![\"Recoleta](\"http:\/\/www.recoletacemetery.com\/images\/201011A02.jpg\" "\\"Recoleta")
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Born in Buenos Aires in 1877, Enrique Mosconi<\/strong> spent a couple of years during childhood in Europe but his family eventually returned to Argentina. After finishing elementary school, Mosconi enrolled in the national military academy & graduated at the age of 17. Typical of the era, the military was becoming more professional & Mosconi decided to study in civil engineering.\u00a0Graduating in 1903, he was sent to learn about energy & communications in Europe & brought the best technology back to Argentina.<\/p>\n In spite of his early contributions, Mosconi would be most remembered for his next assignment beginning in 1922: General Director<\/strong> of Yacimientos Petrol\u00edferos Fiscales<\/em> (YPF<\/strong>)… Argentina’s state-run petroleum company. Although not an expert in the field at first, Mosconi did his best to improve working conditions in Comodoro Rivadavia<\/a> where the first discoveries had been made in 1907. Becoming highly influential & respected, Mosconi had the ear of President Marcelo T. de Alvear<\/a> & usually received anything he requested. As a result, YPF grew as a company & demonstrated that Argentines had the capability to manage every aspect of the petroleum industry… from perforation to refinement.<\/p>\n Early during his gestion, conflicts rose between Mosconi & companies such as Standard Oil<\/strong> & Royal Dutch Shell<\/strong>. He was determined to keep Argentine oil out of the hands of foreign trusts. Mosconi traveled to many countries in Latin America, where several state-run companies similar to YPF eventually formed, much to his credit. One plaque reminds visitors of Mosconi’s defiance:<\/p>\n A few days after the military coup<\/strong> which ousted President Hip\u00f3lito Yrigoyen in 1930, Mosconi resigned from YPF. Several key government positions were filled with people friendly to foreign oil trusts, & some historians think the coup could have been partially supported by Mosconi’s enemies. Perhaps because of this, Mosconi disappeared from the scene. Despite a stroke which left him partially paralyzed, he traveled extensively & wrote influential books about the petroleum industry, winning many awards abroad for his ideas.<\/p>\n Mosconi passed away in 1940 while living with his older sisters & had only a few pesos to his name. His crypt is a wonderful monument to mid-20th century art<\/strong>, built with YPF funds. Although Mosconi may not have increased production to the extent he projected, he took a marginally run company & made it a source of national pride. No doubt Mosconi would have been horrified if he could have seen into the future when YPF was purchased for U$S 15 billion in 1999 by the Spanish company Repsol<\/strong>.<\/p>\n Born in Buenos Aires in 1877, Enrique Mosconi spent a couple of years during childhood in Europe but his family eventually returned to Argentina. After…<\/p>\n![\"Recoleta](\"http:\/\/www.recoletacemetery.com\/images\/201109K12.jpg\" "\\"Recoleta")
<\/p>\n![\"Recoleta](\"http:\/\/www.recoletacemetery.com\/images\/201109K11.jpg\" "\\"Recoleta")
<\/p>\n![\"Recoleta](\"http:\/\/www.recoletacemetery.com\/images\/201109K10.jpg\" "\\"Recoleta")
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