Diego Santilli

Diego Santilli
Official portrait, 2025
Minister of the Interior
Assumed office
10 November 2025
PresidentJavier Milei
Preceded byLisandro Catalán
National Deputy
In office
10 December 2021 – 10 November 2025
ConstituencyBuenos Aires
In office
9 October 2002 – 10 December 2003
ConstituencyCity of Buenos Aires
Deputy Chief of Government of Buenos Aires
In office
9 December 2015 – 22 July 2021
MayorHoracio Rodríguez Larreta
Preceded byMaría Eugenia Vidal
Succeeded byClara Muzzio (2023)
Minister of Justice and Security of the City of Buenos Aires
In office
26 November 2018 – 22 July 2021
MayorHoracio Rodríguez Larreta
Preceded byMartín Ocampo
National Senator
In office
10 December 2013 – 10 December 2015
ConstituencyCity of Buenos Aires
Minister for the Environment and Public Areas of the City of Buenos Aires
In office
10 December 2009 – 9 December 2013
MayorMauricio Macri
Preceded byJuan Pablo Piccardo
Succeeded byEdgardo Cenzón
Legislator of the City of Buenos Aires
In office
10 December 2003 – 10 December 2009
Personal details
Born (1967-04-06) 6 April 1967
Buenos Aires, Argentina
PartyRepublican Proposal[1]
ProfessionAccountant
WebsiteOfficial Blog

Diego César Santilli (born 6 April 1967) is an Argentine accountant and politician. A member of the political coalition La Libertad Avanza, Santilli has served in a number of posts in the Buenos Aires city government, most notably as Deputy Deputy Chief of Government (deputy mayor) under Horacio Rodríguez Larreta from 2015 to 2021.

Early life

Diego César Santilli was born in the neighborhood of Palermo, Buenos Aires on April 6, 1967 within a family of Italian origin. He is son of the former president of River Plate and Banco Nación, Hugo Santilli. His mother María Luisa Forchieri, is a tarotologist.

He attended Saint Augustine School and received his degree in accountancy at the age of 23 from the Faculty of Economic Sciences at the University of Buenos Aires; he also pursued marketing studies at the University of California, Berkeley.[2]

Political career

Diego Santilli has held several public offices in Buenos Aires City, the most important being manager of the Buenos Aires City Bank and vice president of the City Legislature, elected in 2003. From 2009 to 2013 he served as Minister of Environment and Public Spaces of the City of Buenos Aires.[3][4][5] He is coordinator of Asociación Buenos Aires en RED and, together with his wife, founder of CANI (Food Culture for an Intelligent, Responsible and Safe Nutrition). In 2008 he wrote a children's book in order to raise awareness about the importance of following traffic norms.

In 2013, he was elected National Senator for the City of Buenos Aires; he was second in Republican Proposal's list, under Gabriela Michetti.[6][7] Both Michetti and Santilli went on to leave the Senate to assume office in executive branches before the end of their term.

Deputy Chief of Government

In 2015, shortly after taking office as Senator, he resigned from this position after Horacio Rodríguez Larreta publicly asked him to be his running mate in that year's mayoral election. In the first round, the Larreta-Santilli PRO ticket achieved a lead of approximately 20 percentage points over their rival, Martín Lousteau of the ECO coalition. As no ticket surpassed the 50% threshold, a runoff was held on 19 July. The PRO ticket won by a narrow margin, with 51.64% of the vote against Lousteau's 48.36%, electing Rodríguez Larreta and Santilli as Chief and Deputy Chief of Government, respectively.

In June 2019, Rodríguez Larreta announced that they would run together again for re-election. This decision meant Santilli would be ineligible to run for the top office in the 2023 election, as he would be seeking a second term as vice mayor.[8] He ultimately confirmed his candidacy. In October 2019, the Larreta-Santilli ticket was victorious in the first round, avoiding a runoff by securing 55.9% of the vote. Their main opponent, Matías Lammens of the Frente de Todos, obtained 35%.[9]

Congressman

In 2021, he ran for a seat in the Chamber of Deputies in the Juntos por el Cambio list in Buenos Aires Province.[10][11]

Personal life

He was married to journalist Nancy Pazos, with whom he has three children.[2]

Electoral history

Executive

Electoral history of Diego Santilli
Election Office List Votes Result Ref.
Total % P.
2015 1-R Deputy Chief of Government of Buenos Aires Republican Proposal 832,619 45.56% 1st → Round 2 [12]
2015 2-R Republican Proposal 861,380 51.64% 1st Elected
2019 Juntos por el Cambio 1,095,013 55.90% 1st Elected [13]

