ABSTRACT
There is little in the life and career of Juan Domingo Perón before June 4, 1943, that would have predicted his emergence as the most important Argentine political leader of the twentieth century. Coming from relatively modest origins, he chose a career in the army chiefly as a way of getting an education and assuring the possibility of social and economic advancement. His experience in the military was not extraordinary. He rose in rank and responsibilities slowly and regularly, a fact that suggests he was not particularly outstanding. He gave little indication of interest in politics until shortly before the 1943 coup.
