Carlos Menem

Argentine lawyer and politician who served as the 44th president of Argentina from 1989 to 1999. He was also a Senator for La Rioja Province from 2005 until his death. Ideologically, he identified as a Peronist and supported economically liberal policies. He served as President of the Justicialist Party for thirteen years, and his political approach became known as Menemism.

Born to a Syrian family, Menem was raised as a Muslim, but later converted to Roman Catholicism to pursue a political career.

He was investigated on various criminal and corruption charges, including illegal arms trafficking, (he was sentenced to seven years in prison), embezzlement of public funds (he was sentenced four and half years to prison), extortion and bribery (in both he was declared innocent). His position as senator earned him immunity from incarceration.

Carlos Menem married twice and had four children. When he died from urinary tract infection in Buenos Aires on 14 February 2021 at age 90, he was the oldest living former Argentine president.