Illia, Arturo

Related Category: Argentinian History: Biographies

(ärt´rō ēl´yä), 1900–1983, president of Argentina (1963–66). A country physician, he entered politics after 1930, and from 1948 to 1952 he was one of the few non-Perónist representatives in the national legislature. He was elected president in 1963, but with only 25% of the vote; he was unable to deal effectively with the country's deteriorating economy and the political problems created by the followers of deposed Juan Perón. Illia canceled Argentina's petroleum contracts with foreign companies, a move that, while popular, soon destroyed the country's virtual self-sufficiency in oil. After the Perónists made gains in the 1966 elections, alarmed military leaders deposed Illia and replaced him with Gen. Juan Onganía.