11 Facts About Roberto Iglesias

Roberto Raul Iglesias was born on 25 February 1951 and is an Argentine Radical Civic Union politician, a former leader of the party and formerly a deputy and governor of Mendoza Province.

Roberto Iglesias was elected city councilman in 1991, and Mayor of Mendoza, in 1995.

Roberto Iglesias stepped down in 2003, being elected to the Argentine Chamber of Deputies.

In December 2005, Roberto Iglesias succeeded Angel Rozas as president of the national committee of the Radical Civic Union, effectively leader of the party.

Roberto Iglesias had supported fellow UCR member, Julio Cobos, to succeed him as governor in 2003, but they subsequently fell out in a high-profile manner.

Cobos became a leading supporter of President Kirchner in Radical ranks, taking a more left-wing position, and Roberto Iglesias leading the opposition to Kirchner ahead of the 2007 elections.

Roberto Iglesias threatened to resign if the UCR did not deal with deputies and governors who align themselves with Kirchner.

Roberto Iglesias led negotiations to find a suitable candidate for the UCR to back in the 2007 Presidential elections.

However, Roberto Iglesias eventually resigned the presidency of the party in November 2006 due to differences with Lavagna, having reached the conclusion that an alliance with him would be a mistake, and joined the camp which maintained that the party should look for its own candidate.

Roberto Iglesias left the Chamber of Deputies at the same election.

Roberto Iglesias has accepted the request of Morales to plan together the future of the UCR, including to consider an alliance with the centre-left and a way to accommodate those Radicals who have hitherto backed Kirchnerism in the Plural Consensus.