Pablo Federico Verani (7 February 1938 – 25 September 2013) was an

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, a Romance ethnic group related to or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance languag ...

-born

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 ...

politician, formerly of the

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) who served as Governor of Río Negro from 1995 to 2003.

Early life and education

Verani was born in the

Province of Reggio Emilia The province of Reggio Emilia (; Emilian: ''pruvînsa ed Rèz'') is a province in the Emilia-Romagna region of Italy. The capital city, which is the most densely populated ''comune'' (municipality) in the province, is Reggio Emilia. It has an ...

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 ...

, in 1938 to a well-to-do farming family, and his father was prominent in provincial politics. The elder Verani was separated from his family, however, when he joined the

Italian resistance The Italian Resistance ( ), or simply ''La'' , consisted of all the Italy, Italian Resistance during World War II, resistance groups who fought the occupying forces of Nazi Germany and the fascist collaborationists of the Italian Social Republic ...

, and they were not reunited until after the Allied liberation of the region. The family left Italy in 1947, and settled in Allen, Río Negro, then a largely agrarian community in the Argentine

Patagonia Patagonia () is a geographical region that includes parts of Argentina and Chile at the southern end of South America. The region includes the southern section of the Andes mountain chain with lakes, fjords, temperate rainforests, and glaciers ...

region.''Fruticultura Sur'': Corazón de chacarero
The Veranis prospered, and Pablo Verani completed his studies 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 ...

, earning 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 ...

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 ...

in 1964. He returned to Río Negro and inherited his share in the family

orchard An orchard is an intentional plantation of trees or shrubs that is maintained for food production. Orchards comprise fruit tree, fruit- or nut (fruit), nut-producing trees that are generally grown for commercial production. Orchards are also so ...

s, later purchasing the

Deportivo Roca The Club Social y Deportivo General Roca is an Argentine sports club, based on General Roca, in the Río Negro Province. The club, founded on 1 September 1974, is mostly known for its football and basketball teams. The football team currently ...

football team A football team is a group of players selected to play together in the various team sports known as football. Such teams could be selected to play in a match against an opposing team, to represent a football club, group, state or nation, an All-st ...

(a 4th level team). This latter venture proved a bad investment, however, and he returned to farming.

Political career

His tenure at owner of the football club made him well known in the province, and he was elected Mayor of

General Roca A general officer is an officer of high rank in the armies, and in some nations' air and space forces, marines or naval infantry. In some usages, the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colonel."general, adj. and n.". OED Online. Ma ...

, the province's largest city, in 1983. He joined

Horacio Massaccesi Horacio Massaccesi (born September 12, 1948) is an Argentine politician who was the former governor of Río Negro Province. Life and times Early career Massaccesi was born in 1948 to an Italian Argentine family in Villa Regina, then a largely ...

as running mate on the UCR gubernatorial ticket in 1987, and served in the post until 1991, when he was elected to the Provincial Legislature. Following a term as UCR caucus leader, he was elected Governor of Río Negro in 1995 and was re-elected in 1999. His tenure was marked by significant investments in roads,

irrigation Irrigation (also referred to as watering of plants) is the practice of applying controlled amounts of water to land to help grow crops, landscape plants, and lawns. Irrigation has been a key aspect of agriculture for over 5,000 years and has bee ...

works,

rural electrification Rural electrification is the process of bringing electrical power to rural and remote areas. Rural communities are suffering from colossal market failures as the national grids fall short of their demand for electricity. As of 2019, 770 million ...

, as well as higher subsidies for

apple An apple is a round, edible fruit produced by an apple tree (''Malus'' spp.). Fruit trees of the orchard or domestic apple (''Malus domestica''), the most widely grown in the genus, are agriculture, cultivated worldwide. The tree originated ...

and

pear Pears are fruits produced and consumed around the world, growing on a tree and harvested in late summer into mid-autumn. The pear tree and shrub are a species of genus ''Pyrus'' , in the Family (biology), family Rosaceae, bearing the Pome, po ...

exporters. After stepping down in 2003, Verani then served as provincial minister for planning and development.Senate profile
Verani was elected President of the provincial chapter of the UCR. Like his successor as governor,

Miguel Saiz Miguel Ángel Saiz (May 17, 1949 – October 22, 2019) was an Uruguay-born Argentine politician latterly of the Radical Civic Union (UCR), who served as governor of Río Negro Province between 2003 and 2011. Beginnings Born in Montevideo, Urug ...

, Verani is a leading figure in the ranks of those Radicals who support the ruling

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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

and

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 ...

, the so-called ''Radicales K''. Following a struggle to wrest control of the provincial party, Verani and Saiz were expelled from the UCR in December 2007. Verani was elected as the third-seat Senator for his province, on the Alliance Consensus for Development ticket. He represented

Río Negro Province Río Negro (, ''Black River'') is a province of Argentina, located in northern Patagonia. Neighboring provinces are from the south clockwise Chubut, Neuquén, Mendoza, La Pampa and Buenos Aires. To the east lies the Atlantic Ocean. Its cap ...

in 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 ...

on the

Plural Consensus Plural Consensus () was a Centre-left politics, center-left Kirchnerism, Kirchnerist electoral alliance in Argentina acting as a political bloc in the Argentine Senate and elsewhere. The coalition is largely made up of members of the Radical Civic ...

caucus, which supports the Front for Victory, and chaired the Committee on Science and Technology. Verani announced his support for his erstwhile Vice-Governor, Bautista Mendioroz, to run against Governor Saiz in the UCR primaries ahead the 2011 gubernatorial race.''Política/24'': Verani apoyará a Mendioroz como candidato a gobernador
Pablo Verani died on 25 September 2013.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Verani, Pablo 1938 births 2013 deaths People from the Province of Reggio Emilia Argentine people of Italian descent University of Buenos Aires alumni 20th-century Argentine lawyers Mayors of General Roca, Río Negro Governors of Río Negro Province Vice governors of Río Negro Province Radical Civic Union politicians Members of the Argentine Senate for Río Negro Members of the Legislature of Río Negro