Arturo Alessandri
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Arturo Alessandri | |
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| 17th and 21st President of Chile | |
| In office 24 December 1932 – 24 December 1938 | |
| Preceded by | Abraham Oyanedel (acting) |
| Succeeded by | Pedro Aguirre Cerda |
| In office 12 March 1925 – 1 October 1925 | |
| Preceded by | Emilio Bello Codesido |
| Succeeded by | Luis Barros Borgoño (acting) |
| In office 23 December 1920 – 9 September 1924 | |
| Preceded by | Juan Luis Sanfuentes |
| Succeeded by | Luis Altamirano |
| Senator of the Republic of Chile for the 4th Provincial Grouping of Santiago | |
| In office 1949 – 24 August 1950 | |
| Succeeded by | Arturo Matte Larraín |
| President of the Senate of Chile | |
| In office 22 June 1949 – 24 August 1950 | |
| Succeeded by | Fernando Alessandri |
| In office 22 May 1945 – 31 May 1949 | |
| Preceded by | José Francisco Urrejola Menchaca |
| Succeeded by | Humbero Álvarez Suárez |
| Senator of the Republic of Chile for the 6th Provincial Grouping of Curicó, Talca, Maule and Linares | |
| In office 1944 – 15 May 1949 | |
| Preceded by | Amador Pairoa Trujillo |
| Minister of the Interior | |
| In office 22 April 1918 – 6 September 1918 | |
| President | Juan Luis Sanfuentes |
| Succeeded by | Pedro García de la Huerta Izquierdo |
| Minister of Finance | |
| In office 16 June 1913 – 17 November 1913 | |
| President | Ramón Barros Luco |
| Preceded by | Manuel Rivas Vicuña |
| Succeeded by | Ricardo Salas Edwards |
| Personal details | |
| Born | December 20, 1868 Liberal |
| Spouse | Rosa Ester Rodríguez |
| Children | |
| Alma mater | University of Chile |
| Profession | Lawyer |
| Signature |  |
Arturo Fortunato Alessandri Palma (Latin American Spanish:
Early life
Arturo Alessandri was the son of Pedro Alessandri Vargas and Susana Palma Guzmán. His grandfather, Pietro Allesandri Tarzi, was an Italian immigrant from Tuscany who had arrived in Chile from Argentina. Alessandri’s father, Pedro, became head of the family at the age of 19; at the time of Alessandri’s birth, he ran an estate in Longaví. At the age of 12, Alessandri enrolled at the Sacred Hearts High School, where his brothers and father had studied.
At the age of 20, Alessandri began his legal studies at the University of Chile.[1] In 1891, while studying, he participated in the newspaper La Justicia, which was opposed to then President José Manuel Balmaceda. After graduating in 1893, Alessandri married Rosa Ester Rodríguez Velasco, with whom he had 9 children.
In 1897, Alessandri began his political career, becoming a member of the
In 1920, Alessandri was the
First administration
During most of 1924, Chile had been politically paralyzed by a conflict between the President and the conservatively controlled Congress, who refused to enact the laws that he submitted. On September 3, 1924, a group of 56 military officers protested for their low salaries, in the incident known as the
At that point, Alessandri felt that he had become just a pawn of the military and on September 9, he resigned, and requested asylum at the US Embassy. Congress refused to accept his resignation, and instead granted him a six-month constitutional leave of absence. He left the country immediately for Italy. On September 11, a military Junta — the
Second administration
The September Junta was not homogeneous, and quickly a progressive wing, headed by
His second government began with the support of left-wing and radical groups. However, this second group began to distance itself from the President. In March 1925, Alessandri's government repressed a demonstration, leading to the Marusia massacre, soon followed by La Coruña massacre. This break with the working classes caused him to try to maintain a right-wing-radical alliance until 1937, when it took a turn towards the left. In order to face the threats of a coup, Alessandri relied on the republican forces, entrusted with repressing any intent to revolt and never to get involved in politics. They were created shortly before Alessandri's return, as a consequence of the civil movement. They functioned in secret and then publicly, marching in a great parade May 7, 1933, in front of the President, who saluted them. They auto-disbanded in 1936, having considered their mission complete. The President asked the Parliament on several opportunities for the state of constitutional exception, resulting in illegal actions, such as the famous burning of the Topaze Magazine issue No. 285, which depicted a caricature of Alessandri he considered offensive.
That time was also marked by the appearance of new violent occurrences, such as the rural rebellion of Ránquil and their bloody repression, and the
The degree of Alessandri's responsibility in the 1938 Seguro Obrero massacre has been a subject of speculation.[citation needed]
Public life after the presidency
His political life did not end with his presidency. Due to the death of the communist Senator of Curico, Talca, Linares and Maule, Amador Pairoa, he participated in a complementary Senatorial election and won, returning to the Senate on November 8. In 1949 he was reelected but this time for Santiago, while also chosen to be President of this body.
He was of vital importance in the presidential elections of 1942 and 1946, in the first by causing a division of votes of the liberals, supporting Juan Antonio Ríos, and in the second by presenting himself as a preliminary candidate of the liberals. He later yielded his candidacy to his son Fernando, resulting in the division of the presidential candidates of the right and conservative support for Dr. Eduardo Cruz-Coke, in turn favoring the victory of Gabriel González Videla. While President of the Senate of Chile, Alessandri died at the age of 82, on August 24, 1950, and was replaced by his son Fernando Alessandri. One of his other sons, Jorge Alessandri, was president of Chile from 1958 to 1964.
Honours and awards
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Foreign Honours
Grand Cross with Diamonds of the Order of the Dannebrog (4 October 1937)[3]
- Order of the Tower and Sword (6 July 1925)[4]
Grand Cross of the Order of Naval Merit (1912)[5]
See also
References
- George Allen & Unwin, London, 1943, p. 11.
- ^ Intervenciones militares y poder factico en la politica chilena (de 1830 al 2000) Archived 2007-06-17 at the Wayback Machine, Luis Vitale, 2000 (p.38) (in Spanish)
- ^ "Order of the Dannebrog". kongehuset.dk (in Spanish). Retrieved 2020-07-26.
- ^ "Entidades Estrangeiras Agraciades Com Ordens Portuguesas – Página Oficial das Ordens Honoríficas Portuguesas". www.ordens.presidencia.pt (in Portuguese). Retrieved 2018-11-20.
- ^ Guía Oficial de España: 1930. p. 612. Retrieved 2020-12-31.
External links
- San Gregorio Massacre Archived 2021-02-03 at the Wayback Machine
- Newspaper clippings about Arturo Alessandri in the 20th Century Press Archives of the ZBW
