Alberto Weretilneck

Born in El Bolsón, Río Negro, he joined the center-left Broad Front, and was elected mayor of Cipolletti, Río Negro Province, in 2007.[1] He became a supporter of Kirchnerism and was elected Vicegovernor in 2011;[2] he was also named Vice President of the Broad Front on December 17, serving with Adriana Puiggrós.[3]

Weretilneck joined Justicialist Party nominee Carlos Soria in December 2010 as his running mate for the 2011 gubernatorial campaign; while they belonged to different parties, their coalition was endorsed by both Weretilneck's Broad Front and President Cristina Kirchner's Front for Victory (which headed the Justicialist Party).[4] Elected with Soria that September in a landslide, Weretilneck became governor on January 1, 2012, after the sudden death of Governor Soria.[5]

Weretilneck's administration worked closely with the opposition UCR in the Provincial Legislature, while also participating in housing plans funded by the Federal Government which allowed the construction of 2,600 homes.[6] During his first term the Viedma Riverwalk was built, as well as the repavement of Routes 3 and 251 (which serve the province's remote southern half).[7] He also inaugurated 22 new primary schools and extended the school; among the new schools opened was the Lucerinta Cañumil Elementary School, the first officially bilingual Mapudungun/Spanish school in the province.[8]

Governor Weretilneck was comfortably reelected to a second term in 2015. His Juntos Somos Río Negro (Together We Are Río Negro) alliance defeated the Front for Victory (FpV) candidate, Senator Miguel Ángel Pichetto, by 53% to 34%.[9]