Argentina has had many different types of heads of state, as well as many different types of government. During pre-Columbian times, most of the territories that today form Argentina were inhabited by Amerindian peoples without any centralized government, with the exception of the Inca subjects of the Northwest and Cuyo regions. During the Spanish colonization of the Americas, the King of Spain retained the ultimate authority over the territories conquered in the New World, appointing viceroys for local government. The territories that would later become Argentina were first part of the Viceroyalty of Peru and then the Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata. The May Revolution started the Argentine War of Independence by replacing the viceroy Baltasar Hidalgo de Cisneros with the first national government. It was the Primera Junta, a junta of several members, which would grow into the Junta Grande with the incorporation of provincial deputies. The size of the juntas gave room to internal political disputes among their members, so they were replaced by the First and Second Triumvirate, of three members. The Assembly of the Year XIII created a new executive authority, with attributions similar to that of a head of state, called the Supreme Director of the United Provinces of the Río de la Plata. A second Assembly, the Congress of Tucumán, declared independence in 1816 and promulgated the Argentine Constitution of 1819. However, this constitution was repealed during armed conflicts between the central government and the Federal League Provinces. This started a period known as the Anarchy of the Year XX, when Argentina lacked any type of head of state.
There was a new attempt to organize a central government in 1826. A new congress wrote a new constitution and elected Bernardino Rivadavia as President in the process.Mendelevich, p. 28 Rivadavia was the first President of Argentina. However, he resigned shortly after and the 1826 Constitution was repealed. The Argentine provinces then organized themselves as a confederation without a central head of state. In this organization, the governors of Buenos Aires province took some duties such as the payment of external debt or the administration of the foreign relations in the name of all provinces.Mendelevich, p. 33 Those governors were appointed by the Buenos Aires legislature, with the only exception of Juan Lavalle. Juan Manuel de Rosas kept the governor office for seventeen consecutive years until Justo José de Urquiza defeated him at the 1852 Battle of Caseros. Urquiza then called for a new Constitutional Assembly and promulgated the Argentine Constitution of 1853, which is the current Constitution of Argentina through amendments. In 1854, Urquiza became the first President of modern Argentina, acting both as head of government and head of state.Mendelevich, p. 24 However, the Buenos Aires Province had rejected the Constitution and became an independent state until the aftermath of the 1859 Battle of Cepeda, although the internecine conflict continued. Only after the subsequent Battle of Pavón in 1861, the former bonaerense leader Bartolomé Mitre became the first president of a unified Argentine Republic.Mendelevich, p. 46
The succession line of constitutional presidents run uninterrupted until 1930, when José Félix Uriburu took government through a civic-military coup d'état. For many decades, there was an alternance between legitimate presidents and others that took government through illegitimate means. Those means included military coups, but also proscriptions of major political partiesMendelevich, p. 130—131 and electoral fraud.Mendelevich, p. 136 The last coup d'état occurred in 1976 and resulted in the National Reorganization Process, which ended in 1983. The retrospective recognition as presidents or heads of state of any de facto ruler that exercised its authority outside the Constitutional mandate is a controversial and relevant issue in Argentine politics. However, their government actions were recognized as valid following the de facto government doctrine that used to legitimize them. This doctrine was rejected by the 1994 amendment and would not be applicable for potential future coups. The current head of state is President Javier Milei, who took office on 10 December 2023.
Affiliation keys Abbreviation Party name (English) Party name (Spanish) Years Unitarian Unitarian Party Partido Unitario 1826–1827, 1828–1829 Federal Federalist Party Partido Federal 1827–1828, 1829–1861 Liberal Liberal Party Partido Liberal 1862–1868 — Independent politician Político independiente 1868–1874 PAN National Autonomist Party Partido Autonomista Nacional 1874–1916 UCR Radical Civic Union Unión Cívica Radical 1916–1930, 1958–1966, 1983–1989, 1999–2001 Military Armed Forces of the Argentine Republic Fuerzas Armadas de la República Argentina 1930–1932, 1943–1946, 1955–1958, 1966–1973, 1976–1983 Concordancia Concordancia Concordancia 1932–1943 PJJusticialist Party Partido Justicialista 1946–1955, 1973–1976, 1989–1999, 2001–2015, 2019–2023 PRO Republican Proposal Propuesta Republicana 2015–2019 PL Libertarian Party Partido Libertario 2023–present
