Adolfo Rodríguez Saá

Infobox_President | name=Adolfo Rodríguez Saá


| nationality=Argentine
order=50th President of Argentina
term_start=December 23, 2001
term_end=December 30 2001
predecessor=Ramón Puerta
successor=Eduardo Camaño
birth_date=birth date and age|1947|07|25
birth_place=San Luis
dead=alive
spouse=
party=Justicialist
vicepresident=
profession=Lawyer
order3=Governor of San Luis
predecessor3= Military Junta
successor3=Alicia Lemme
term3=December 10, 1983 – December 22, 2001
vicegovernor3= Alicia Lemme

Adolfo Rodríguez Saá Páez Montero (born July 25, 1947) is an Argentine Peronist politician. He was the governor of the province of San Luis during several terms, and briefly served as President of Argentina.

Rodríguez Saá was born to an important political family in San Luis. His grandfather and namesake Adolfo Rodríguez Saá and his great-uncle were both governors of the province, and his father was the police chief. He graduated as a lawyer from the National University of Cuyo and the University of Buenos Aires, and became a provincial legislator in 1973, at the age of 25. In 1993 he was found in a "love hotel" with a woman and two men, causing a minor scandal; Rodríguez Saá claimed he was the victim of a kidnapping and blackmail plot.

Rodríguez Saá was elected governor of San Luis for the Justicialist Party and stayed in office during several consecutive terms, from 1983 to 2001. He improved the finances of the province and obtained several awards. After the riots of 2001 and the subsequent resignation of President Fernando de la Rúa, Rodríguez Saá was chosen by Congress to be the President of the Argentine Nation. He was replaced in the governor's office by María Alicia Lemme, the vice-governor of San Luis, and took office as on December 23, 2001.

During his short time in office, he announced the creation of a new currency, the "argentino" (not backed up by reserve currency but by the real estate properties of the nation), to remedy the shortage of cash caused by the economic crisis. He also declared a default on the Argentine national debt. However, on December 30 he resigned, alleging lack of support from the rest of the Justicialist Party. In his last speech he recounted the achievements of his 1-week administration and accused Justicialists governors and legislators of meanness and shortsightedness.

After the end of Eduardo Duhalde's term, Rodríguez Saá ran for president in the April 2003 elections. Candidates included two other Justicialists, each running outside the party structure. Rodríguez Saá came in fourth, with 14.1% of the vote. At the 2005 election he was elected Senator for San Luis, where he currently sits with his block, the "Alianza Frente Justicialista".

Rodríguez Saá had five children with his first wife and one with his second one. His brother, Alberto Rodríguez Saá, is currently the governor of San Luis. The very wealthy Saa family of Argentina and Chile are originally Arab Christians from Ramallah, Palestine. Many fellow Saa family members live in the United States and most spell their family name as "Saah" rather than Saa, however both are used widely in the Americas as well as back home in Palestine.

References

*
* [http://www.almargen.com.ar/sitio/seccion/historia/sanluis/ The Rodriguez Saá Family]
* [http://www.fmmeducacion.com.ar/Historia/Cacerolazos/190renunciarodriguezsaa.htm Rodríguez Saá's last speech and resignation.]
* BBC News. 31 December 2001. [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/1735300.stm Argentina 'to cancel' elections.]
* BBC News. [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/1724982.stm Argentina's seven-day president] — Rodríguez Saá's profile.
* CNN.com. 31 December 2001. [http://archives.cnn.com/2001/WORLD/americas/12/30/argentina.resignation/index.html Argentina president resigns - Becomes third leader in 10 days to quit.]
* [http://www.cuyonoticias.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=blogsection&id=6&Itemid=32 Diario CuyoNoticias.]