14 Facts About Roberto Lavagna

Roberto Lavagna was born on 24 March 1942 and is an Argentine economist and politician who was Minister of Economy and Production from April 27,2002 until November 28,2005.

Roberto Lavagna then obtained a scholarship to study in Belgium, where he earned a graduate degree in econometrics and economic policy.

Roberto Lavagna holds an honorary doctorate from the University of Concepcion del Uruguay.

Roberto Lavagna co-founded Ecolatina, a think tank, in 1975, and was a member of the board of the Institute for Applied Economics and Society, from 1980 to 1990.

Roberto Lavagna reentered public service as President Raul Alfonsin's Secretary of Industry and Foreign Commerce, between 1985 and 1987, during which he helped negotiate the preliminary trade accords with Brazil that later led to the establishment of the Mercosur trade region in 1991.

Roberto Lavagna left the board of Ecolatina in 2000 to accept a post as Ambassador-at-large to international economic conferences, and to the European Union.

Roberto Lavagna was appointed Minister of Economy by interim President Eduardo Duhalde, on April 27,2002.

The corralito was phased out between December 2002 and March 2003, the economy began a vigorous recovery, and Roberto Lavagna was confirmed in his post by President Nestor Kirchner upon his taking office in May 2003.

Roberto Lavagna was replaced by Felisa Miceli, President of Banco de la Nacion Argentina and a former student of Lavagna's.

Roberto Lavagna only told the press that the President had decided his removal as part of a common post-election renewal.

The next day, Jose Pampuro, former Minister of Defense, admitted that relations between Kirchner and Roberto Lavagna had become "complicated" since the elections, and that the situation was "tense" during the week before Roberto Lavagna's removal.

Roberto Lavagna formed a front, UNA, to run against the government's candidate, Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner, in the October 2007 presidential elections.

Roberto Lavagna was expected to become a vice-president of the Party, seen as a move to widen the base of the party and strengthen Mrs Kirchner's government; he subsequently declared however that he would not seek a position on the PJ executive.

Roberto Lavagna later became an opponent of President Fernandez de Kirchner, and in 2013 co-founded Unidos Para Cambiar with three leading opponents of Kirchnerism within the PJ: Cordoba Governor Jose Manuel de la Sota, Dissident CGT labor federation head Hugo Moyano, and Federal Peronist Congressman Francisco de Narvaez.