Norberto Piñero (1858–1938) was a prominent Argentine lawyer, writer and conservative politician.

Life and times

Norberto Piñero was born to a landed family in the

Province of Buenos Aires 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 ...

, in 1858. 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 ...

and received 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 1882.''Historical Dictionary of Argentina.'' London: Scarecrow Press, 1978. Becoming a Law Professor at his alma mater, Piñero joined his academic colleagues, Rodolfo Rivarola and José Nicolás Matienzo, in drafting a proposal for the overhaul of Argentina's

penal code A criminal code or penal code is a document that compiles all, or a significant amount of, a particular jurisdiction's criminal law. Typically a criminal code will contain Crime, offences that are recognised in the jurisdiction, penalties that ...

, in 1890.Opinorama: el código y la vida
Presented to

Congress A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting of ...

in 1891, the proposal was notable for its elevation crimes committed in the exercise of

public administration Public administration, or public policy and administration refers to "the management of public programs", or the "translation of politics into the reality that citizens see every day",Kettl, Donald and James Fessler. 2009. ''The Politics of the ...

to a unified category whose severity would be just below that of

sedition Sedition is overt conduct, such as speech or organization, that tends toward rebellion against the established order. Sedition often includes subversion of a constitution and incitement of discontent toward, or insurrection against, establ ...

high treason Treason is the crime of attacking a state authority to which one owes allegiance. This typically includes acts such as participating in a war against one's native country, attempting to overthrow its government, spying on its military, its d ...

. The bill met with resistance in Congress, particularly in the

Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

, though it was largely adopted in 1903. Piñero was appointed Interventor of the Province of San Luis in 1896, following which he participated in negotiations on Argentina's border dispute with Chile. He then began advancing

vocational education Vocational education is education that prepares people for a skilled craft. Vocational education can also be seen as that type of education given to an individual to prepare that individual to be gainfully employed or self employed with req ...

as a means to foster an infant, though growing, industrial sector, and established a technology school, the Society for Industrial Education, in 1900. His work as Dean of the school earned Piñero an appointment in 1906 as Minister of Education by President José Figueroa Alcorta, a relatively pro-reform conservative who presided over the enactment of many of the nation's first labor laws. Piñero hosted the

International Congress of Americanists The International Congress of Americanists (ICA) is an international academic conference for research in multidisciplinary studies of the Americas. Established August 25, 1875 in Nancy, France, the scholars' forum has met regularly since its incep ...

, in 1910. Responding to a lack of a uniform body governing ethical practices among

Argentine Law The Legal system of Argentina is a Civil law (legal system), civil law legal system. The pillar of the civil system is the Constitution of Argentina (1853). The Argentine Constitution of 1853 was an attempt to unite the unstable and young count ...

yers, Piñero helped establish the Buenos Aires Bar Association (''Colegio de Abogados de Buenos Aires''), in 1913, and served as its first president. He was also honored with the presidency of the new, National Commission on Teatro Cervantes, in 1916. Piñero was nominated by the conservative National Concentration alliance to run against the incumbent

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 ...

(UCR) in the 1922 elections, though he was defeated by the UCR by around 40%.Nohlen, Dieter. ''Elections in the Americas.'' Oxford University Press, 2005. Piñero retired from political life, devoting his time to writing numerous texts on Argentine history and law, as well as to the Mitre Institution, a historical society specializing in the life of former President

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 ...

. Piñero died in 1938, at age 80.

References and external links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pinero, Norberto 20th-century Argentine lawyers Argentine criminologists Candidates for President of Argentina University of Buenos Aires alumni People from Buenos Aires Province Ambassadors of Argentina to Chile Argentine people of Spanish descent 1858 births 1938 deaths Ministers of economy of Argentina Argentine ministers of education 19th-century Argentine lawyers