United Provinces of the Río de la Plata (1810–1831) Junta presidents (1810–1811) PortraitNameTerm of officeNotesStartEndTime in office Cornelio Saavedra 25 May 1810 18 December 1810217 days President of the Primera Junta, at the beginning of the Argentine War of Independence. He is regarded as the first president of a national government."Buenos Aires, diciembre 16 de 1829.- El primer comandante de Patricios, el primer presidente de un gobierno patrio, pudo sólo quedar olvidado en su fallecimiento por las circunstancias calamitosas en que el país se hallaba. Después que ellas han terminado, sería una ingratitud negar a ciudadano tan eminente el tributo de honor rendido a su mérito, y a una vida ilustrada con tantas virtudes, que supo consagrar entera al servicio de su patria. El gobierno, para cumplir un deber tan sagrado, acuerda y decreta: Artículo 1º: En el cementerio del Norte se levantará, por cuenta del gobierno, un monumento en que se depositarán los restos del brigadier general D. Cornelio Saavedra. Artículo 2º: Se archivará en la Biblioteca Pública un manuscrito autógrafo del mismo brigadier general, con arreglo a lo que previene el decreto de 6 de octubre de 1821. Artículo 3º: Comuníquese y publíquese. Rosas – Tomás Guido".Rosa, vol. II, p.199-306 18 December 1810 26 August 1811140 days President of the Junta Grande. Left to serve in the Army of the North. Domingo Matheu 26 August 1811 23 September 181113 days President of the Junta Grande, from Saavedra's departure to the dissolution of it. Rosa, vol. II, p. 306-319
Triumvirates (1811–1814) First Triumvirate23 September 1811 – 8 October 1812 23 September 1811 – 23 March 1812 23 March 1812 – 8 October 1812 Feliciano Chiclana Manuel de Sarratea Juan José Paso Juan Martín de Pueyrredón
Second Triumvirate8 October 1812 – 31 January 1814 8 October 1812 – 20 February 1813 20 February 1813 – 19 August 1813 19 August 1813 – 5 November 1813 5 November 1813 – 31 January 1814 Nicolás Rodríguez Peña Antonio Álvarez Jonte Gervasio Antonio de Posadas Juan José Paso José Julián Pérez Juan Larrea
Supreme Directors (1814–1820)
PortraitNameTerm of officeNotes Start End Time in office Gervasio Antonio de Posadas 31 January 1814 9 January 1815 Chosen by the Assembly of the Year 1813. Rosa, Vol. III, p. 75-114 Carlos María de Alvear 9 January 1815 18 April 1815 Forced to resign by a mutiny. Rosa, vol. III, p. 114-129 José de San MartínMatías de IrigoyenManuel de Sarratea 18 April 1815 20 April 1815 Third Triumvirate. Interim government until the appointment of a new Supreme Director. José Rondeau 20 April 1815 21 April 1815 Appointed successor of Alvear, could not take office because he was in command of the Army of the North Rosa, vol. III, p. 143 Ignacio Álvarez Thomas 21 April 1815 16 April 1816 Acting, for Rondeau. Convened the Congress of Tucumán, that would declare Independence. Rosa, vol. III, p. 143-160 Antonio González de Balcarce 16 April 1816 9 July 1816 Interim. Rosa, vol. III, p. 160 Juan Martín de Pueyrredón 9 July 1816 9 June 1819 First Argentine Head of State after the Argentine Declaration of Independence. Supported the Crossing of the Andes. Rosa, vol. III, p. 161-242 José Rondeau 9 June 1819 1 February 1820 Decisively defeated at the Battle of Cepeda by Federalist forces opposed to the 1819 centralist Constitution. Rosa, vol. III, p. 242-253 Juan Pedro Aguirre 1 February 1820 11 February 1820 Interim. Dissolved the National Congress and endorsed the Buenos Aires Cabildo to choose a Governor for Buenos Aires Province instead of the previous post of Governor Mayor.
Governors of Buenos Aires Province managing international relations (1820–1826) Between 1820 and 1826, the United Provinces functioned as a loose alliance of autonomous provinces put together by pacts and treaties (see Treaty of Pilar, Treaty of Benegas, Quadrilateral Treaty), but lacking any actual central government until the 1825 Constitutional Congress.
PortraitNameTerm of officeNotes StartEndDuration Matías de Irigoyen 11 February 1820 18 February 1820 He had been Governor Mayor from 9 to 11 February 1820 and was promoted interim as Governor until the appointment of Manuel de Sarratea. Manuel de Sarratea 18 February 1820 6 March 1820 The political crisis that existed in the country led to his government lacked support from both Buenos Aires and the other provinces. Thus he resigned shortly afterwards. Juan Ramón Balcarce 6 March 1820 11 March 1820 Interim. Manuel de Sarratea 11 March 1820 2 May 1820 He returned to office after the end of the brief government of Balcarce. The circumstances did not improve and ended up resigning a second time. Ildefonso Ramos Mexía 2 May 1820 20 June 1820 Ildefonso Ramos Mexía and Miguel Estanislao Soler 20 June 1820 23 June 1820 They took power simultaneously. Miguel Estanislao Soler 23 June 1820 29 June 1820 He assumed de facto, after an armed uprising, but his government lasted a few days, when the Board of Representatives appointed Manuel Dorrego. Manuel Dorrego 29 June 1820 20 September 1820 Interim. Martín Rodríguez 20 September 1820 2 April 1824 He signed the Treaty of Benegas and the Quadrilateral. Juan Gregorio de las Heras 2 April 1824 7 February 1826 He called a Constituent Congress that enacted several laws for which the Unitary Republic was proclaimed.
First presidential government (1826–1827) PortraitNameTerm of officeElectionsPoliticalpartyNotesStartEndDuration Bernardino Rivadavia 8 February 1826 27 June 18271826 Unitarian Elected by the Constituent Assembly of 1826, before the promulgation of the 1826 constitution. Waged the Cisplatine War. Resigned as the Constitution was rejected by the provinces and the outcome of the war generated popular discontent. Vicente López y Planes 7 July 1827 18 August 1827 — Elected as interim president by the Constituent Assembly of 1826. His mandate was limited to close the Assembly and call for elections for a new governor of Buenos Aires.
Governors of Buenos Aires Province managing international relations (1827–1831) PortraitNameTerm of officePoliticalpartyNotes StartEndDuration Manuel Dorrego 18 August 1827 1 December 1828 Federal Ended the Cisplatine War. Later executed by Juan Lavalle. Rosa, vol. V, p.73-97 Juan Lavalle 1 December 1828 26 June 1829 Unitarian Defeated in battle, resigned under siege Rosa, vol. IV, p.97-117 Juan José Viamonte 26 June 1829 6 December 1829 Federal Interim. Rosa, vol. IV, p 127-129 Juan Manuel de RosasFirst term 6 December 1829 4 January 1831Federal Convened the Federal Pact and waged war against the Unitarian League. Rosa, vol. IV, p. 129-171
Argentine Confederation (1831–1861) Governors managing international relations (1831–1852)