Argentine Republic

Recognition and Resident Representation

The United States recognized the government of Buenos Ayres in January 1823, and diplomatic relations began that December when the American minister presented his credentials in Buenos Aires. Carlos María de Alvear became the first recognized minister sent in the other direction, received by President James Monroe on 7 October 1824. His brief mission followed earlier efforts by agents seeking American support for the independence movement. Alvear returned in 1838 to establish a longer resident mission. [1] [2] [3]

Alvear remained in the United States until his death in 1852. The posting imposed a long separation from his family: his wife, Carmen Quintanilla, did not accompany him in 1838 and never saw him again. [3] [2]

Buenos Aires and the Confederation

The state represented abroad did not immediately have its later territorial and constitutional unity. During the separation of Buenos Aires from the Argentine Confederation in the 1850s, the United States supplied James Peden with credentials to both governments. The American legation moved to the confederal capital at Paraná in 1857 and returned to Buenos Aires after reunification in 1862. [1]

Regional Mediation and Ambassadorial Rank

In 1914, the Washington mission helped mediate the confrontation between the United States and Mexico. Rómulo S. Naón joined Brazil's ambassador and Chile's minister at Niagara Falls; the conference protocols still identified him as Argentina's minister in May. By October, he addressed the American Bar Association in Washington as ambassador, speaking on Argentine constitutional ideas. [4] [5]

The Second World War brought a dispute over recognition of Argentina's government. In 1944, the United States refused normal official dealings with Edelmiro Farrell's administration and withdrew its ambassador from Buenos Aires. Normal relations resumed on 19 April 1945, after Argentina declared war against the Axis powers and the American republics agreed to restore relations. [1]

The New Hampshire Avenue Establishment

Argentina has used the house at 1600 New Hampshire Avenue as its Washington embassy establishment since 1913. The purchase preceded the promotion of the legation to embassy rank the following year. The former private house remains the embassy's public address. [6]

Dictatorship and the Democratic Republic

The military dictatorship of 1976–1983 left a legacy of disappearances and repression that continued to shape diplomatic work after civilian government returned. Subsequent relations included the recovery of evidence about those abuses, financial negotiations, and security cooperation. [7]

Related Reading

• Argentina and the United States