Agustin Pedro Justo

Agustín Pedro Justo , 1876-1943, president of Argentina (1932-38). An army general, he rose to prominence (1922) as minister of war under Marcelo Torcuato de Alvear and later participated in the conservative revolution that overthrew Hipólito Irigoyen (1930). As president he became a leading exponent of Pan-Americanism and the League of Nations; together with his foreign minister, Carlos Saavedra Lamas , he was instrumental in ending the Chaco War. In World War II, Justo supported the Allied cause and was, in the face of much pro-Axis sentiment in Argentine political circles, the chief advocate of the United Nations in Argentina. When Brazil declared war on the Axis he requested and received the rank of honorary general in the Brazilian army.

Justo, Agustín Pedro (1876–1943) Argentine statesman. Justo participated in the conservative military coup that overthrew President Hipólito IRIGOYEN in 1930 and was rewarded with the presidency (1932–38). Faced by the effects of revolution, high unemployment, and the economic decline that was caused by the Great DEPRESSION, his regime was autocratic; for example, he outlawed the Communist Party in 1936. However, he supported PAN-AMERICAN cooperation and closer links with Britain. He was defeated in the 1937 presidential election by Roberto Ortiz, despite having been instrumental in ending the CHACO WAR. A supporter of the Allies in World War II, he enlisted in the Brazilian army in 1942 and was killed.