26 Facts About Leopoldo Galtieri

Leopoldo Fortunato Galtieri Castelli was an Argentine general and the de facto President of Argentina from December 1981 to June 1982.

Leopoldo Galtieri was chief combat engineer of the Argentine Army and a supporter of the 1976 military coup d'etat which helped him become commander-in-chief of the army in 1980.

Leopoldo Galtieri overthrew Roberto Viola, was appointed president, and established Argentina as a strong Cold War ally of NATO and the United States, while introducing fiscally conservative economic reforms, and increasing Argentine covert support for the anti-communist Contras guerrillas during the Nicaraguan civil war.

In domestic policy, General Leopoldo Galtieri continued the Dirty War with the 601 Intelligence Battalion death squad reporting directly to him.

Leopoldo Galtieri was removed from power after Argentina's defeat by the British armed forces in the Falklands War in June, which led to the restoration of democracy and, in 1986, his court martial prosecution and conviction for war crimes and other offenses.

Leopoldo Galtieri was pardoned by Carlos Menem in 1989 and lived in obscurity until his arrest for new charges shortly before his death in 2003.

Leopoldo Fortunato Galtieri was born on 15 July 1926 in Caseros, Buenos Aires Province to working-class Italian Argentine parents Francisco Rosario Galtieri and Nelida Victoria Castelli.

Leopoldo Galtieri was married to Lucia Noemi Gentili, and the couple had one son and two daughters.

In 1975, after more than 25 years as a combat engineer, Leopoldo Galtieri became commander of the Argentine engineering corps.

Leopoldo Galtieri was an enthusiastic supporter of the March 1976 coup d'etat that overthrew President Isabel Peron and started the self-styled National Reorganisation Process, the establishment of a right-wing military junta government in Argentina.

In March 1981, Leopoldo Galtieri visited the United States and was warmly received, as the Reagan administration viewed the regime as a bulwark against communism.

An adherent to the Argentine military's Cold War-era doctrine of "ideological frontiers", Leopoldo Galtieri secured his country's support for Contra rebel groups opposing the Socialist Sandinista government in Nicaragua during the Nicaraguan Revolution.

On 22 December 1981, Leopoldo Galtieri was appointed President of Argentina one week after ousting General Roberto Viola, who had been in power since March.

Leopoldo Galtieri retained direct control of the army whilst President of the governing Military Junta and did not appoint a new commander-in-chief.

Leopoldo Galtieri instituted limited political reforms which allowed the expression of dissent, and anti-junta demonstrations soon became common, as did agitation for a return to democracy.

Leopoldo Galtieri appointed conservative economist and publisher Roberto Alemann as Economy Minister.

Leopoldo Galtieri supported the Central Intelligence Agency in its fight against the Sandinistas in Nicaragua, while he was warmly welcomed during his visit to the White House.

Leopoldo Galtieri was blamed for the defeat and was removed from power, and he spent the next 18 months at a well-protected country retreat while democracy was restored to Argentina.

Leopoldo Galtieri was cleared of the civil rights charges in December 1985, but in May 1986 he was found guilty of mishandling the war and sentenced to prison.

Leopoldo Galtieri was heavily blamed for Argentina's defeat in the Falklands War.

Leopoldo Galtieri became a recluse and refused most requests for interviews by journalists, though in a rare interview he stated he had "no regrets" over anything he had done during the Dirty War.

Leopoldo Galtieri lived on an army pension of 9,000 pesos per month, and attempted to claim a Presidential pension, but a judge denied it.

Leopoldo Galtieri faced prosecution with 28 other officials, but due to his poor health, he was allowed to remain at home.

Leopoldo Galtieri underwent surgery for pancreatic cancer on 16 August 2002 at a hospital in Buenos Aires.

Leopoldo Galtieri died there of a heart attack on 12 January 2003, aged 76.

Leopoldo Galtieri's body was interred in a small mausoleum at La Chacarita Cemetery.