Leopoldo Galtieri - wikipedia Leopoldo Galtieri This name uses Spanish naming customs : the first or paternal family name is Galtieri and the second or maternal family name is Castelli. Leopoldo Galtieri President of Argentina De facto In office 22 December 1981 -- 18 June 1982 Preceded by Carlos Lacoste ( interim ) Succeeded by Alfredo Oscar Saint Jean ( acting ) Personal details ( 1926 - 07 - 15 ) 15 July 1926 Caseros, Argentina 12 January 2003 ( 2003 - 01 - 12 ) ( aged 76 ) Buenos Aires, Argentina Nationality Argentine Political party None Spouse ( s ) Lucía Noemí Gentili Children Alma mater Colegio Militar de la Nación Profession Military Signature Military service Allegiance Argentina Service / branch Argentine Army Years of service 1944 -- 1982 Rank Lieutenant General Battles / wars Falklands War Leopoldo Fortunato Galtieri Castelli ( Spanish pronunciation : ( leoˈpoldo foɾtuˈnato ɣalˈtjeɾi kasˈteʎi ) ; 15 July 1926 -- 12 January 2003 ) was an Argentine general and President of Argentina from 22 December 1981 to 18 June 1982, during the last military dictatorship ( known officially as the National Reorganization Process ). The death squad, 601 Intelligence Battalion, directly reported to him. He was removed from power soon after the British re-took the Falkland Islands, whose invasion and occupation he had ordered. Contents 1 Early life 2 Rise to power 3 Falklands War 4 Defeat, fall from power, trial and prison 5 Later life, further accusations 6 Death 7 References 8 External links Early life Galtieri was an Italian Argentine born to working class immigrant parents. At 17 he enrolled at the National Military Academy to study civil engineering, and his early military career was as an officer in the engineering branch. As well as rising through the ranks of the Military, he continued his studies in engineering until the mid-1950s. In 1958, he became a professor of engineering at the Senior War College. Galtieri was married to Lucía Noemí Gentili, and the couple had one son and two daughters. Rise to power In 1975, after more than 25 years as a combat engineer, Galtieri became commander of the Argentine engineering corps. He was an enthusiastic supporter of the military coup that started the self - styled National Reorganisation Process 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, Congress was suspended, trade unions, political parties, and provincial governments were banned, and in what became known as the Dirty War, between 9,000 and 30,000 people deemed left - wing subversives 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 March 1981, Galtieri visited the United States and was warmly received, as the Reagan administration viewed the regime as a bulwark against communism. National Security Advisor Richard V. Allen described him as a `` majestic general ''. An adherent to the Argentine military 's Cold War - era doctrine of `` ideological frontiers '', Galtieri secured his country 's support for rebel groups opposing the government in Nicaragua, the Contras ; in August, he sent advisers to help organize the Nicaraguan Democratic Force ( FDN, for a time the principal Contra group ), as well as training FDN leaders in Argentine bases. His support for this initiative allowed Galtieri to remove a number of rival generals. In December 1981, he rose to the Presidency of Argentina in a coup that ousted General Roberto Viola. Argentine support became the principal source of funds and training for the Contras during Galtieri 's tenure. Galtieri retained direct control of the army whilst President of the governing Military Junta and did not appoint a new commander - in - chief. He appointed conservative economist and publisher Roberto Alemann as Economy Minister. Alemann inherited an economy in deep recession in the aftermath of José Alfredo Martínez de Hoz 's economic policies of the late 1970s. Alemann slashed spending, began selling off government - owned industries ( with only minor success ), enacted a tight monetary policy, and ordered salaries frozen ( amid 130 % inflation ). The Central Bank Circular 1050, which tied mortgage rates to the value of the US dollar locally, was maintained, however, leading to further deepening of the crisis ; GDP fell by 5 %, and business investment by 20 % over the weakened levels of 1981. One of Galtieri 's closest allies, the head of the First Army Corps, General Guillermo