Jorge Obeid

Jorge Obeid
National Deputy
In office 10 December 2013 – 28 January 2014
Constituency	Santa Fe
In office 10 December 2007 – 10 December 2011
Constituency	Santa Fe
In office 10 December 1999 – 10 December 2003
Constituency	Santa Fe
Governor of Santa Fe
In office 10 December 2003 – 10 December 2007
Vice Governor	María Eugenia Bielsa
Preceded by	Carlos A. Reutemann
Succeeded by	Hermes J. Binner
In office 10 December 1995 – 9 December 1999
Vice Governor	Gualberto Venecia
Preceded by	Carlos A. Reutemann
Succeeded by	Carlos A. Reutemann
Mayor of Santa Fe
In office 1989–1995
Preceded by	Carlos Martínez
Succeeded by	Horacio Rosatti
Personal details
Born	(1947-11-24)24 November 1947 Diamante,Entre Ríos Province,Argentina
Died	28 January 2014(2014-01-28)(aged 66) Santa Fe,Santa Fe Province,Argentina
Political party	Justicialist Party Front for Victory(2003–2014)
Spouse	Elba Kemer
Alma mater	National University of the Littoral
Profession	Chemical engineer

Jorge Alberto Obeid(24 November 1947 – 28 January 2014) was an ArgentineJusticialist Party(PJ) politician who was twicegovernorofSanta Fe Provinceand thrice a member of theArgentine Chamber of Deputies.

Early life and education

Obeid was born inDiamante, Entre Ríos,to Edi D'Acierno, ofItalian descent,and Juan Obeid, ofLebanese descent.He enrolled at theNational University of the Littoral,inSanta Fe,and graduated with a degree inchemical engineering.He taught there from 1972 to 1976, and became aPeronist Youthactivist at the time. This forced him to leave the country following theMarch 1976 coup,and returning from exile inPeruin 1977 to visit family in Diamante he was detained. Following the return of democracy in 1983, Obeid worked as a chemist in apolyurethaneplant.He married Elba Inés Kemer, and they had five children.

Political career

Obeid remained active in Peronist politics after his return, and in 1987 was elected to the Santa Fe City Council. He became President of the Council in 1989, and when Mayor Carlos Aurelio Martínez resigned later that year, he succeeded him as mayor.Obeid was elected mayor in his own right in 1991, and later served as President of Argentine Federation of Cities (1992–93) and as representative for Santa Fe Province in the1994 Constitutional Convention.

Governor of Santa Fe

He was elected governor of the province for the first time in 1995, winning an election that was fraught with problems, including a breakdown in the computer system counting the ballots that forced a recount to be done by hand. Obeid was declared the winner after 37 days, subsequent to charges of fraud and manipulation. He was backed by outgoing governorCarlos ReutemannandBuenos Aires ProvinceGovernorEduardo Duhalde,narrowly defeatingAlliancecandidateHoracio Usandizagaand an alternative Peronist candidate backed by PresidentCarlos Menem,RosarioMayorHéctor Cavallero.He served until 1999, when former Governor Reutemann was returned by voters to a second four-year term.

The provincial constitution of Santa Fe does not allow for reelection of a governor, and Obeid was elected to theArgentine Chamber of Deputiesin 1999. He was then returned by voters as governor for a second, non-consecutive term in 2003. Under his administration, and following his initiative, the provincial legislature repealed the controversial electoral law calledLey de Lemas,which had allowed Obeid to twice win the governorship after obtaining fewer votes than his closest opponent. Termed out of office, Obeid headed theFront for VictorySanta Feparty listfor seats in the Chamber of Deputies. His term as governor ended in December 2007 and he was succeeded by the Socialist Mayor of Rosario,Hermes Binner.

He served one more full term as Congressman from 2007 to 2011, and returned to Congress in 2013. Obeid died the following month, however, of apulmonary embolism;he was 66.