Alejandro AgustÃn Lanusse
Alejandro AgustÃn Lanusse Gelly (
August 28 1918,
Buenos Aires Argentina -
August 26 1996, Buenos Aires) was the military president of Argentina between
March 22 1971 and
May 25 1973.
Lanusse attended military college and graduated in
1938, following which he joined the Cavalry. He was head of the
Regiment of Grenadiers and Ambassador to the
Holy See in 1956. From this Lanusse became the Assistant Director of the Superior Military School in 1960. Later Lanusse became Commander of the First Armored Cavalry Division.
In
1951 he was sentenced to life imprisonment for his part in an attempted coup to overthrow
Juan Perón. He was released in
1955 and was involved in the attempted overthrow of two further Argentine presidents,
Arturo Frondizi in 1962 and
Arturo Umberto Illia in 1966, in the latter supporting General
Juan Carlos Ongania's seizure of power. He became Commander-in-Chief of the army in
1968.
Lanusse became President in
1971 after seizing power in a coup, apparently to support the return of a constitutional regime. He reestablished ties with
China during his years in office. Although a committed anti-Peronist and co-conspirator against Perón himself, Lanusse recognized the positive and populist public image of Perón, and used his legacy in an attempt to reduce civil strife and terrorism. He brought back the corpse of
Eva Peron and invited Perón to return from exile in
Spain in 1972. Additionally he placed the busts of Juan and Eva Perón in the gallery of Presidents at the
Casa Rosada.
Suggesting that the military was improperly running the country, Lanusse called elections in 1973, in which
Peronist,
Hector Cámpora, was elected as president. Lanusse authorized the use of political parties again for the 1973 election.
He criticized the human rights violations of the
Dirty War and testified against military leaders in their trials in
1985. He remained a staunch anti-Peronist and was put under house arrest in
1994 for criticizing
Carlos Menem in a magazine interview.