Suárez Mason, was named Chairman of Yacimientos Petrolíferos Fiscales ( YPF ), at the time the state petroleum concern, and the largest company of any type in Argentina. Suárez Mason 's turn at YPF would help result in a US $6 billion loss for the company -- the largest recorded corporate loss in the world, up to that point. Galtieri 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. Falklands War This section needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. ( April 2015 ) See also : Falklands War In April 1982, after Galtieri had been in office for four months and with his popularity low, Argentine forces invaded the lightly defended Falkland Islands, governed by the United Kingdom and subject to a long - standing Argentine territorial claim. The UK and other countries condemned the forcible annexation, while Peru and other Latin American countries supported it. ( The U.S. and Chile eventually joined the countries supporting the British position. ) Initially the invasion was enormously popular in Argentina, and the anti-junta demonstrations were replaced by patriotic demonstrations in support of Galtieri. On 2 April 1982, the first day of the invasion, a small group gathered in the historic Plaza de Mayo, across from the Casa Rosada, the government site. After a while, Galtieri showed up on one of the balconies ( not the same one used by Perón but to the left of it ) and raised his hands to cheer the small group of supporters. A few minutes later, a siren was heard and many bystanders started to flee in panic, reminiscent of the tough repression that happened just a few days before in the same place, on 30 March. Galtieri and most of his government mistakenly believed the UK would not respond militarily to his seizure and that the United States would not interfere because the junta had supported the Central Intelligence Agency in its fight against the Sandinistas in Nicaragua and Galtieri had been warmly welcomed during his visit to Washington, D.C. After diplomatic pressure and negotiations on 3 -- 4 April failed, the British Government led by Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher determined to restore the Falkland Islands ' sovereignty. It dispatched a seaborne combined army and naval task force to drive the Argentinian forces from the Islands, resulting in the Falklands War. Despite numerical and geo - strategic advantages possessed by Argentina over the United Kingdom 's task force in the conflict, it concluded with a British victory 10 weeks after the initial Argentinian invasion of the islands. Defeat, fall from power, Trial and prison On 14 June 1982, the Falklands ' capital, Stanley, was retaken by British forces. Within days Galtieri was removed from power, and 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 mismanaging the Falklands War. The Argentine Army 's internal investigation, known as the Rattenbach report after the general who led it, recommended Galtieri be stripped of all rank, dismissed and face a firing squad ; however in 1986 he was sentenced to twelve years in prison. Galtieri was cleared of the civil rights charges in December 1985, but ( together with the Air Force and Navy commanders - in - chief ) in May 1986 he was found guilty of mishandling the war and sentenced to prison. All three appealed in a civil court, and the prosecution appealed for heavier sentences. In November 1988 the original sentences were confirmed, and all three commanders were stripped of their rank. In 1989, Galtieri and 39 other officers of the dictatorship received President Carlos Menem 's pardon. Later life, further accusations Galtieri was heavily blamed for Argentina 's humiliating defeat in the ill - conceived Falklands War. Following his release from prison, he moved to the Villa Devoto suburb of Buenos Aires, and lived modestly with his wife Lucía. He became a recluse and refused most requests for interviews by journalists, though in a rare interview he stated he had `` no regrets '' over anything he had done during the Dirty War. He lived on an army pension of about $1,800 per month, and attempted to claim a Presidential pension, but a judge denied it. In her ruling, the judge stated that his presidency had been illegal due to his never having been elected, and she also ordered him to pay court costs. In May 2002, he was invited to the military parade of the Argentine Army