Pablo Riccheri (August 8, 1859 – July 29, 1936) was an Argentine army officer and minister of war during the second administration of president Julio Roca.
His tenure was marked by ongoing efforts to modernize the Argentine Armed Forces amid tensions in Argentina-Chile relations resulting from the Beagle and Puna de Atacama disputes.
He also advanced the landmark Law 4.301 (the Ricchieri Act) of 1901, which mandated compulsory military service for a minimum of one year for able-bodied Argentine men at age 18;[1] conscription (colloquially known in Argentina as la colimba) would remain in force until 1995.
He was promoted to the rank of brigadier general in 1904 and retired from his post as War Minister upon the end of President Roca's term in October.
He nevertheless lent his support in 1909 to UCR leader Hipólito Yrigoyen's call for universal male suffrage and the secret ballot (reforms opposed by the ruling National Autonomist Party).
[5] Ricchieri was commissioned in 1916 to prepare a situational appraisal of World War I for the Argentine Government, which at that point considered enlisting troops to the aid of the Triple Entente allies.