Leopoldo Galtieri
Leopoldo Fortunato Galtieri Castelli (
July 15,
1926 -
January 12,
2003) was an
Argentinian general and the
de facto President of Argentina from
22 December 1981 to
18 June 1982, during the
last military dictatorship.
Galtieri was the child of working class parents who were themselves children of poor
Italian immigrants. At 17 he enrolled in the Argentine military academy to study
civil engineering, and his early military career was as an officer in the engineering branch. It has been said that even in his teens he was already keen to see Argentina resolve disputes over territory with force.
In
1975, after more than 25 years as a combat engineer, he became commander of the Argentine engineering corps. He was an enthusiastic supporter of the military coup in
1976 and rose further, becoming a major general in
1977 and commander-in-chief in
1980 with the rank of lieutenant general.
During the junta's rule,
parliament was suspended,
unions, political parties and provincial governments were banned, and in what became known as the
"Dirty War" between 9000 and 30,000 people deemed left-wing "subversives" were
disappeared from society.
Torture and mass executions were both commonplace. The economy, which had been in dire condition prior to the coup, recovered for a short time, then deteriorated further.
In early
1981 Galtieri visited the
United States and was warmly received, as the
Reagan administration viewed his regime as a bulwark against communism. National Security Advisor
Richard V. Allen described him as a "majestic general." Galtieri's strength was sufficient to allow him to remove a number of rival generals and, in December
1981, he rose to the presidency of Argentina by means of a coup, ousting interim
President Roberto Viola.
Galtieri retained direct control of the army and did not appoint a new commander-in-chief. He attempted to repair the economy by slashing spending, selling off remaining government-owned industries, squeezing money supply and freezing salaries. He instituted limited political reforms which allowed the expression of dissent, and anti-junta demonstrations soon became common, as did agitation for a return to
democracy.
After four months in office and with his popularity low, Galtieri's forces invaded the weakly-defended British
Falkland Islands in April
1982, and he declared the "Malvinas" a province of Argentina the anti-junta demonstrations were replaced by patriotic demonstrations in support of Galtieri.
Galtieri and many observers thought that, in the post World War II world, the armed forces of the
United Kingdom no longer had the resources necessary to contest the invasion. However, after diplomatic pressure and negotiations led nowhere, the UK government, led by prime minister
Margaret Thatcher, decided to re-take the islands and deployed naval task forces to do so. The
Falklands War was over within two months. Superior training and (to a lesser extent) equipment made up for the numerical and geographic advantages of Argentina.
Stanley was retaken in June
1982 and within days General Galtieri was removed from power. He spent the next 18 months at a well-protected country retreat while democracy was restored to Argentina. Along with other members of the former junta, he was arrested in late
1983 and charged in a military court with human rights violations during the "
Dirty War", and with mismanagment of the Falklands war.
He was cleared of the civil rights charges in December
1985 but (together with the Air Force and Navy commanders-in-chief) found guilty of mishandling the war in May
1986 and sentenced to
jail. All three appealed (this time in a civil court) while the prosecution appealed for heavier sentences. In November
1988 the original sentences were confirmed and all three commanders were stripped of their rank. Galtieri served five years in jail before receiving a presidential pardon in
1991.
In July
2002 new civil charges were brought concerning the kidnapping and disappearance of 18 leftist sympathizers in the late
1970s (while Galtieri was commander of the Second Army Corps), and the disappearance or death of three Spanish citizens at about the same time. Galtieri was placed under house-arrest. With his health declining, he was admitted to hospital in Buenos Aires to be treated for
cancer of the
pancreas, where he died of a heart attack at the age of 76.
*
Dirty War*
History of Argentina*
Falklands War
