The Argentine international jurist and diplomat Luis María Drago (1859-1921) is known for the "Drago Doctrine," which held that international law did not authorize European powers to use armed intervention to force American republics to pay public debts.

Luis María Drago the son of Luis María Drago and Estela Sánchez Drago, was born on May 6, 1859, in Buenos Aires. After being educated by tutors and in private schools, he began to work for newspapers and to study at the university in 1875. In 1882 he completed a doctorate of laws, served briefly in the provincial legislature, and became a judge in the Buenos Aires civil and criminal courts. Later he published a pioneer study of penal problems.

In 1902 Drago was elected to the Chamber of Deputies, but almost immediately President Julio Roca appointed him minister of foreign relations. British and German fleets at...