José Figueroa Alcorta

Who was José Figueroa Alcorta?

José Maria Cornelio Figueroa Alcorta was President of Argentina from 12 March 1906 to 12 October 1910.

Figueroa Alcorta was born in Córdoba as the son of José Figueroa and Teodosia Alcorta. He was elected a National Representative for Córdoba before becoming Provincial Governor in 1895. In 1898 he returned to the Argentine Congress as a Senator. In 1904 he became Vice-President of Argentina and in 1906 succeeded Manuel Quintana as President. He was an active Freemason.

He is the only Argentine President to date to have held office in - and presided - the three powers of democratic government: Legislative, as Representative and Senator; Executive, as President; and Judiciary, as Justice of the Supreme Court and then President of the same.