Carlos Saul Menem, b. July 2, 1930, took office as president of Argentina on July 8, 1989, during a severe economic crisis. A Peronista who had been governor of La Rioja province, Menem took immediate steps to curb Argentina's hyperinflation and to effect other economic reforms. More controversially, he pardoned military men accused of human rights abuses and other offenses and also leftists accused of subversion.
