Adolfo Ángel Vicchi

Adolfo Ángel Vicchi was a Mendoza lawyer and conservative politician associated with the province's Democratic Party. He served in Congress and in the provincial government before becoming governor in 1941. His administration ended with the military intervention of 1943. He remained an active opponent of Perón and later returned to national legislative and diplomatic office. ¹

That opposition included involvement in the attempted overthrow of June 1955. The Argentine National Memory Archive identifies Vicchi, Miguel Ángel Zavala Ortiz, and Américo Ghioldi as the intended members of the civilian triumvirate to be installed after the plotters killed Perón. The attack instead left hundreds of people dead in and around central Buenos Aires, and the coup attempt failed. Vicchi's later diplomatic career followed the separate, successful military overthrow that September. ²

In Washington, Vicchi represented the new provisional government and sought military equipment on favorable terms. In October 1956 he explained to American officials that the armed forces wanted modern equipment to maintain internal order and support the government. He proposed ship loans and hemispheric defense commitments while warning that a formal military alliance would provoke opposition at home. ³

After leaving the American embassy, Vicchi served as a senator for Mendoza and later as ambassador to Britain under Arturo Illia. ¹