Axel Kicillof (Spanish: [ˈaksel kisiˈlof], born 25 September 1971) is an Argentine economist and politician who has been Governor of Buenos Aires Province since 2019.

A longtime professor of Economic Sciences at the University of Buenos Aires and outspoken critic of the neoliberal policies of the Kirchners' predecessors, he is known for his unorthodox haircut and dress code, signifying his anti-establishment views.

[22] While he was a professor, Kicillof was noted for his anti-Kirchner, Keynesian writings on the website of CENDA (the Center for Argentine Development, a think tank that he headed).

At the Center of Studies for the Planning of Development (CEPLAD) at the Institute of Economics Research (University of Buenos Aires), he was appointed the deputy director and served from 2006 to 2010.

Between 1990 and 1995, Kicillof worked in various advisory capacities for National Motor Vehicle Transport Commission (CONTA), Tintorerías Ecológicas Dolphin System, the Eduardo Sívori Museum (pro bono), Transportes Vidal S.A., SARTOR S.A., CALED S.A., Molinari S.A., Clínica Cirugía Plástica, Centro Médico Bacigaluppi, Center for Education on Sexuality Research and Therapy (CETIS), Center for Urology and Male Health (CEUSA), among other clients.

In 1997, he acted as technical consultant to the Minister Secretary General of the Executive Branch in connection with the development of the government's social plan for 1998–2000.

[25] With the start of the second term of Cristina Fernández de Kirchner as president of Argentina, Kicillof was appointed Secretary for Economic Policy and Developmental Planning, integrating the organizational chart of officials of the Ministry of Economy and Public Finance of the Nation, which was headed by Hernán Lorenzino.

[26] Fernández de Kirchner named Kicillof to the post of Secretary, or Deputy Minister, for Economic Policy and Development Planning in December 2011.

[21] In this position, Kicillof oversaw the controversial 2012 nationalization of YPF, the Argentine oil company then controlled by the Spanish energy firm Repsol.

[28] He justified this action as part of a needed reversal of the Argentinian economic policies of the 1990s, when the peso had been pegged to the dollar and government assets had been sold off.

According to The New York Times, Kicillof was leading "a shift in the government's policies" as Argentina sought "to regain access to global financial markets, following the country's default on its foreign debt in 2002."

The profile described Kicillof as "mercurial...a scholar with rockabilly-style sideburns and an aversion to business suits", and said that he was "emerging as the face of policy shifts that are sending tremors through financial markets around the developing world", as well as "wielding greater influence over an array of areas, from Argentina's oil industry to the government's attempts to slow capital flight and improve relations with international creditors."

[23] El País reported in August 2014 that Kicillof had recently prevailed over the president of the Central Bank, Juan Carlos Fábrega, in two debates, including the question of whether to pay holdout creditors.

[34] On 3 July 2014, Newsweek reported that Argentina was "pinning its hopes on the star power and persuasive skills of its young economy minister, Axel Kicillof, to broker an 11th-hour deal."

Noting his refusal to meet with the holdout creditors, who were based in New York, Newsweek stated that "even after a U.S. judge appointed mediator Daniel Pollack to assist Argentina in forging a long-awaited settlement with its unpaid creditors, Kicillof traveled to New York in late June – but only to give an explosive speech at the U.N. lambasting the U.S. courts for driving Argentina's economy to the brink."

"[16] Later in July, Kicillof led a negotiating team that met with Pollack in New York to try to resolve the dispute with Argentina's holdout creditors.

[21] It was Kicillof, reported Business Insider, who persuaded Fernández de Kirchner to ignore the group of private bankers trying to strike a deal.

[36] Kicillof represented Argentina at the November 2014 G-20 Summit in Brisbane, Australia, where he called on member nations to adopt measures against vulture funds.

[40][41][42][43] Ahead of the 2015 general election, Kicillof was announced as the first candidate in the Front for Victory list to the Argentine Chamber of Deputies in the City of Buenos Aires.

[48] Onboard a 2011 Renault Clio (dubbed by the media as the "Kicimóvil"),[49] Kicillof visited all 135 partidos in the province meeting local activists, supporters, and members of the general public.

Kicillof continued his travels onboard the 2011 Clio focusing his campaign on attacking the administration of incumbent governor María Eugenia Vidal, of the Cambiemos alliance, a close ally to president Mauricio Macri.

[70] In June 2014, federal prosecutor Eduardo Taiano charged Kicillof with irregularities in the management of funds for the airport regulatory agency (ORSNA) while he was director of Aerolíneas Argentinas.

According to journalist Marcelo Bonelli, Kicillof, through his deputy, Emanuel Álvarez Agis, had ordered the Central Bank to give Latam special treatment.

Some 200 students who had IT jobs in the Ministry of Economy and who were being paid through their university had published a petition online accusing Kicillof of giving them “precarious” positions and said that within a few days they would issue a court injunction against him.

[75] Kicillof has published articles, both alone and in collaboration in a number of general publications, such as Clarín, La Nación, and Le Monde Diplomatique (Bolivian edition).

[76] Kicillof is married to Soledad Quereilhac, a professor of literature at the University of Buenos Aires and the author of a 2014 book, La imaginación científica.

[80] Laura Di Marco wrote in La Nación in November 2013 that Kicillof "is the son Cristina [Fernández de Kirchner] would have liked".

[81] Kicillof supported the legalization of abortion in Argentina and urged his colleagues of the Justicialista Party to "give women the right to decide about their bodies".