Colleagues spoke of him as an influential, visionary and wise politician. However, the post of head of Argentina, he got not without difficulty. Before taking him, Nestor Kirchner gained experience in managing public affairs, sitting in the governor's chair, which was entrusted to him by the inhabitants of the province of Santa Cruz. In the end, he managed to gain great authority on the political Olympus and try to make the life of Argentines happier. Did he succeed? Let's consider this question in more detail.
Facts from the biography
Nestor Kirchner is a native of the capital of the Argentinean province of Santa Cruz (Rio Gallegos). He was born on February 25, 1950. His ancestors came from the Swiss Bern: they moved to South America at the end of the XIX century. The father of the future president of Argentina worked in two qualities at the same time: a dental technician and a telegraph operator.
Through a telegraph, he made an acquaintance with his future wife, Maria Ostoich, who worked at the post office in Chilean Punta Arenas. Nestor Kirchner, whose biography certainly deserves separate consideration, was not the only child in the family. He had two sisters: Alicia and Maria Christina.
Years of study
At school, the boy showed very “mediocre” knowledge. However, this did not prevent him from subsequently successfully passing exams at the National University of La Plata. In 1976, Nestor Kirchner was already a graduate in the field of jurisprudence.
In his student years, the young man becomes a member of the Peronist youth movement, and after joining the party, which was established by a prominent statesman Juan Domingo Peron. While studying at Alma Mater, the young man meets his future wife, Cristina Elizabeth Fernandez.
Nestor Kishner tries to attach his beloved to political activity: as a result, she changes her “profile”, transferring from the faculty of psychology to the legal department.
Start of work
After receiving university degrees, the young couple leaves for Rio Gallegos, where the young man decides to engage in private law practice. In his opinion, this is an ideal launching pad for a future political career. Even then, the young Nestor Kirchner did not hide his ambitions: his first task was to take the post of governor of the province of Santa Cruz. Well, the ultimate goal of the lawyer was the presidency, sitting in which he could manage the whole country. The young man assigned the role of a "think tank" and an "associate" to his wife. They planned in detail who will do what.
Nestor entrusted himself with the administrative and economic functions and duties of the treasurer, and Christina had to represent the interests of the defendants in the courts and carry out their search. After a year of painstaking work, they managed to develop a “serious” customer base, consisting of large businessmen of the city. Kirchner Law Firm began to make good profits, and its owners begin to invest in real estate finance. After some time, Nestor decides to participate in the election race, having nominated himself first as mayor and then as governor.
Victory in the political field
In 1987, luck smiles at a novice politician, and he wins the election, after which he leads the mayor's hometown of Rio Gallegos. And four years later, Nestor Kirchner is entrusted with the post of governor of the province of Santa Cruz. In 1995 and 1999, he again became the head of this region. He delegates his spouse to a local legislature. It should be noted that he was led by a far from prosperous region: his debt to the center amounted to 1.2 billion US dollars. The new governor was able to solve this problem by attracting funds from foreign investors in the tourism segment of the economy.
Victory Race
In 2003, a graduate of the National University of La Plata took first place in the country's presidential election.
The dream that Nestor Kirchner so longed for has come true. Photos of the new head of state immediately began to be printed on the front pages of Argentinean newspapers. He served as president from 2003 to 2007. Of course, not the last role in building the political career of Nestor was played by his wife Christina, who organized and coordinated all the propaganda work. However, Kirchner could win only in the second round of elections and if the candidate for the post of head of state Carlos Menem had not refused to participate in the second round, who knows how the case would turn out.
The main vectors of governance
It should be noted that the policy of Nestor Kirchner even before coming to power was based on attempts to realize the ideas of socialism and peronism. People who knew him closely said that the president liked to discuss the main issues related to governing the country with his wife. It was she who influenced his opinion. And Christina herself does not deny that she informally held the position of adviser to the head of state. What did Nestor Kirchner manage to achieve when he held a responsible post?
Politics inside
It should be noted that he had the rock to rule a country that was "suffocating" under the onslaught of the economic crisis.
The situation was aggravated by the fact that the highest echelons of power were mired in corruption. Nestor decided to start with a “purge” in the judiciary. A "personnel" issue has long been ripe in the Supreme Court of the country. Kirchner invited the corrupt representatives of Themis to voluntarily resign. He seriously updated the judiciary.
Nestor also carried out large-scale personnel changes in the Ministry of Defense: many admirals and generals lost their posts. He lifted a pardon against those who committed egregious crimes between 1976 and 1983. Former governor of Santa Cruz was able to pay off most of his external debt.
Politics outside
The foreign policy of the Argentinean president provided for close cooperation between the country and the USA and normalization of relations with Great Britain in connection with the Falkland Islands. But the head of the South American state was in no hurry to establish close ties with the countries of Western Europe, since the WTO and EU lines were contrary to national interests. He did not want to expand the spheres of influence of the UN Security Council at the expense of Japan, Brazil, Germany and India. Kirchner also supported the idea of Russia to destroy terrorist organizations that kill millions of civilians across the planet.
In 2005, a political party led by the head of state (Front for Victory) won the national parliament election.
Two years later, Nestor Kishner said he did not plan to re-become president of Argentina. In early October 2007, the politician resigned. After that, he became a member of Congress.
After the presidency
Nestor's successor as president was his wife, Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner, who managed to secure a majority vote in the election. Well, the spouse became the head of the ruling Peronist Party. However, after the failure in the parliamentary elections, he was forced to vacate this post. In the spring of 2010, the ex-president of Argentina was approved as Secretary General of the Union of South American Nations (UNASUR).
