Roberto Marcelo Levingston
Template:Short description Template:Infobox officeholder
Roberto Marcelo Levingston Laborda (10 January 1920<ref>Template:Citation</ref><ref name="who">Template:Citation</ref><ref>Template:Citation</ref> – 17 June 2015) was an Argentine Army general who was the 36th President of Argentina from 1970 to 1971.<ref name="lewis">Template:Citation.</ref><ref name="kh">Template:Citation.</ref> His presidency was marked by a protectionist economic policy amid the country's financial struggles, and the imposition of the death penalty against terrorists and kidnappers.
Early life and education
Levingston was born on 10 January 1920 in San Luis Province.<ref name="nacion"/> He was the son of Guillermo David Levingston Sierralta and Carmen Laborda Guiñazú.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref> After completing his secondary studies, Levingston attended the Colegio Militar de la Nación starting in 1938, where he graduated from in 1941.<ref name="nacion"/> He chose to pursue the branch of cavalry officer at the college, and upon graduating became a second lieutenant of cavalry.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> In January 1948 he obtained the rank of captain after having previously been promoted to first lieutenant.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
Presidency
Levingston's military expertise included intelligence and counterinsurgency, and he took the presidency of Argentina on 18 June 1970, in a military coup engineered by commander-in-chief Alejandro Lanusse that deposed Juan Carlos Onganía over his ineffective response to the Montoneros and other guerillas.<ref name="kh"/> Lanusse later called Levingston's appointment as a "barbarity" while defending the decision at the time, saying that "it was done so as to avoid what had been happening" under Onganía.<ref name="wp">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
His regime was marked by a protectionist economic policy that did little to overcome the inflation and recession that the country was undergoing at the time,<ref name="lewis"/> and by the imposition of the death penalty against terrorists and kidnappers.<ref name="kh"/> In response to renewed anti-government rioting in Córdoba, the labor crisis under his leadership, and his attempt to dismiss Lanusse, he was deposed on 21 March 1971, by another military junta led by Lanusse.<ref name="lewis"/><ref name="kh"/><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Death
He died on 17 June 2015, at the age of 95.<ref name="nacion">Template:Citation</ref> He is the longest-lived President of Argentina.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Personal life
In 1943, Levingston married Betty Nelly Andrés and had two sons and one daughter.<ref name="who" />
Cabinet
Levingston's cabinet underwent several changes during his brief presidency, with key ministerial positions experiencing turnover particularly in October 1970.
| Ministry | Minister | Period | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ministry of Interior | Eduardo Mac Loughlin
Arturo Cordón Aguirre |
18 June 1970 – 13 October 1970
15 October 1970 – 23 March 1971 | |
| Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Worship | Luis María de Pablo Pardo | 18 June 1970 – 23 March 1971 | |
| Ministry of Economy and Labor | Carlos Moyano Llerena | 18 June 1970 – 15 October 1970
26 October 1970 – 23 March 1971 | |
| Ministry of Education | José Luis Cantini | 18 June 1970 – 23 March 1971 | |
| Ministry of Social Welfare | Francisco Manrique
Amadeo Frúgoli |
18 June 1970 – 9 February 1971
10 February 1971 – 23 March 1971 | |
| Ministry of Defense | José R. Cáceres Monié | 18 June 1970 – 23 March 1971 | |
| Ministry of Justice | Jaime Perriaux | 18 June 1970 – 23 March 1971 | |
| Ministry of Public Works and Services | Aldo Ferrer
Oscar Colombo |
18 June 1970 – 26 October 1970
26 October 1970 – 23 March 1971<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |
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