EMILIO EDUARDO MASSERA PADULA - 1977/11/08

• Document Type: SPECIALCOLLECTION
• Collection: Argentina Declassification Project - The "Dirty War" (1976-83)
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): 03309571
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: U
• Document Page Count: 1
• Document Creation Date: April 3, 2019
• Document Release Date: April 12, 2019
• Publication Date: November 8, 1977

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0 3.5(c)
Approved for Release: 2018/10/02 C03309571
Emilio Eduardo MASSERA Padula
(Phonetic: maSEHra)
Commander in Chief of the
Navy; Member, Ruling Junta
Addressed as:
Admiral Massera
Adm. Emilio Massera
has been Commander in Chief
of the Navy since 1973.
As such, he is one of the
triumvirate of armed forces
commanders who compose the
military junta that has
governed Argentina since
March 1976. As the most
senior of the three service
chiefs, Massera presides
over the junta's meetings, although he is not its
President.
ARGENTINA
The most politically ambitious of the junta's
members, Massera has engaged in political maneu-
verings and support-building efforts--presumably
with an eye to seeking the Presidency for himself as
a civilian, should elections be called in the next
few years. Such moves have generated problems for
President Jorge Videla: Massera has aligned himself
with the more conservative, hard-line elements
within the armed forces who are dissatisfied with
Videla's moderate approach to governing.
Massera is friendly toward the United States.
He served in this country as an adviser to the
Inter-American Defense Board during 1963-64, and he
was later a student at the Inter-American Defense
College. His latest visit to this country was in
February 1975, when he met with the US Chief of
Naval Operations and received the Legion of Merit
medal.
Massera, 52, is an intelligent, competent and
professional officer. He has a strong, forceful
personality, an excellent sense of humor, and an
easy and articulate conversational manner. He likes
to read, and he enjoys yachting, skindiving and
horseracing. Massera is married to the former Delia
Esther Vieyra and has two sons. He speaks limited
French and English.
Approved for Release: 2018/10/02 C03309571
CR M 77-15698
8 November 1977
3.5(c)
3.3(b)(1)
3.5(c)
3.3(b)(1)