President of Argentina


The president of Argentina, officially known as the president of the Argentine Nation, is both head of state and head of government of Argentina. Under the national constitution, the president is also the chief executive of the federal government and commander-in-chief of the armed forces.
Throughout Argentine history, the office of head of state has undergone many changes, both in its title as in its features and powers. The current president Javier Milei was sworn into office on 10 December 2023. He succeeded Alberto Fernández.
The constitution of Argentina, along with several constitutional amendments, establishes the requirements, powers, and responsibilities of the president, the term of office and the method of election.

History

The origins of Argentina as a nation can be traced to 1776, when it was separated by King Charles III of Spain from the existing Viceroyalty of Peru, creating the new Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata. The head of state continued to be the king, but he was represented locally by the viceroy. These viceroys were seldom natives of the country.
The British invasions of the River Plate kindled the Porteño identity sentiment. By the 18–25 May Revolution in 1810, the first Argentine autonomous government, known as the Primera Junta, was formed in Buenos Aires. It was later known as the Junta Grande when representatives from the provinces joined. These early attempts at self-government were succeeded by two Triumvirates and, although the first juntas had presidents, the king of Spain was still regarded as head of state.
Executive power was still not in the hands of a single person until the position of supreme director was created by the 1813 National Assembly. In 1817, Congress declared independence and composed a constitution. This established the Supreme Director as head of state and vested the position with presidential powers. This constitution gave the supreme director the power of appointing governors of the provinces. Owing to political circumstances, this constitution never came into force, and the central power was dissolved, leaving the country as a federation of provinces.
A new constitution was drafted in 1826. This constitution was the first to create a president, although this office retained the powers described in the 1816 constitution. This constitution did come into force, resulting in the election of the first president, Bernardino Rivadavia. Because of the Cisplatine War, Rivadavia resigned after a short time, and the office was dissolved shortly thereafter.
A civil war between unitarios and federalists ensued in the following decades. At this time, there was no central authority, and the closest to that was the chairman of foreign relations, typically the governor of the province of Buenos Aires. The last to bear this title was Juan Manuel de Rosas, who in the last years of his governorship was elected Supreme Chief of the Confederation, gaining effective rule of the rest of the country.
In 1852, Rosas was deposed, and a constitutional convention was summoned. This constitution, still in force, established a national federal government, with the office of president. The term was fixed as six years, with no possibility of reelection. The first elected president under the constitution was Justo José de Urquiza, but Buenos Aires seceded from the Argentine Confederation as the State of Buenos Aires. Bartolomé Mitre was the first president of the unified country, when Buenos Aires rejoined the confederation. Thus, Rivadavia, Urquiza, and Mitre are considered the first presidents of Argentina by different historians: Rivadavia for being the first one to use the title, Urquiza for being the first one to rule under the 1853 constitution, and Mitre for being the first president of Argentina under its current national limits.
In 1930, 1943, 1955, 1962, 1966, and 1976, military coups deposed elected presidents. In 1966 and 1976, the federal government was undertaken by a military junta, where power was shared by the chiefs of the armed forces. In 1962, the president of the Senate ruled, but in the other cases, a military chief assumed the title of president.
It is debatable whether these military presidents can properly be called presidents, as there are issues with the legitimacy of their governments. The position of the current Argentine government is that military presidents Jorge Rafael Videla and Leopoldo Fortunato Galtieri were explicitly not legitimate presidents. They and their immediate successors were denied the right to a presidential pension after the conclusion of their terms. The status of earlier military presidents, however, remains more uncertain.

