main task is to review and foster international cooperation in the peaceful uses of outer space, as well as to consider legal issues a ...

. In May 1959 he also served as

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 ...

of the

Security Council The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations (UN) and is charged with ensuring international peace and security, recommending the admission of new UN members to the General Assembly, an ...

. For a long time he served as the head of Argentina's delegation to the institution but he frequently proved a controversial choice. Amadeo was involved in the disappearances during the

Dirty War The Dirty War () is the name used by the military junta or National Reorganization Process, civic-military dictatorship of Argentina () for its period of state terrorism in Argentina from 1974 to 1983. During this campaign, military and secu ...

and was personally responsible for law 22068 which allowed the government to declare anyone disappeared for 90 days as legally dead. At the same time however Amadeo was also a member of the Sub-Commission on Prevention of Discrimination and Protection of Minorities attached to the

United Nations Commission on Human Rights The United Nations Commission on Human Rights (UNCHR) was a functional commission within the United Nations System, overall framework of the United Nations from 1946 until it was replaced by the United Nations Human Rights Council in 2006. It was a ...

which was investigating the disappearances. As a member of this group in 1979 he accepted that Argentine prisons were poor but argued that political disappearances had already ended and even argued that similar disappearances were a regular feature of life in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

Awards and honours

Foreign honours

* : **

Grand Cross of the

Order of Isabella the Catholic The Royal Order of Isabella the Catholic (; Abbreviation, Abbr.: OYC) is a knighthood and one of the three preeminent Order of merit, orders of merit bestowed by the Kingdom of Spain, alongside the Order of Charles III (established in 1771) and ...

(1960)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Amadeo, Mario 1911 births 1983 deaths Argentine collaborators with Nazi Germany Argentine fascists Argentine male writers Christian fascists Argentine Roman Catholics People of the Dirty War Foreign ministers of Argentina Permanent representatives of Argentina to the United Nations Ambassadors of Argentina to Brazil People from Buenos Aires Catholicism and far-right politics Argentine people of Asturian descent Argentine people of Basque descent Argentine people of Canarian descent Argentine people of Irish descent Argentine people of Italian descent Argentine people of Portuguese descent Argentine people of Spanish descent