Legislative

Electoral history of Diego Santilli
Election Office List # District Votes Result Ref.
Total % P.
1999 National Deputy Justicialist Party 3 City of Buenos Aires 180,304 9.18% 3rd[a] Not elected[b] [15]
2003 City Legislator Commitment to Change 5 City of Buenos Aires 179,730 10.35% 4th[a] Elected [16][17]
2005 Republican Proposal Alliance 2 City of Buenos Aires 591,552 33.21% 1st[a] Elected [18]
2013 National Senator PRO Union 2 City of Buenos Aires 722,831 39.26% 1st[a] Elected [19]
2021 National Deputy Together 1 Buenos Aires Province 3,550,321 39.77% 1st[a] Elected [20]
2025 La Libertad Avanza 1[c] Buenos Aires Province 3,605,127 41.45% 1st[a] Elected [22]
  1. ^ a b c d e f Presented on an electoral list. The data shown represents the share of the vote the entire party/alliance received in that constituency.
  2. ^ Assumed office on 9 October 2002 in replacement of Inés Pérez Suárez.[14]
  3. ^ Assumed the first place in the list following the resignation of José Luis Espert.[21]

References

  1. ^ "Juntos cierra sus listas y el PRO busca instalar a Diego Santilli | Todo al "colorado", una apuesta arriesgada".
  2. ^ a b "Diego Santilli:Biography". Archived from the original on 2009-03-18. Retrieved 2010-03-16.
  3. ^ ""No comparto muchos dichos de Posse"". Página/12 (in Spanish). 14 December 2009.
  4. ^ "Macri se reúne con sus candidatos electos". Página/12 (in Spanish). 30 October 2013.
  5. ^ "Macri puso en funciones al nuevo ministro de Ambiente y Espacio Público". Gobierno de la Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires (in Spanish). 5 December 2013. Archived from the original on 10 August 2018. Retrieved 9 August 2018.
  6. ^ "El PRO entregó la lista porteña y Pinedo es senador suplente". Télam (in Spanish). 22 June 2013. Archived from the original on 10 August 2018. Retrieved 10 August 2018.
  7. ^ "La Cámara alta le tomó el juramento a los nuevos senadores". Infobae (in Spanish). 27 November 2013. Retrieved 10 August 2018.
  8. ^ "Diego Santilli lanzó su candidatura como diputado por la provincia de Buenos Aires". El Economista (in Spanish). 22 July 2021. Retrieved 9 November 2025.
  9. ^ "Resultados elecciones 2019 en Ciudad de Buenos Aires: ganó Larreta". Página 12 (in Spanish). 28 October 2019. Retrieved 9 November 2025.
  10. ^ "Diego Santilli lanzó su candidatura con un discurso centrado en la seguridad y la educación". La Nación (in Spanish). 22 July 2021.
  11. ^ "Ganó Diego Santilli: Cómo quedará la lista definitiva de Juntos en la provincia de Buenos Aires". La Nación (in Spanish). 13 September 2021.
  12. ^ "Elecciones 2015". eleccionesciudad.gob.ar (in Spanish). Tribunal Superior de Justicia de la Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires. Retrieved 4 February 2023.
  13. ^ "Elecciones 2019" (PDF). eleccionesciudad.gob.ar (in Spanish). Tribunal Superior de Justicia de la Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires. Retrieved 4 February 2023.
  14. ^ "Juran nuevos diputados y escrachan a Pérez Suárez". Parlamentario (in Spanish). 10 October 2002. Archived from the original on 10 December 2024. Retrieved 25 June 2025.
  15. ^ "Elecciones 2013". argentina.gob.ar (in Spanish). Dirección Nacional Electoral. Retrieved 4 February 2023.
  16. ^ "Elecciones 2003". buenosaires.gob.ar (in Spanish). Archived from the original (PDF) on 15 January 2025.
  17. ^ Prickett, Shannon (17 June 2023). "Secretos y anécdotas del primer partido de Macri, a 20 años de su fundación". El Cronista (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 28 June 2023.
  18. ^ "Elecciones Generales CIUDAD AUTÓNOMA DE BUENOS AIRES ESCRUTINIO DEFINITIVO" (PDF). Ministerio del Interior (in Spanish). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2 September 2011.
  19. ^ "Elecciones 2013". argentina.gob.ar (in Spanish). Dirección Nacional Electoral. Retrieved 4 February 2023.
  20. ^ "Consulta de Escrutinios Definitivos". www.padron.gob.ar.
  21. ^ Chaves, Facundo (14 October 2025). "La Justicia Electoral oficializó la lista de La Libertad Avanza en PBA, con Santilli en primer lugar: cómo quedó la grilla". Infobae (in Spanish). Retrieved 3 November 2025.
  22. ^ "Elecciones 2025". elecciones.gob.ar (in Spanish). Cámara Nacional Electoral. Archived from the original on 27 October 2025.
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