During Rawson dictatorship a relatively unknown military colonel named Juan Domingo Perón was named head of the Labour Department. Perón quickly managed climb the political ladder, being named Ministry of Defence by 1944. Being perceived as a political threat by rivals faction in the military and the conservative camp he was forced to resign in 1945 and was arrested days later. He was later released under mounting pressure from both his base and several allied unions. He would later become president after a landslide victory over the UCR in the 1946 general election as the laborist candidate.