Néstor Kirchner

Néstor Kirchner
Kirchner in March 2007
President of Argentina
In office 25 May 2003 – 10 December 2007
Vice President	Daniel Scioli
Preceded by	Eduardo Duhalde
Succeeded by	Cristina Fernández de Kirchner
First Gentleman of Argentina
In office 10 December 2007 – 27 October 2010
Preceded by	Cristina Fernández de Kirchner
Succeeded by	Juliana Awada Macri
Secretary General of the Union of South American Nations
In office 4 May 2010 – 27 October 2010
Preceded by	Position established
Succeeded by	María Emma Mejía Vélez
President of the Justicialist Party
In office 11 November 2009 – 27 October 2010
Preceded by	Daniel Scioli
Succeeded by	Daniel Scioli
In office 25 April 2008 – 29 June 2009
Preceded by	Ramón Ruiz
Succeeded by	Daniel Scioli
Governor of Santa Cruz
In office 10 December 1991 – 25 May 2003
Vice Governor	Eduardo Arnold (1991–1999) Héctor Icazuriaga (1999–2003)
Preceded by	Ricardo del Val
Succeeded by	Héctor Icazuriaga
Mayor of Río Gallegos
In office 10 December 1987 – 10 December 1991
Preceded by	Jorge Marcelo Cepernic
Succeeded by	Alfredo Anselmo Martínez
Personal details
Born	Néstor Carlos Kirchner (1950-02-25)25 February 1950 Río Gallegos, Santa Cruz, Argentina
Died	27 October 2010(2010-10-27) (aged 60) El Calafate, Santa Cruz, Argentina
Cause of death	Heart failure
Resting place	Río Gallegos
Nationality	Argentine
Political party	Justicialist Party
Other political affiliations	Front for Victory (2003–2010)
Spouse(s)	Cristina Fernández (m. 1975; d. 2010)
Children	2 (notably Máximo)
Alma mater	National University of La Plata
Profession	Lawyer
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Néstor Carlos Kirchner (Spanish pronunciation: [ˈnestoɾ ˈkaɾlos ˈkiɾʃneɾ]; 25 February 1950 – 27 October 2010) was an Argentine politician who served as President of Argentina from 2003 to 2007 and as Governor of Santa Cruz from 1991 to 2003. Ideologically a Peronist and social democrat, he served as President of the Justicialist Party from 2008 to 2010, with his political approach being characterised as Kirchnerism.

Born in Río Gallegos, Santa Cruz, Kirchner studied law at the National University of La Plata. Although the Dirty War had begun, Kirchner did not take an active role. He met and married Cristina Fernández at this time, returned with her to Río Gallegos at graduation, and opened a law firm. Kirchner ran for mayor of Río Gallegos in 1987 and for governor of Santa Cruz in 1991. He was reelected governor in 1995 and 1999 due to an amendment of the provincial constitution. Kirchner sided with Buenos Aires provincial governor Eduardo Duhalde and President Carlos Menem (1989–1999). Although Duhalde lost the 1999 presidential election, he was appointed president by the Congress when previous presidents Fernando de la Rúa and Adolfo Rodríguez Saá resigned during the December 2001 riots. Duhalde suggested that Kirchner run for president in 2003 in a bid to prevent Menem's return to the presidency. Menem won the presidential election but, fearing that he would lose in the required runoff election, he resigned; Kirchner became president as a result.