Education
As a law student, he became a vocal Peronist.
As a law student, he became a vocal Peronist.
After obtaining a law degree from the National University of Cordoba, Menem began a career as a trade union lawyer in the northwestern city of La Rioja. He was elected governor of La Rioja province in 1973 but was expelled from office in 1976 by the military junta that had overthrown the government of Isabel Peron; he was held under house arrest until 1981.
After regaining the governorship of La Rioja in 1983, Menem expanded the size of government, gave favourable tax breaks to businesses, and pursued other policies typical of the Peronist movement. His support base among Peronists grew, and in May 1989, amid the worst economic crisis in the country’s history, he was elected president of Argentina. High inflation forced Menem to abandon party orthodoxy in favour of a fiscally conservative, market-oriented economic policy. With the aid of many non-Peronist cabinet members, he succeeded in stabilizing the economy. The Olivos Pact (1994), an agreement between Menem and the opposing Congressional party, allowed him to revise the constitution of 1853 to permit his reelection as president in 1995 (the pact also limited presidential terms to four years and imposed restrictions on executive control over certain branches of government).
During his second term, Menem sought to improve relations with Great Britain. His 1998 trip marked the first time an Argentine leader had visited Britain since the Falkland Islands War. Menem and British Prime Minister Tony Blair agreed to promote bilateral trade and investment.
In June 2001 Menem was placed under house arrest on charges of involvement in an arms-smuggling conspiracy—selling illegal weapons to Ecuador and Croatia in the early 1990s—but he was freed five months later.
In 2005 Menem was elected to the federal Senate representing La Rioja province. He ran for governor of La Rioja in 2007 but placed third with only 22 percent of the vote, and he remained in the Senate.
He was born into the Muslim faith but converted to Roman Catholicism, the official religion of Argentina, to achieve his political aspirations.
He joined the Peronist (Justicialist Party) movement in 1956 and was briefly imprisoned that year after participating in a revolt aimed at restoring Juan Perón (who had been ousted from power) to the presidency. He was elected president of its chapter in La Rioja Province in 1983.
They were married for twenty-five years (1966–1991).
He died in a helicopter crash in 1995.
She has worked as a journalist on the Spanish language edition of CNN, on Telemundo and on various programs for Chilean Television and she acted on the soap opera Morelia. They were married from 2001 to 2008.
