He opposed both sides of the Dirty War, and several times filed a writ of Habeas corpus, requesting the freedom of victims of forced disappearances, during the National Reorganization Process.

He established the National Commission on the Disappearance of Persons to investigate the crimes committed by the military, which led to the Trial of the Juntas and resulted in the sentencing of the heads of the former regime.

He resolved the Beagle conflict, increased trade with Brazil, and proposed the creation of the Contadora support group to mediate between the United States and Nicaragua.

Following de la Rúa's resignation during the December 2001 riots, Alfonsín's faction provided the support needed for the Peronist Eduardo Duhalde to be appointed president by the Congress.

His father was of Galician and German descent,[1] and his mother was the daughter of Welsh immigrant Ricardo Foulkes and Falkland Islander María Elena Ford.

The Revolución Libertadora ousted Perón from the national government; Alfonsín was again briefly detained and forced to leave his office in the city council.

He served as the defense lawyer for Mario Roberto Santucho, leader of the ERP guerrillas, but only to carry out due process of law, and not because of a genuine desire to support him.

The UCR stayed silent over the disappearances, but Alfonsín urged the party to protest the kidnapping of senators Hipólito Yrigoyen (nephew of the former president of the same name) and Mario Anaya.

The plan did not work as intended, as the political parties united in a ad hoc coalition, the "Multipartidaria", that rejected the military attempt to control the new government and asked to speed up the elections, which were called for October 1983.

His campaign used a non-confrontational approach, in stark contrast with the Peronist candidate for the governorship of the Buenos Aires province, Herminio Iglesias.

[17] During the campaign, both parties made similar proposals to reduce authoritarianism and the political influence of the military, and to maintain the Argentine claim in the Falkland Islands sovereignty dispute.

[24] Alfonsín also ordered the initiation of judicial cases against guerrilla leaders Mario Firmenich, Fernando Vaca Narvaja, Ricardo Obregón Cano, Rodolfo Galimberti, Roberto Perdía, Héctor Pardo and Enrique Gorriarán Merlo; and military leaders Jorge Videla, Emilio Massera, Orlando Agosti, Roberto Viola, Armando Lambruschini, Omar Graffigna, Leopoldo Galtieri, Jorge Anaya and Basilio Lami Dozo.

[28] The priority of Raúl Alfonsín was to consolidate democracy, incorporate the armed forces into their standard role in a civilian government, and prevent further military coups.

This project was resisted by human rights organizations such as Mothers of the Plaza de Mayo and public opinion,[31] as it was expected that the defendants would be acquitted or receive low sentences.

The government sought to deepen the internal divisions between the unions by appointing Alderete as minister of labor and promoting legislation to benefit his faction.

However, unlike similar situations in the past, the CGT sided with Alfonsín during the military rebellions, and did not support the removal of a non-Peronist president.

[50] With the end of the military dictatorship, Alfonsín pursued cultural and educational policies aimed at reducing the authoritarian customs of several institutions and groups.

The church opposed it, but it had huge popular support that included even Catholic factions, who reasoned that marital separation already existed, and divorce simply made it explicit.

In line with the teachings of Pope John Paul II, the Church criticized what it perceived as an increase in drugs, terrorism, abortion, and pornography.

[35] Alfonsín proposed the postponement of the sovereignty discussions, instead negotiating for a de jure cease of hostilities, with a reduction in the number of military forces and normalization of Argentina–United Kingdom relations.

[56] Argentina allied with Brazil, Uruguay and Peru, three countries that had also recently ended their local military dictatorships, to mediate in the conflict between the United States and Nicaragua.

[58] Initially, Alfonsín refused to foster diplomatic relations with the Brazilian military government, and only did so when the dictatorship ended and José Sarney became president.

Argentina and Brazil signed the Program of Integration and Economic Cooperation (PICE),[59] and in 1988 both countries and Uruguay agreed to create a common market.

This plan froze prices and wages, stopped the printing of money, arranged spending cuts, and established a new currency, the Austral, worth 1 United States dollar.

Alfonsín surprised observers in April 1986 by announcing the creation of a panel entrusted to plan a transfer of the nation's capital to Viedma, a small coastal city 800 km (500 mi) south of Buenos Aires.

[68] His proposals boldly called for constitutional amendments creating a Parliamentary system, including a prime minister, and were well received by the Chamber of Deputies, though they encountered strong opposition in the Senate.

The governments of Brazil, Chile, Colombia, France, Mexico, Paraguay, Peru, Spain, Uruguay, and the United States sent messages of condolence.

[84] In addition to Tabaré Vázquez, Julio María Sanguinetti of Uruguay, and Fernando Henrique Cardoso of Brazil attended the ceremony.

[83] Historians Félix Luna, Miguel Angel de Marco, and Fernando Rocchi all praise the role of Raúl Alfonsín in the aftermath of the Dirty War and the restoration of democracy.

[85] Alfonsín received the 1985 Princess of Asturias Award for international cooperation because of both his role in ending the Beagle dispute and his work to reestablish democracy in Argentina.