Matías de Irigoyen
Matías de Irigoyen was an Argentine military officer and politician. Trained in the Spanish Navy and present at the Battle of Trafalgar, he returned to Buenos Aires in 1809 and joined the revolutionary cause after the May Revolution. He was dispatched on the first diplomatic mission to Britain in 1810; later he briefly formed part of a provisional executive named in April 1815, served as capitán del puerto of Buenos Aires, and held senior wartime posts including Secretary of War and Navy during the Directorial period. In February 1820, amid the political crisis following the Battle of Cepeda, he briefly served as interim governor in Buenos Aires before the installation of Manuel de Sarratea.
Early life and naval career
Irigoyen was born in Buenos Aires in 1781. As a youth he travelled to Spain, where he trained in the Navy and served as a midshipman during the Battle of Trafalgar. He returned to Buenos Aires in 1809 and supported the revolutionary movement after May 1810.Diplomatic mission to Britain (1810)
The revolutionary Junta appointed Irigoyen to lead its first mission to London in 1810. His brief included seeking British goodwill, military supplies and protection against Portuguese moves from Brazil. The mission engaged with Lord Strangford and the Marquess Wellesley at the Foreign Office, within the constraints of British policy toward Spain and Spanish America at the time.Government posts
Following the resignation of Carlos María de Alvear in April 1815, the General Assembly named a short-lived provisional executive including José de San Martín and Irigoyen; the body never effectively assumed power.In October 1815 Irigoyen replaced Martín Thompson as Captain of the Port of Buenos Aires, serving until 1816. In July 1816, pending the arrival of the newly elected Supreme Director Juan Martín de Pueyrredón, he formed part of an interim Comisión Gubernativa that temporarily carried the executive authority in Buenos Aires.
During the Directorial governments he served as Secretary of War and Navy, a role documented in contemporary records and later naval chronicles.