Horacio Rodríguez Larreta facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Horacio Rodríguez-Larreta
Rodríguez-Larreta in 2012
Chief of Government of Buenos Aires
In office 10 December 2015 – 7 December 2023
Deputy	Diego Santilli
Preceded by	Mauricio Macri
Succeeded by	Jorge Macri
Chief of the Cabinet of Ministers of Buenos Aires
In office 10 December 2007 – 10 December 2015
Mayor	Mauricio Macri
Preceded by	Raúl Fernández
Succeeded by	Felipe Miguel
Personal details
Born	(1965-10-29) 29 October 1965 (age 59) Buenos Aires, Argentina
Political party	Justicialist (1993–2003) Commitment to Change (2003–2008) Republican Proposal (since 2008)
Other political affiliations	Juntos por el Cambio (since 2015)
Spouse	Bárbara Díez de Tejada ​ ​ (m. 2001; separated 2020)​
Children	2
Residences	Buenos Aires, Argentina
Education	University of Buenos Aires Harvard Business School
Occupation	Economist politician
Signature

Horacio Rodríguez-Larreta (born 29 October 1965) is an Argentine economist and politician. He was the former Chief of Government (like a mayor) of the City of Buenos Aires. He was re-elected in 2019 with over 55% of the votes. This made him the first person to win a mayoral election in Buenos Aires in the first round since the city's special constitution was adopted.

Since 2019, he has been a leader in the Argentine opposition group, Juntos por el Cambio. In 2023, he ran for president but did not win the primary election for his party.

Early Life and Education

Larreta was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina, on 29 October 1965. His father, also named Horacio Rodríguez Larreta, was a well-known member of a political movement. He was also the chairman of a famous football club called Racing Club. His great-uncle, Horacio Rodríguez Larreta, was a top lawyer for Argentina's government many years ago.

Horacio Rodríguez-Larreta went to high school at Escuela Argentina Modelo. He then studied economics at the University of Buenos Aires, graduating in 1988. He also earned a Master's degree in Business Administration from Harvard Business School in the United States. He came back to Argentina in 1993.

Starting His Political Career

Horacio Rodríguez-Larreta began his career in public service in 1995. He was appointed director of the National Social Security Administration. This organization helps manage social security benefits for people. In 1998, he moved to the Ministry of Social Development.

In 2000, he led the Comprehensive Medical Attention Program. This program provides healthcare for retirees and pensioners. He helped improve how the organization managed its money.

Forming Republican Proposal

He worked with Mauricio Macri to create a new political party called Commitment to Change. This party later became known as Republican Proposal (PRO). When Mauricio Macri became Mayor of Buenos Aires, Larreta served as his Chief of the Cabinet of Ministers for eight years. This role is like a chief of staff, helping to manage the government.

In 2015, Larreta ran for Mayor of Buenos Aires himself. He won the primary elections for the PRO party. In the main election, he received 45% of the votes. This meant he had to go to a second round of voting against Martín Lousteau. Rodríguez Larreta won the second round and became the new Mayor of Buenos Aires in 2015. He took over from Mauricio Macri.

Chief of Government of Buenos Aires

Rodríguez-Larreta at a press conference

In 2015, Mauricio Macri was elected President of Argentina. At the same time, Horacio Rodríguez-Larreta was elected Mayor of Buenos Aires. Both were from the PRO party.

Rodríguez-Larreta with Barack Obama in 2016

Improving City Security

When Macri became president, he transferred part of the Argentine Federal Police to Buenos Aires. This meant the city government, led by Larreta, now had more control over its police force. With this new control, Larreta's government worked to improve public spaces. They removed street vendors from some busy neighborhoods like Caballito and Once.

In 2017, Rodríguez-Larreta created the Buenos Aires City Police. This new police force was formed by combining officers from the Federal Police and the Metropolitan Police.

Public Works and City Improvements

Rodríguez-Larreta inaugurating a housing complex

During his time as mayor, many big construction projects were started and finished. One major project was the Paseo del Bajo. This is a 7.1-kilometer road that connects two main highways. It was opened in 2019 and cut travel time from 50 minutes to just 10 minutes. This project also created 100,000 square meters of new public green spaces.

Another important project was the Mitre Viaduct. This project raised the Mitre line of the city train above ground. This helped remove many dangerous level crossings where cars and trains used to meet. It also opened new streets for traffic and pedestrians.

In 2018, Rodríguez-Larreta's government opened a new subway station on Line H. This station serves the University of Buenos Aires Faculty of Law. In 2019, three more new stations were opened on Line E.

During his first term, the city saw many improvements:

• Three large viaducts were built.
• Nine kilometers of underground work were done for the Vega Stream.
• Seven new subway stations were added.
• Ten thousand new security cameras were installed.
• Over 62 kilometers of Metrobus lanes were extended.
• Fifty-four new schools were built.
• Ten thousand new homes were created.
• Forty-six new health centers were opened.
• The Olympic District was built for the Youth Olympic Games in 2018.
• The famous San Martin Theater was reopened.
• Corrientes Street was improved.
• Neighborhoods were made better and more organized.
• The city's street lights were changed to 100% LED lights.

Reelection as Mayor

Rodríguez-Larreta with Bill Clinton in September 2021

In 2019, Larreta was re-elected as Mayor of Buenos Aires. He won with almost 56% of the votes. This made him the first candidate to win the mayoral election in the first round since Buenos Aires got its own special constitution. He won in almost all of the city's areas, called comunas.

His Cabinet

Rodríguez-Larreta with then-mayor Mauricio Macri and SBASE chief Juan Pablo Picardo on a 200 Series train

On 3 December, a week before he officially started his second term, Rodríguez-Larreta announced the people who would be in his cabinet. These are the main ministers and secretaries who help him run the city. Some of the key members included:

• Felipe Miguel, Chief of Cabinet of Ministers
• Soledad Acuña, Minister of Education
• Ana María Bou Pérez, Minister of Health
• Martín Mura, Minister of Finances

Personal Life

Horacio Rodríguez-Larreta was married to Bárbara Díez de Tejada. They have two daughters named Paloma and Serena. Bárbara also has an older daughter from a previous marriage. Horacio Rodríguez-Larreta and Bárbara Díez de Tejada separated in 2020. In 2022, he shared that he was in a relationship with Milagros Maylin, who works for the Buenos Aires City Government.

Rodríguez-Larreta is a Roman Catholic. He also has a medical condition called essential tremor (ET).

Electoral History

See also

In Spanish: Horacio Rodríguez Larreta para niños