for the celebrations of Argentine Army Day ( Día del Ejército Argentino ) : the presence of the former `` president de facto '' caused a huge controversy in public opinion after he was confronted and questioned by the journalist Martín Ciccioli in the television programme Kaos en la Ciudad. ( 2 ) In July 2002, new civil charges were brought concerning the kidnapping of children and the 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 faced prosecution with 28 other officials, but due to his poor health, he was allowed to remain at home. He died several months later. Death Leopoldo Galtieri underwent surgery for pancreatic cancer on 16 August 2002 at a hospital in Buenos Aires. He died there of a heart attack on 12 January 2003, aged 76. His body was interred in a small mausoleum in La Chacarita Cemetery in the capital. References Jump up ^ Argentina 's Military Dictatorship ( in spanish ) Jump up ^ Dark Years : Murió Galtieri, el general que llevó al país a la guerra Jump up ^ New Documents Describe Key Death Squad Under Former Army Chief Galtieri, National Security Archive Jump up ^ Oriana Fallaci, Cambio 16, June 1982, Available Online ( 1 ) `` Si, señora periodista, desciendo de italianos. Mis abuelos eran italianos. Mi abuelo de Génova y mi abuela de Calabria. Vinieron aquí con las oleadas de inmigrantes que se produjeron al comienzo de siglo. Eran obreros pobres, pronto hicieron fortuna. '' ( `` Yes, madam reporter, I 'm descended from Italians. My grandparents were Italian. My grandfather came from Genoa and my grandmother Calabria. They came here with the waves of immigration that occurred at the beginning of the century. They were poor workers, soon made a fortune. '' ) Jump up ^ `` Archived copy '' ( PDF ). Archived from the original ( PDF ) on 2016 - 03 - 03. Retrieved 2013 - 05 - 03. Jump up ^ http://www.soaw.org/soaw/index.php?view=article&catid=6&id=1924&format=pdf&option=com_content&Itemid=64 Jump up ^ Scott, Peter Dale ; Marshall, Jonathan. Cocaine Politics. University of California Press, 1991. ( ISBN # needed ) Jump up ^ http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/general_galtieri.htm Jump up ^ Argentina : From Insolvency to Growth. World Bank Press, 1993. Jump up ^ Poneman, Daniel. Argentina : Democracy on Trial. Paragon House, 1987. Jump up ^ `` Galtieri grows old with his Falklands secrets '', The Scotsman, 2 April 2002 Jump up ^ `` General Leopoldo Galtieri - History Learning Site ''. History Learning Site. Retrieved 2017 - 11 - 10. Jump up ^ `` Que tenía que ver con despertar el orgullo nacional y con otra cosa. La junta -- Galtieri me lo dijo -- nunca creyó que los británicos darían pelea. Él creía que Occidente se había corrompido. Que los británicos no tenían Dios, que Estados Unidos se había corrompido... Nunca lo pude convencer de que ellos no sólo iban a pelear, que además iban a ganar. '' ( `` This was neither about national pride nor anything else. The junta -- Galtieri told me -- never believed the British would respond. He thought the Western World was corrupt. That the British people had no God, that the U.S. was corrupt... I could never convince him that the British would not only fight back but also win. '' ) La Nación / Islas Malvinas Online. `` Haig : `` Malvinas fue mi Waterloo '' '' ( in Spanish ). Archived from the original on 8 September 2006. Retrieved 21 September 2006. Jump up ^ Informe Rattenbach Jump up ^ Informe Rattenbach Jump up ^ `` Pardon of Argentine Officers Angers Critics of the Military ''. The New York Times. 9 October 1989. Jump up ^ Hilton, Isobel ( 13 January 2003 ). `` General Leopoldo Galtieri ''. The Guardian. London. Jump up ^ http://en.mercopress.com/2001/08/01/frail-pathetic-galtieri-british-profile-of-former-argentine-president Jump up ^ `` Former Argentine dictator Galtieri dies ''. BBC News. 12 January 2003. Retrieved 28 February 2012. External links Find more aboutLeopoldo Galtieriat Wikipedia 's sister projects Definitions from Wiktionary Media from Wikimedia Commons News from Wikinews Quotations from Wikiquote Texts from Wikisource Textbooks from Wikibooks Learning resources from Wikiversity Political offices Preceded by Carlos Lacoste President of Argentina 1981 - 1982 Succeeded by Alfredo Saint - Jean Heads of state of Argentina May Revolution and Independence War Period up to Asamblea del Año XIII ( 1810 -- 1814 ) Primera Junta