Ernesto Ricardo Sanz is an Argentine lawyer and political leader. He was born in San Rafael, Mendoza, on December 9, 1956. He studied law at the National University of the Littoral and has been practicing as a lawyer since 1981. He has been married for over three decades to nutritionist Cristina Bessone, with whom he has two children, Fernando and Laura, as well as two grandchildren, Teo and Sol.
Sanz served as a National Senator for the Province of Mendoza until 2015, a role he held for the second time. In that same year, he launched his second pre-candidacy for the presidency of Argentina, though he ultimately withdrew from the race due to a number of obstacles.
Political and Professional Career
Ernesto Sanz is widely recognized as a key figure in the Radical Civic Union (UCR), one of the founding parties of the Cambiemos coalition. His professional journey spans various public and political roles. From 1984 to 1986, he taught Public Law at the Faculty of Economic Sciences of the National University of Cuyo.
He was elected as a Provincial Senator in Mendoza from 1993 to 1999, and later served as mayor of his hometown, San Rafael, from 1999 to 2003. In 2007, he ran for vice governor of Mendoza alongside gubernatorial candidate Roberto Iglesias. Their ticket received 9.8% of the vote, placing fourth in the election.
In 2009, Sanz was elected president of the National Committee of the Radical Civic Union, a position he held until 2011 when he was succeeded by Mario Domingo Barletta. He returned to that leadership role in 2013, this time elected unanimously.
His first attempt at the presidency occurred in early 2011, but on March 29 of that year, he publicly withdrew from the race in which Cristina Fernández de Kirchner was ultimately re-elected.
Today, Ernesto Sanz is largely removed from national politics and has returned to private legal practice, focusing his efforts on his law firm.