Background
Arturo Umberto Illia was born in Pergamino on 4 August 1900.
politician president statesman medician
Arturo Umberto Illia was born in Pergamino on 4 August 1900.
Graduated from the medical school of the University of Buenos Aires.
He began to practice medicine in a small town in the province of Córdoba. In 1948 he was elected to the national Congress where he served for four years. When the Radical Party split alter 1955, Illia sided with Ricardo Balbin and the People’s Radicals (UCRP), which reflected his own moderate and traditional Radical views.
In 1963 Illia was nominated as the UCRP’s presidential candidate. Although gamering only about 25 percent of the popular vote, he managed to get the support of enough minor parties in the electoral college to be elected president. However, he came to power without a working legislative majority.