Carlos Ruckauf
Encyclopedia
Carlos Federico Ruckauf (born July 10, 1944) is a Peronist
politician in Argentina
, member of the Justicialist Party
.
suburb of Ramos Mejía
. His parents separated when he was seven, and he lived in Mar del Plata
, Salta
, and Buenos Aires
during the remainder of his childhood. Ruckauf enrolled at the University of Buenos Aires
, and earned a juris doctor
in 1967. He was hired as a fingerprint
analyst by an insurance
company, and was elected Adjunct Secretary of the Insurance Employees' Union, a member union of the CGT
, in 1969. He married María Isabel Zapatero, and they had two children.
In this capacity, Ruckauf became a close ally of Lorenzo Miguel
, leader of the Steelworkers' Union, and with the return of Peronists to power in 1973, he was appointed to the bench as a Labor court
judge. Following a cabinet reshuffle in the wake of the Rodrigazo
crisis, Miguel recommended him to President Isabel Perón for the post of Minister of Labour in July, during which tenure he signed decree
261/75. The order, signed on October 6, granted blanket amnesty to the Armed Forces for the "annihilation of subversives," and was an important early milestone in what would become the "Dirty War
;" Ruckauf himself was later accused of being responsible for the "disappearance
" of 14 Mercedes-Benz
workers in 1975. He remained in office until the March 1976 coup, after which he managed to escape arrest, allegedly with the support of Admiral Eduardo Massera, through a Federal Police
official, Ramón Ramírez.
Carlos Ruckauf became president of the Buenos Aires City chapter of the Justicialist Party
in 1983, when democratic rule was restored. Elected to the Argentine Chamber of Deputies
in 1987, he was designated Ambassador plenipotentiary
of Argentina in Italy
, Malta
and the FAO
by the newly-elected President Carlos Menem
in 1989, serving as ambassador until 1991. He was returned by voters to Congress in 1991, and named Interior Minister by Menem on March 1, 1993; relatives to the victims of the 1994 AMIA bombing
later put his role during the crisis into question. He was nominated as Menem's running-mate for the 1995 reelection campaign, and served as Vice-President of Argentina from 1995 to 1999.
Elected Governor of Buenos Aires Province
in 1999, he issued the provincial Patacón
bonds in August 2001 to deal with the scarcity of Argentine peso
s when the 2001 Argentine economic crisis entered its most acute phase. The new President appointed by a crisis meeting of Congress, Eduardo Duhalde
, named Ruckauf Foreign Minister
on January 2, 2002. He served in that position until May 25, 2003, when the Duhalde government left office.
Later in 2003 Ruckauf was elected to the Argentine Chamber of Deputies
for Buenos Aires Province
. He sat in the center-right Federal Peronism
caucus opposed to the government of Néstor Kirchner
, until leaving Congress in 2007.
Peronism
Peronism , or Justicialism , is an Argentine political movement based on the programmes associated with former President Juan Perón and his second wife, Eva Perón...
politician in Argentina
Argentina
Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...
, member of the Justicialist Party
Justicialist Party
The Justicialist Party , or PJ, is a Peronist political party in Argentina, and the largest component of the Peronist movement.The party was led by Néstor Kirchner, President of Argentina from 2003 to 2007, until his death on October 27, 2010. The current Argentine president, Cristina Fernández de...
.
Biography
Carlos Federico Ruckauf was born in the western Buenos AiresBuenos Aires
Buenos Aires is the capital and largest city of Argentina, and the second-largest metropolitan area in South America, after São Paulo. It is located on the western shore of the estuary of the Río de la Plata, on the southeastern coast of the South American continent...
suburb of Ramos Mejía
Ramos Mejia
Ramos Mejía is a locality of La Matanza Partido in Greater Buenos Aires. The city has an area of 11.9 km² and a population of 98,457 .It is one of the largest commercial districts in the Western Zone of Greater Buenos Aires.-History:...
. His parents separated when he was seven, and he lived in Mar del Plata
Mar del Plata
Mar del Plata is an Argentine city located on the coast of the Atlantic Ocean, south of Buenos Aires. Mar del Plata is the second largest city of Buenos Aires Province. The name "Mar del Plata" had apparently the sense of "sea of the Río de la Plata region" or "adjoining sea to the Río de la Plata"...
, Salta
Salta
Salta is a city in northwestern Argentina and the capital city of the Salta Province. Along with its metropolitan area, it has a population of 464,678 inhabitants as of the , making it Argentina's eighth largest city.-Overview:...
