Gustavo Melella

Gustavo Adrián Melella (born 2 December 1970) is an Argentine politician who is the current Governor of Tierra del Fuego Province, having taken office in December 2019. He previously served as Mayor of Río Grande from 2011 to 2019. He is the first openly gay governor of an Argentine province.[1]

Gustavo Adrián Melella
Governor of Tierra del Fuego, Antarctica and Southern Atlantic Islands
Assumed office
17 December 2019
Vice GovernorMónica Urquiza
Preceded byRosana Bertone
Mayor of Río Grande
In office
14 December 2011 – 17 December 2019
Preceded byJorge Martín
Succeeded byMartín Pérez
Personal details
Born
Gustavo Adrián Melella

(1970-12-02) 2 December 1970
San Justo, Buenos Aires Province, Argentina
Political partyFORJA Concertation Party (2010–present)

He belongs to the FORJA Concertation Party.[2]

Early life

Melella was born in San Justo, Buenos Aires Province in 1970 and attended a Salesian school in Almagro. When he was 26 years old he moved to Río Grande in Tierra del Fuego Province, becoming a Philosophy lecturer at a Salesian School. In 2002 he was made Rector.[3]

Political career

From 2004 to 2005, Melella worked as the Director of Local Development in the Río Grande municipal government, and from 2005 to 2011 he served as Secretary of Production. In 2011 he was elected mayor of the city of Río Grande and was re-elected in 2015.[4]

Melella was elected Governor of Tierra del Fuego, Antarctica and Southern Atlantic Islands on 16 June 2019, defeating incumbent Governor Rosana Bertone in the first round.[5] He was sworn in on 17 December 2019.

Personal life

Melella is openly gay. In a radio interview on 18 June 2019, Melella revealed he has been in a same-sex relationship for 16 years.[6]

References
  1. "Gustavo Melella será el primer gobernador abiertamente gay de Argentina | El Diario 24". www.eldiario24.com (in Spanish). 18 June 2019. Retrieved 14 July 2019.
  2. Arias, Mariela (17 June 2019). "Tierra del Fuego: Melella se impuso a Bertone en primera vuelta". La Nación (in Spanish). Retrieved 23 November 2020.
  3. Pizzi, Nicolás (14 October 2018). "Un ex seminarista que saltó de la UCR al kirchnerismo y aspira a la gobernación". Infobae (in Spanish). Retrieved 14 July 2019.
  4. "El intendente Gustavo Melella se impuso con el 53 por ciento de los votos y logró su reelección". El Sureño (in Spanish). 22 June 2015.
  5. "June 16th-23rd: What We Learned This Week". Buenos Aires Times. 23 June 2019. Retrieved 14 July 2019.
  6. "Gustavo Melella: "Soy gay y usaron mi condición para denunciarme por abuso"". Perfil (in Spanish). 18 June 2019. Retrieved 14 July 2019.
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