Pedro Eugenio Aramburu Silveti (May 21, 1903 – June 1, 1970) was an

Argentine Army The Argentine Army () is the Army, land force branch of the Armed Forces of the Argentine Republic and the senior military service of Argentina. Under the Argentine Constitution, the president of Argentina is the commander-in-chief of the Armed For ...

general and the ''de facto''

President of Argentina The president of Argentina, officially known as the president of the Argentine Nation, is both head of state and head of government of Argentina. Under Constitution of Argentina, the national constitution, the president is also the Head of go ...

from 1955 to 1958. He was a major figure behind the ''

Revolución Libertadora The ''Revolución Libertadora'' (; ''Liberating Revolution'') as it named itself, was the civic-military dictatorship that ruled the Argentine Republic after overthrowing President Juan Domingo Perón, shutting down the National Congress of Ar ...

'', the military coup against

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 ...

in 1955. He was kidnapped by the left-wing organization

Montoneros Montoneros (, MPM) was an Argentine far-left politics, far-left Peronism, Peronist, Camilism, Camilist and Catholic Church, Roman Catholic revolutionary Guerrilla warfare, guerrilla organization, which emerged in the 1970s during the "Argentine ...

on May 29, 1970, and then murdered as part of retaliation. He had been involved in the June 1956 execution of Army General Juan José Valleassociated with the Peronist movement and 26 Peronist militants, after a botched attempt to overthrow his regime.

Family

Pedro Eugenio Aramburu Silveti was born on May 21, 1903, in Río Cuarto. Both of his parents were born in

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

. His father, Carlos Pantaleón Aramburu, was born in Zestoa, Basque Country, while his mother, Leocadia Silveti, was born in Zuriáin,

Navarre Navarre ( ; ; ), officially the Chartered Community of Navarre, is a landlocked foral autonomous community and province in northern Spain, bordering the Basque Autonomous Community, La Rioja, and Aragon in Spain and New Aquitaine in France. ...

. He had eight siblings.

Military career

*He studied at the National Military College *1922: Sub-lieutenant *1939: Major *1943: War School Teacher *1951: Brigadier *War School Headmaster *1955: Commander in Chief of the Army *1958: Lieutenant general.

President of Argentina

He served as ''de facto'' president of Argentina from November 13, 1955, to May 1, 1958. The ''Revolución Libertadora'' which overthrew

was triggered in part by his actions towards the press, as well as the imprisonment of opposition leaders and economic instability. For example, Perón incited his followers to wreck the offices and printing presses of newspapers who criticized him and he jailed the leader of the opposition, Ricardo Balbin, 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 ...

party. The military Revolución Libertadora against Perón for these actions led to three years of military rule under Aramburu, who allowed elections to be held in

1958 Events January * January 1 – The European Economic Community (EEC) comes into being. * January 3 – The West Indies Federation is formed. * January 4 ** Edmund Hillary's Commonwealth Trans-Antarctic Expedition completes the thir ...

. Aramburu's military government forced Perón into exile and barred the Peronist Party from further elections. Perón lived in exile in

until 1973. He repealed the reelectionist and statist Constitution of 1949 and restored the validity of the historical text of 1853/60, a decision that was later validated by a constituent convention. He promised to hand over power as soon as possible to a president elected by the people. He made a public commitment that none of the military who held positions in his government would accept candidacies when elections were called.

Anti-Peronist political power

After the end of his presidential term in 1958, Aramburu retired from the military career and devoted himself entirely to politics. He ran for president in

1963 Events January * January 1 – Bogle–Chandler case: Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation scientist Dr. Gilbert Bogle and Mrs. Margaret Chandler are found dead (presumed poisoned), in bushland near the Lane Cove ...

as leader of the Union of the Argentine People (''Unión del Pueblo Argentino,'' UDELPA), with the slogan "Vote UDELPA and HE won't return" ("Vote UDELPA y no vuelve"), referring to Perón. With the Peronists banned, the Presidential elections resulted in

Arturo Umberto Illia Arturo Umberto Illia (; 4 August 1900 – 18 January 1983) was President of Argentina from 1963 until 1966 Argentine coup d'état, his overthrow in 1966. He was part of the Radical Civic Union, and the People's Radical Civic Union during his pre ...

becoming president, with Aramburu coming in third. Yet the military retained much real power, censoring both Peronism and its leader. The fragility of Argentine democracy was shown when Illia was overthrown in

1966 Events January * January 1 – In a coup, Colonel Jean-Bédel Bokassa takes over as military ruler of the Central African Republic, ousting President David Dacko. * January 3 – 1966 Upper Voltan coup d'état: President Maurice Yaméogo i ...

by a military coup led by General Juan Carlos Onganía. In 1970, Aramburu was mentioned as a possible presidential candidate.

Kidnapping and death

On May 29, 1970, at noon, Aramburu was snatched from his apartment 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 ...

by two members of Montoneros posing as young army officers. Montoneros dubbed the kidnapping ''Operación Pindapoy'', after a company that produced

citrus ''Citrus'' is a genus of flowering trees and shrubs in the family Rutaceae. Plants in the genus produce citrus fruits, including important crops such as oranges, mandarins, lemons, grapefruits, pomelos, and limes. ''Citrus'' is nativ ...

in the 1960s. Aramburu's disappearance kept Argentinian society on tenterhooks for a month before it was discovered that Aramburu had been assassinated three days after his abduction, following a mock trial and his corpse hidden inside a farmhouse near Timote, Carlos Tejedor, in

Buenos Aires Province 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 ...

. He had been shot twice in the chest with two different pistols. Mario Firmenich took credit for the kidnapping and assassination with his partner Esther Norma Arrostito. In the following weeks, statements from Montoneros flooded the media. Their actions were a response to the executions of twenty-seven Peronist militants who took part in an unsuccessful coup d'état in 1956 (a retaliation).

References

External links

Ejército Argentino (Spanish)Braden vs Peron confrontation (Spanish)

Find-A-Grave profile for Pedro Eugenio Aramburu
{{DEFAULTSORT:Aramburu, Pedro Eugenio 1903 births 1970 deaths 20th-century presidents of Argentina Assassinated Argentine military personnel Argentine people of Basque descent Argentine people of Spanish descent Burials at La Recoleta Cemetery People from Río Cuarto, Córdoba Presidents of Argentina Argentine generals Argentine anti-communists Assassinated Argentine politicians Deaths by firearm in Argentina Kidnapped Argentine people People murdered in Argentina Leaders who took power by coup Terrorism deaths in Argentina Colegio Militar de la Nación alumni Kidnappings in Argentina Kidnapping in the 1970s Victims of body snatching South American politicians assassinated in the 1970s Assassinated presidents in South America