Javier Milei

Javier Gerardo Milei was born on October 22, 1970, in Buenos Aires, Argentina. A talented goalkeeper in the youth divisions of Chacarita Juniors and lead singer in a Rolling Stones tribute band during his youth, Milei turned to economics during Argentina's 1989 hyperinflation crisis. Earning economics degrees from the University of Belgrano and the Torcuato Di Tella University, he worked as chief economist for Corporación América and advised the B20 and G20 forums.

Advocating the Austrian School of economics championed by Ludwig von Mises and Friedrich Hayek, Milei gained national fame as an outspoken, charismatic television commentator excoriating the Argentine political establishment (which he termed 'la casta'). Entering politics in 2021, he was elected to the National Chamber of Deputies for Buenos Aires.

In November 2023, heading the libertarian coalition *La Libertad Avanza*, Milei won the Argentine presidential runoff with 55.7% of the vote—the highest percentage in a democratic election since 1983. Taking office on December 10, 2023, brandishing a symbolic chainsaw representing budget cuts, President Milei slashed federal ministries, eliminated fiscal deficits, and pursued radical market deregulation, commanding global attention as one of the most prominent political phenomena of the 21st century.