Néstor Kirchner

President of Argentina from 2003 to 2007

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Argentina rank#94

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Argentina rank#94
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Lived 1950–2010, aged 60Argentina

Argentina PoliticiansPolitician

Wikipedia
73 languages
Cross-language footprint
Rank in Argentina
#94
Politicians
Era
1950–2010
Aged 60
Known for
South of the Border
2009

Summary

Updated 2026-08-15

He took the presidency through the back door when his opponent quit rather than face him in a runoff, then used the office to rewrite Argentina's relationship with its dictatorship past and its creditors alike.

Biography

About

Born in Río Gallegos in 1950, Kirchner studied law in La Plata, married Cristina Fernández there, and returned south to open a firm — later criticized for his silence during the Dirty War. He climbed from mayor in 1987 to governor of Santa Cruz in 1991, riding Eduardo Duhalde's coattails against Carlos Menem. When riots toppled two presidents in 2001, Duhalde took power and tapped Kirchner to block Menem's 2003 comeback; Menem won the first round but withdrew rather than lose the runoff, handing Kirchner the presidency. He kept Lavagna's economic recovery going, swapped defaulted debt, expelle…

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