, and Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires is the capital and largest city of Argentina, and the second-largest metropolitan area in South America, after São Paulo. It is located on the western shore of the estuary of the Río de la Plata, on the southeastern coast of the South American continent...
during the remainder of his childhood. Ruckauf enrolled at the University of Buenos Aires
University of Buenos Aires
The University of Buenos Aires is the largest university in Argentina and the largest university by enrollment in Latin America. Founded on August 12, 1821 in the city of Buenos Aires, it consists of 13 faculties, 6 hospitals, 10 museums and is linked to 4 high schools: Colegio Nacional de Buenos...
, and earned a juris doctor
Juris Doctor
Juris Doctor is a professional doctorate and first professional graduate degree in law.The degree was first awarded by Harvard University in the United States in the late 19th century and was created as a modern version of the old European doctor of law degree Juris Doctor (see etymology and...
in 1967. He was hired as a fingerprint
Fingerprint
A fingerprint in its narrow sense is an impression left by the friction ridges of a human finger. In a wider use of the term, fingerprints are the traces of an impression from the friction ridges of any part of a human hand. A print from the foot can also leave an impression of friction ridges...
analyst by an insurance
Insurance
In law and economics, insurance is a form of risk management primarily used to hedge against the risk of a contingent, uncertain loss. Insurance is defined as the equitable transfer of the risk of a loss, from one entity to another, in exchange for payment. An insurer is a company selling the...
company, and was elected Adjunct Secretary of the Insurance Employees' Union, a member union of the CGT
General Confederation of Labour (Argentina)
The General Confederation of Labour of the Argentine Republic is a national trade union centre of Argentina founded on September 27, 1930, as the result of the merge of the USA and the COA trade union centres...
, in 1969. He married María Isabel Zapatero, and they had two children.
In this capacity, Ruckauf became a close ally of Lorenzo Miguel
Lorenzo Miguel
Lorenzo Miguel was a prominent Argentine labor leader closely associated with the steelworkers' union.-Early life and his rise in the UOM:...
, leader of the Steelworkers' Union, and with the return of Peronists to power in 1973, he was appointed to the bench as a Labor court
Labor court
A labor court is a governmental judiciary body which rules on labor or employment-related matters and disputes. In a number of countries, labor cases are often taken to separate national labor high courts...
judge. Following a cabinet reshuffle in the wake of the Rodrigazo
Rodrigazo
Rodrigazo is the name given to a group of economic policies announced in Argentina on June 4, 1975, and their immediate aftermath. The name Rodrigazo stems from the fact that the policies were announced and implemented by Celestino Rodrigo, the Minister of Economy of Argentina appointed by...
crisis, Miguel recommended him to President Isabel Perón for the post of Minister of Labour in July, during which tenure he signed decree
Necessity and Urgency Decree
A Necessity and Urgency Decree is a special kind of order issued by the President of Argentina. Unlike regular decrees, which are used in Argentina for rulemaking, a DNU has the force of law...
261/75. The order, signed on October 6, granted blanket amnesty to the Armed Forces for the "annihilation of subversives," and was an important early milestone in what would become the "Dirty War
Dirty War
The Dirty War was a period of state-sponsored violence in Argentina from 1976 until 1983. Victims of the violence included several thousand left-wing activists, including trade unionists, students, journalists, Marxists, Peronist guerrillas and alleged sympathizers, either proved or suspected...
;" Ruckauf himself was later accused of being responsible for the "disappearance
Forced disappearance
In international human rights law, a forced disappearance occurs when a person is secretly abducted or imprisoned by a state or political organization or by a third party with the authorization, support, or acquiescence of a state or political organization, followed by a refusal to acknowledge the...
" of 14 Mercedes-Benz
Mercedes-Benz
Mercedes-Benz is a German manufacturer of automobiles, buses, coaches, and trucks. Mercedes-Benz is a division of its parent company, Daimler AG...
workers in 1975. He remained in office until the March 1976 coup, after which he managed to escape arrest, allegedly with the support of Admiral Eduardo Massera, through a Federal Police
Policía Federal Argentina
The Policía Federal Argentina is a police force of the Argentine federal government. The PFA has detachments throughout the country, but its main responsibility is policing the Federal District of Buenos Aires...
official, Ramón Ramírez.
