Bignone, Reynaldo Benito

   An army general and the fourth and last president (1982–1983) of the military government in Argentina during the “dirty war.” Two weeks after General Leopoldo Fortunato Galtieri, the previous president, resigned in disgrace following Argentina’s defeat in the Falkland Islands/Islas Malvinas conflict, General Bignone became president, taking office on 1 July 1982. By then the military government had lost all credibility owing to the country’s economic disarray, the Falklands debacle, and increasing public unrest over disappearances. Bignone saw his role as twofold—to cover up the military’s involvement in human-rights violations and to return the country to civilian rule. He gave orders to destroy records related to the detained and missing (desaparecidos) and then organized elections—not before adopting the Ley de Pacificación Nacional (Law of National Pacification), which granted immunity from prosecution to members of the military and police for acts committed in combating “subversion.” The law was repealed by President Raúl Alfonsín after he took office in October 1983.