Eva María Duarte de Perón was an Argentine actress and political leader, the wife of Argentine President Juan Perón and First Lady of Argentina from 1946 until her death in 1952. She is usually referred to as Eva Perón or Evita. Juan Perón was elected President of Argentina in 1946; during the next 6 years, Eva Perón became powerful within the pro-Peronist trade unions, primarily for speaking on behalf of labor rights. She also ran the Ministries of Labor and Health, founded and ran the charita ...