Alvear, Marcelo Torcuato de (1868–1942)

Argentine statesman, diplomat, and president 1922–28. He was a co-founding member of the Radical Civic Union (UCR) party and an activist in the struggle to establish a liberal democracy in the country. During his presidency he instituted some reforms and established a breakaway party, the Anti-personalist party, which aligned itself with the UCR-opposed conservatives.

On losing the 1928 elections to Hipólito Irigoyen, Alvear once again realigned his allegiances to the UCR party when, in 1930, Irigoyen's government was ousted following a conservative-led military coup. His attempts at re-election in 1931 and 1937 failed.

Alvear was born in Buenos Aires and educated at the Universidad de Buenos Aires. He served as minister of public works in 1911, as a member of parliament 1912–17, and as a diplomat to France under President Irigoyen 1917–22, whom he succeeded in 1922. Alvear has also published widely on democracy and the public arena.