Gustavo Sáenz

Gustavo Adolfo Ruberto Sáenz Stiro^[1] was born on 14 April 1969 in Salta, the capital city of the homonymous Salta Province. He finished high school at the Bachillerato Humanista Moderno (like fellow governors Juan Manuel Urtubey and Juan Carlos Romero) and then studied law at the Catholic University of Salta (UCASAL).^[2]

In 1995 Sáenz was elected to the Salta City Council for the Justicialist Party, serving until 2003. He also worked in the city government under mayor Miguel Isa, serving as Isa's chief of cabinet and government secretary.^[3] Sáenz served a second term in the city council from 2007 to 2009, during which he was the council's chairman.

In 2009, Sáenz was elected to the Provincial Senate in the Capital Department, succeeding Fernando Yarade.^[4] As senator, Sáenz hosted a radio show called "El senador y la gente" ("The Senator and the People").^[3] He ran for re-election in 2013, but lost to Workers' Party candidate Gabriela Cerrano.^[5]

Following his defeat, Sáenz took a brief hiatus from politics from 2013 to 2015, during which he continued to host a radio talk show.^[2] Ahead of the 2015 election, Sáenz formed a new party, the Salta Identity Party (Partido Identidad Salteña; PAIS) to run for the mayoralty of Salta. Backed by the United for a New Alternative alliance, Sáenz won against the Front for Victory's Javier David.^[6] Shortly after his win, Sáenz was selected by presidential candidate Sergio Massa to run in his ticket in the general election as the vice presidential candidate; the Massa-Sáenz ticket placed third in the general election and Sáenz took office as mayor of Salta on 9 December 2015.^[7][8]

Sáenz ran for the governorship of Salta Province in the 2019 general election, forming the Frente Sáenz Gobernador with his Salta Identity Party and other provincial parties, and receiving the backing of then-governor Juan Manuel Urtubey; he won the election and took office on 10 December 2019.^[9][10]

• Official website of the Governorship of Salta (in Spanish)