Perón, Juan Domingo (1895–1974)

Argentine politician, dictator 1946–55 and from 1973 until his death. His populist appeal to the poor was enhanced by the charisma and political work of his second wife Eva (‘Evita’) Perón. After her death in 1952 his popularity waned and, with increasing economic difficulties and labour unrest, he was deposed in a military coup in 1955. He fled to Paraguay and, in 1960, to Spain. He returned from exile to the presidency in 1973, but died in office in 1974, and was succeeded by his third wife, Isabel Perón.

A professional army officer, Perón took part in the right-wing military coup that toppled Argentina's government in 1943. As secretary of labour and social welfare in the new government, he developed a pro-labour programme that won him popularity with the descamisados (‘shirtless ones’) – former trade unions that were converted into militant organizations. With their support and the aid of his wife Eva, he was elected president in 1946.

Perón instituted social reforms, but encountered economic difficulties, and his increasingly dictatorial methods caused him to lose the support of the Roman Catholic Church. He was instrumental in initiating long-lasting changes in the national political arena, and today Peronism remains a powerful political force.