Eduardo Casal, born on February 21, 1958, in Olivos, Argentina, is the Attorney General of the Nation, the highest position held by a prosecutor within the Public Prosecutor’s Office of the Argentine Republic. As the leading representative of federal prosecutors, Casal operates within the institutional framework that interacts with the Supreme Court of Justice of the Nation. He is a lawyer and prosecutor who became the longest-serving Attorney General of the Nation, having assumed the role in 2017.
A distinctive aspect of his tenure is that it has taken place under an interim appointment. When the previous Attorney General left the position, Casal replaced her due to his seniority within the Public Prosecutor’s Office, and he has remained in the role ever since. During this period, he has managed to continue in office despite political and institutional challenges. On several occasions, the lawyer has stated that past administrations attempted to remove him from the position.
Without entering into controversy, the prosecutor stated in an interview that “despite the absence of a permanent head, the Attorney General’s Office continued to function accordingly,” emphasizing the institutional continuity of the body. Since 2017, the main representative of federal prosecutors before the national courts and the Supreme Court has led the institution and has noted that during this period “many things happened.”
Nine years have passed since Casal assumed the position on an interim basis. During that time, he has pointed to several events that shaped the institutional context: “three administrations, a pandemic and the acceleration of digital work.” The lawyer also mentioned threats he received from a political party, which he linked to proposals aimed at modifying the rules required to appoint a permanent Attorney General through the Senate.
Why Eduardo Casal has become the longest-serving Attorney General of the Nation
Before his interim appointment, the lawyer served as Procurador Fiscal before the Supreme Court of Justice of the Nation. Due to his seniority and his long career within the Public Prosecutor’s Office, he was designated interim Attorney General in 2017. Since then, no permanent replacement has been appointed. One of the reasons is the political difficulty of reaching the required agreement in the Senate.
The President and the Senate are responsible for appointing a permanent Attorney General. Usually, the President proposes a candidate and the Senate debates the nomination. The process requires the approval of two-thirds of the Senate, and the lack of political consensus has prevented the appointment of a new head of the institution. As a result, the interim leadership has continued.
Throughout this period, several names were considered as potential candidates for the role. Casal has pointed out that these decisions are political in nature and guided by considerations of opportunity, merit and convenience. During his tenure, he has remained in office under three different administrations: the presidency of Mauricio Macri, followed by Alberto Fernández and currently Javier Milei.
In many cases the issue has not been treated as a legislative priority, and the absence of political agreement has allowed the interim situation to continue. Consequently, Casal has remained at the head of the institution for a record period while the Public Prosecutor’s Office continues to operate under his leadership.
What Eduardo Casal said about the shortage of prosecutors
One of the structural problems highlighted by Casal concerns the shortage of prosecutors within the institution. According to the Attorney General, the lack of appointments has generated an excessive workload for many members of the Public Prosecutor’s Office. Since his interim appointment, only a limited number of prosecutors have been designated.
The lawyer also indicated that the shortage of personnel is not limited to the Public Prosecutor’s Office but also affects positions within the Public Defender’s Office and the judiciary more broadly. The issue has been raised internally within the institution, although Casal acknowledged that it represents only one of several challenges faced by the system.
Data published by the Argentine newspaper La Nación reported that approximately one-third of positions within the Public Prosecutor’s Office remain vacant. The publication indicated that the shortage also affects a significant portion of the judiciary. At one point in recent years, around forty percent of positions within the Public Prosecutor’s Office were unfilled.
Despite these institutional difficulties, Casal continues to manage the institution under a restricted budget compared with previous years. He has described the administration as highly austere, noting that several planned investments have been postponed due to financial constraints.
This complex and unstable context has not altered the trajectory of the Attorney General. Since assuming the interim role in 2017, Casal has remained in office through multiple political administrations, the institutional challenges of the justice system and the disruptions caused by the pandemic, becoming the longest-serving head of the Attorney General’s Office in Argentina.
