Galtieri, Leopoldo Fortunato (1926–2003)

Argentine general and president 1981–82. A leading member from 1979 of the ruling right-wing military junta and commander of the army, Galtieri became president in December 1981. Under his leadership the junta ordered the seizure in 1982 of the Falkland Islands (Malvinas), a British colony in the southwestern Atlantic claimed by Argentina. After the surrender of his forces he resigned as army commander and was replaced as president. He and his fellow junta members were tried for abuse of human rights and court-martialled for their conduct of the war; he was sentenced to 12 years in prison in 1986, but only served a small portion of his sentence. In January 2000, warrants were issued in Spain for the arrest of Galtieri and other high-ranking members of his junta, accusing them of crimes against humanity and genocide during their period of power in Argentina.