Junta Grande First Triumvirate Second Triumvirate Supreme Directors of the United Provinces of the Río de la Plata ( 1814 -- 1820 ) Gervasio Antonio de Posadas Carlos María de Alvear Juan José Viamonte José Rondeau Ignacio Álvarez Thomas Antonio González de Balcarce Juan Martín de Pueyrredón José Rondeau Juan Pedro Aguirre Unitarian Republic -- First Presidential Government ( 1826 -- 1827 ) Bernardino Rivadavia Vicente López y Planes Pacto Federal and Argentine Confederation ( 1827 -- 1862 ) Manuel Dorrego Juan Manuel de Rosas Juan Ramón Balcarce Juan José Viamonte Manuel Vicente Maza Juan Manuel de Rosas Justo José de Urquiza Santiago Derqui Juan Esteban Pedernera National Organization -- Argentine Republic ( 1862 -- 1880 ) Bartolomé Mitre Domingo Faustino Sarmiento Nicolás Avellaneda Generation of ' 80 -- Oligarchic Republic ( 1880 -- 1916 ) Julio Argentino Roca Miguel Juárez Celman Carlos Pellegrini Luis Sáenz Peña José Evaristo Uriburu Julio Argentino Roca Manuel Quintana José Figueroa Alcorta Roque Sáenz Peña Victorino de la Plaza First Radical Civic Union terms, after secret ballot ( 1916 -- 1930 ) Hipólito Yrigoyen Marcelo Torcuato de Alvear Hipólito Yrigoyen Infamous Decade ( 1930 -- 1943 ) José Félix Uriburu Agustín Pedro Justo Roberto María Ortiz Ramón Castillo Revolution of ' 43 military dictatorships ( 1943 -- 1946 ) Arturo Rawson Pedro Pablo Ramírez Edelmiro Julián Farrell First Peronist terms ( 1946 -- 1955 ) Juan Domingo Perón Revolución Libertadora military dictatorships ( 1955 -- 1958 ) Eduardo Lonardi Pedro Eugenio Aramburu Fragile civilian governments -- Proscription of Peronism ( 1958 -- 1966 ) Arturo Frondizi José María Guido Arturo Umberto Illia Revolución Argentina military dictatorships ( 1966 -- 1973 ) Juan Carlos Onganía Roberto M. Levingston Alejandro Agustín Lanusse Return of Perón ( 1973 -- 1976 ) Héctor José Cámpora Raúl Alberto Lastiri Juan Domingo Perón Isabel Martínez de Perón National Reorganization Process military dictatorships ( 1976 -- 1983 ) Jorge Rafael Videla Roberto Eduardo Viola Leopoldo Galtieri Reynaldo Bignone Return to democracy ( 1983 -- present ) Raúl Ricardo Alfonsín Carlos Saúl Menem Fernando de la Rúa Adolfo Rodríguez Saá Eduardo Duhalde Néstor Kirchner Cristina Fernández de Kirchner Mauricio Macri Portal : Argentina Politics of Argentina President of Argentina List of heads of state of Argentina BNE : XX1158958 LCCN : n86822862 VIAF : 3967008 Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Leopoldo_Galtieri&oldid=843227202 '' Categories : 1926 births 2003 deaths Presidents of Argentina Argentine people of the Falklands War Argentine generals Argentine anti-communists People from Morón Partido Argentine people of Calabrian descent Argentine people of Italian descent Deaths from pancreatic cancer People acquitted of international crimes Burials at La Chacarita Cemetery Deaths from cancer in Argentina Hidden categories : All articles with dead external links Articles with dead external links from December 2017 Articles with permanently dead external links Articles containing Spanish - language text CS1 Spanish - language sources ( es ) Pages using infobox officeholder with an atypical party value Pages using infobox officeholder with unknown parameters All articles with unsourced statements Articles with unsourced statements from January 2013 Articles with unsourced statements from November 2014 Articles needing additional references from April 2015 All articles needing additional references Articles with unsourced statements from April 2015 Wikipedia articles with LCCN identifiers Wikipedia articles with VIAF identifiers Talk Contents About Wikipedia Wikiquote Български Català Čeština Cymraeg Deutsch Eesti Español Esperanto Euskara فارسی Français Galego 한국어 Ido Bahasa Indonesia Italiano עברית ქართული Lietuvių Magyar Монгол Nederlands 日本 語 Norsk Occitan Polski Português Русский Simple English Slovenščina Suomi Svenska Türkçe Українська Tiếng Việt Yorùbá 中文 29 more Edit links This page was last edited on 27 May 2018, at 19 : 17. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution - ShareAlike License ; additional terms may apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia ® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization. About Wikipedia

Question: who was president of argentina during the falklands war
Answer: Leopoldo Fortunato Galtieri Castelli