Carlos Ruckauf became president of the Buenos Aires City chapter of the Justicialist Party
Justicialist Party
The Justicialist Party , or PJ, is a Peronist political party in Argentina, and the largest component of the Peronist movement.The party was led by Néstor Kirchner, President of Argentina from 2003 to 2007, until his death on October 27, 2010. The current Argentine president, Cristina Fernández de...
in 1983, when democratic rule was restored. Elected to the Argentine Chamber of Deputies
Argentine Chamber of Deputies
The Chamber of Deputies is the lower house of the Argentine National Congress. This Chamber holds exclusive rights to create taxes, to draft troops, and to accuse the President, the ministers and the members of the Supreme Court before the Senate....
in 1987, he was designated Ambassador plenipotentiary
Plenipotentiary
The word plenipotentiary has two meanings. As a noun, it refers to a person who has "full powers." In particular, the term commonly refers to a diplomat fully authorized to represent his government as a prerogative...
of Argentina in Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
, Malta
Malta
Malta , officially known as the Republic of Malta , is a Southern European country consisting of an archipelago situated in the centre of the Mediterranean, south of Sicily, east of Tunisia and north of Libya, with Gibraltar to the west and Alexandria to the east.Malta covers just over in...
and the FAO
Fão
Fão is a town in Esposende Municipality in Portugal....
by the newly-elected President Carlos Menem
Carlos Menem
Carlos Saúl Menem is an Argentine politician who was President of Argentina from 1989 to 1999. He is currently an Argentine National Senator for La Rioja Province.-Early life:...
in 1989, serving as ambassador until 1991. He was returned by voters to Congress in 1991, and named Interior Minister by Menem on March 1, 1993; relatives to the victims of the 1994 AMIA bombing
AMIA Bombing
The AMIA bombing was an attack on the Asociación Mutual Israelita Argentina building in Buenos Aires on July 18, 1994, that killed 85 people and injured hundreds. It was Argentina's deadliest bombing...
later put his role during the crisis into question. He was nominated as Menem's running-mate for the 1995 reelection campaign, and served as Vice-President of Argentina from 1995 to 1999.
Elected Governor of Buenos Aires Province
Buenos Aires Province
The Province of Buenos Aires is the largest and most populous province of Argentina. It takes the name from the city of Buenos Aires, which used to be the provincial capital until it was federalized in 1880...
in 1999, he issued the provincial Patacón
Patacón (bond)
The Patacón was a bond issued by the government of the province of Buenos Aires, Argentina, during 2001...
bonds in August 2001 to deal with the scarcity of Argentine peso
Argentine peso
The peso is the currency of Argentina, identified by the symbol $ preceding the amount in the same way as many countries using dollar currencies. It is subdivided into 100 centavos. Its ISO 4217 code is ARS...
s when the 2001 Argentine economic crisis entered its most acute phase. The new President appointed by a crisis meeting of Congress, Eduardo Duhalde
Eduardo Duhalde
-External links:...
, named Ruckauf Foreign Minister
Ministry of Foreign Affairs, International Trade and Worship
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs, International Trade and Worship is the Argentine government ministry which oversees the foreign relations of Argentina.The current Chancellor is Héctor Timerman.-External links:...
on January 2, 2002. He served in that position until May 25, 2003, when the Duhalde government left office.
Later in 2003 Ruckauf was elected to the Argentine Chamber of Deputies
Argentine Chamber of Deputies
The Chamber of Deputies is the lower house of the Argentine National Congress. This Chamber holds exclusive rights to create taxes, to draft troops, and to accuse the President, the ministers and the members of the Supreme Court before the Senate....
for Buenos Aires Province
Buenos Aires Province
The Province of Buenos Aires is the largest and most populous province of Argentina. It takes the name from the city of Buenos Aires, which used to be the provincial capital until it was federalized in 1880...
. He sat in the center-right Federal Peronism
Federal Peronism
Federal Peronism , or Dissident Peronism , are the informal names given to a changing alliance of Justicialist Party figures, currently identified mostly by its opposition to ruling Kirchnerism, the center-left faction that heads the national Government of Argentina and leads the Peronist...
caucus opposed to the government of Néstor Kirchner
Néstor Kirchner
Néstor Carlos Kirchner was an Argentine politician who served as the 54th President of Argentina from 25 May 2003 until 10 December 2007. Previously, he was Governor of Santa Cruz Province since 10 December 1991. He briefly served as Secretary General of the Union of South American Nations ...
, until leaving Congress in 2007.