A native of Mendoza, in western Argentina, Francisco Manrique graduated from the Argentine Naval Academy in 1938 and from the Navy School in 1949. After being jailed as an opponent of President Juan Domingo Perón, he became head of the "Casa Militar" (the presidential military household) in 1955 following Perón's overthrow. He resigned as part of an effort to have the new military leader, President Eduardo Lonardi, removed, and was reinstated by Lonardi's successor, Pedro Aramburu, upon the former's resignation.