Carlos Menem

Carlos Menem was born into a Muslim faith but he converted to Argentina Roman Catholicism in order to accomplish his political ambitions.

He married Zulema Fátima Yoma in 1966 and the couple had two children, a son named Carlos Saúl Facundo Menem Yoma and a daughter named Zulema María Eva Menem. The couple separated after 25 years of marriage in 1991. His son died in a helicopter accident in 1995.

He had an extramarital relationship with Martha Meza, a deputy from Formosa province and they had a son, Carlos Nair Menem born in 1981.

Carlos Menem was born on 2 July 1930 in Anillaco, Argentina to Syrian immigrants Saúl Menem and Mohibe Akil.

He completed his preliminary education at Li Rioja in Argentina. He later pursued studies in law and graduated from the University of Cordoba in 1955. While studying at the university, he got the opportunity to meet President Juan Perón. He got influenced by his ideologies and became a Peronist.

Following the defeat of President Juan Perón in 1955, he participated in a revolt aimed at bringing back Juan Perón into power. As a result he was incarcerated for a short while.

After obtaining his law degree, he began working as a trade union lawyer. During this time, he joined the successor of the Peronist movement – The Justicialist Party.

In 1973 he was elected as governor of La Rioja province nut soon dismissed from office in the 1976 Argentine coup d'état by a military council. He was accused of corruption and maintaining links with guerillas. He was imprisoned and subsequently released in 1978, with a warning to stay outside his home town. He was kept under house arrest until 1981.

In 1983, along with the end of military rule, he regained the governorship of La Rioja. He worked towards expanding his government by favoring businesses with tax benefits and supporting industrial growth. His supporters grew in number and he was subsequently re- elected in 1987.

In 1989, he was elected as the President of Argentina during one of country’s most difficult times. The country was plagued by high inflation and severe economic recession.

As President, he took decisions contrary to traditional Peronist policies and decided to follow the Washington Consensus thereby reducing expenditure than money earned by the state, and opening opportunities for free trade. He also initiated the privatization of state enterprises like the telephones and the airline industry. These steps proved helpful in stabilizing the economy to an extent.

Carlos Menem was the first Peronist President to assume office after the military rule in Argentina between 1976 and 1983.