Hugo Omar Cóccaro is an Argentine

Argentina

Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...

 Justicialist Party

Justicialist Party

The Justicialist Party , or PJ, is a Peronist political party in Argentina, and the largest component of the Peronist movement.The party was led by Néstor Kirchner, President of Argentina from 2003 to 2007, until his death on October 27, 2010. The current Argentine president, Cristina Fernández de...

 (PJ) politician, former governor of Tierra del Fuego Province

Tierra del Fuego Province (Argentina)

Tierra del Fuego is an Argentine province entirely separated from mainland Argentina by the Strait of Magellan. It includes:* The eastern part of the Isla Grande of Tierra del Fuego archipelago and the Staten Island.* Argentina's claims to the Falkland Islands and to...

 (formally Tierra del Fuego, Antarctica, and South Atlantic Islands).

Born in Saladillo

Saladillo

Saladillo is a town in Buenos Aires Province, Argentina. It is the head town of the Saladillo Partido.-External links:...

, Buenos Aires Province

Buenos Aires Province

The Province of Buenos Aires is the largest and most populous province of Argentina. It takes the name from the city of Buenos Aires, which used to be the provincial capital until it was federalized in 1880...

, Cóccaro relocated to Tierra del Fuego at age 20 with his brother, with whom he started a construction firm. He later purchased the San Justo Estancia, a lenga beech sawmill near Río Grande

Río Grande, Tierra del Fuego

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. He had four daughters, and his marriage ended in separation.

Cóccaro entered politics in 2003, when he was elected vice-governor under Governor Jorge Colazo

Jorge Colazo

Jorge Colazo, "El Potro", is an Argentine Radical Civic Union politician. He sits in the Argentine Senate representing Tierra del Fuego Province in the majority block of the Front for Victory and was formerly governor of that province.Colazo attended primary school in Córdoba before moving to...

 of the Radical Civic Union

Radical Civic Union

The Radical Civic Union is a political party in Argentina. The party's positions on issues range from liberal to social democratic. The UCR is a member of the Socialist International. Founded in 1891 by radical liberals, it is the oldest political party active in Argentina...

 (UCR). He fell out with Colazo, however, and there were public rows between them. He became acting governor of Tierra del Fuego on October 25, 2005, when Colazo was suspended, and was confirmed in the post on December 2.

His tenure was marked for its failed support for RENASA, a provincial petroleum

Petroleum

Petroleum or crude oil is a naturally occurring, flammable liquid consisting of a complex mixture of hydrocarbons of various molecular weights and other liquid organic compounds, that are found in geologic formations beneath the Earth's surface. Petroleum is recovered mostly through oil drilling...

 concern, and a subsequent impeachment

Impeachment

Impeachment is a formal process in which an official is accused of unlawful activity, the outcome of which, depending on the country, may include the removal of that official from office as well as other punishment....

 attempt. Cóccaro ran for reelection in 2007, and won the first round; but he was defeated in the runoff by Fabiana Ríos

Fabiana Ríos

María Fabiana Ríos is an Argentine politician of the party ARI . She is the governor of the province of Tierra del Fuego since December 17, 2007. She is currently the only woman governor in Argentina.Ríos was elected governor on June 24, 2007...

, the first woman to be elected governor in the history of Argentina.