The government officially announced the appointment Carlos Alberto Presti as the new defense minister. This happened through Decree 869/2025, published this Tuesday in the Official Gazette.
Presti will take office on December 10, a day after the end of the term of Luis Petri, who was sworn in last week as national deputy for La Libertad Avanza, representing Mendoza.
The decree stipulates that the government accepts “the resignation from the post of Minister of Defense submitted by Dr. Luis Alfonso Petri, effective December 9, 2025.”
The standard also recognizes the service provided by the outgoing official during his tenure at the helm of the department.
If he continues to lead the ministry, Presti will be available from February 10, 2026. He will then remain in passive retirement from June 10, 2026, “until the completion of the maximum period of two years established in the decree”.
Petri informed the president of his resignation in a letter on Monday. “I am writing to you to announce my resignation from the post of Secretary of Defense of the country, effective December 9, 2025. It will remain in my memory and in my heart that I served as Secretary of Defense during your presidency,” the new deputy wrote.
In the text, the former minister addressed his successor directly. “I wish my successor, the Lt. Gen. Carlos Presti“The greatest success in deepening the path we started on December 10, 2023,” he explained. He also thanked every officer, non-commissioned officer, soldier and sailor of the three armed forces for their commitment to the homeland.
Petri also highlighted his management’s achievements during his two years at the helm of the portfolio. He cited the modernization of the armed forces, the integration of the F-16 weapons system and the development of strategic operations in various regions of the country as the most important milestones of his term in office.
“Under his leadership and in accordance with his instructions as Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, we implemented policies that enabled us to recover critical material, modernize doctrine, and increase training and exercises with allied countries that defend the values of freedom,” Petri described in his farewell letter.
The former minister also stressed the importance of pushing forward reforms in the training of cadets and volunteer soldiers to address current challenges.
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