Powers and duties

The president of the nation has the following powers granted by Constitution :
  • Is the supreme head of the nation, head of government and is politically responsible for the general administration of the country.
  • Issues the instructions and regulations necessary for the execution of the laws of the nation, without altering their spirit with regulatory exceptions.
  • Participates in the making of laws under the Constitution, promulgates them and has them published. The Executive Power shall in no case under penalty, and void, issue legislative provisions. Only when exceptional circumstances make it impossible to follow the ordinary procedures foreseen by this Constitution for the enactment of laws, and not try to rules governing criminal matters, taxation, electoral or political party regime, may issue decrees on grounds of necessity and urgency, which will be decided by a general agreement of ministers who shall countersign them together with the head of the cabinet of ministers. The head personally and within ten days submit the decision to the consideration of the Joint Standing Committee, whose composition proportion of the political representation of each chamber. This commission shall submit its report within ten days to the plenary of each House for its specific treatment, they immediately considered the Chambers. A special law enacted with the absolute majority of all the members of each House shall regulate the procedure and scope of Congress intervention.
  • Appoints the judges of the Supreme Court with the Senate by two-thirds of the members present, at a public meeting convened for that purpose. Appoints the other judges of the lower federal courts according to a binding three candidates proposed by the Judiciary Council, with the Senate, in public session, in which the suitability of candidates will be considered. A new appointment, the same consent, it is necessary to keep in under any of those judges, once they reach the age of seventy-five years. All appointments of judges whose age is indicated or over shall be five years and maybe repeated indefinitely, by the same procedure.
  • May grant pardons or commute sentences for crimes subject to federal jurisdiction, following a report of the court, except in cases of impeachment by the House of Representatives.
  • Grant pensions, retirements, pensions and licenses under the laws of the Nation.
  • Appoints and removes ambassadors, ministers plenipotentiary and business with the Senate; alone appoints and removes the chief of cabinet ministers and other cabinet ministers, the officers of his Secretariat, consular agents and employees whose appointments are not otherwise regulated by this Constitution.
  • Is the commander in chief of all of the armed forces of the nation and thus is the highest-ranked officer.
  • Annually attends the opening session of the Congress, both Houses assembled for this purpose, this time realising the state of the Nation, on amendments promised by the Constitution, and recommend to their consideration such measures as he shall judge necessary and expedient.
  • Attends regular sessions of Congress, or convokes extraordinary sessions when a serious interest order or progress requires.
  • Oversees the performance of the duties of the chief of the Ministerial Cabinet as regards the collection of the revenues of the Nation and its investment in accordance with the law or budget of national expenditures.
  • Traditionally, the president is the godfather of the seventh sons or the seventh daughters. This tradition came from Imperial Russia and became law in 1974. A similar tradition is attached to the king and queen of the Belgians.

    Features of the office

Requirements

Article 89 of the Constitution detail the requirements:
Sections 94 to 98 detail the electoral requirements. A modified two-round system, or ballotage, is used. Unlike in most countries using a two-round system, presidential candidates in Argentina do not need to win a majority of the vote to win the presidency in a single round. To win the election in the first round, the winning candidate's party must receive either more than 45 percent of so-called "positive votes", or votos positivos or at least 40 percent of positive votes and be more than 10 percentage points ahead of the next most-voted candidate. Positive votes are valid votes cast for any of the candidates, leaving out of the count blank and spoiled ballots.
If no candidate obtains the necessary votes to win in the first round, then the two candidates with the most votes compete in the second round, held two weeks later, when the candidate with the most votes in that round is elected president.

Term duration

Under the 1994 constitutional amendment, the president serves for four years, with a possibility of immediate reelection for one more term. A president who has served two consecutive terms may be elected again after an interval of one term. There is no limit on how many times a candidate may seek the presidency if they are unsuccessful. The same rules apply, mutatis mutandis, to the vice presidency of Argentina.
Under the constitution of 1853, the president served for six years, with no possibility of consecutive reelection. In 1949, the constitution was amended to allow the president to run for an unlimited number of six-year terms. This provision was repealed in 1957. After the 1966 military coup d'état, the regime shortened the presidential term to four years. However, political instability led to frequent turnovers in office. With the restoration of democracy in 1983, the term was restored to six years.
Prior to the 1994 constitutional reform, the president and vice president were required to be Roman Catholics. This stipulation was abolished in 1994.