Francisco Antonio Pinto

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General Francisco Antonio Pinto
2nd President of Chile
In office 8 May 1827 – 16 July 1829
Preceded by	Ramón Freire
Succeeded by	Francisco Ramón Vicuña
In office 19 October 1829 – 2 November 1829
Vice President	Joaquín Vicuña
Preceded by	Francisco Ramón Vicuña
Succeeded by	Francisco Ramón Vicuña
Personal details
Born	23 July 1785 Liberal Party (1849-1858)
Spouse	Luisa Garmendia
Signature

Francisco Antonio Pinto y Díaz de la Puente (Latin American Spanish: [fɾanˈsisko anˈtonjo ˈpinto]; July 23, 1785 – July 18, 1858) was a Chilean politician who served as President of Chile between 1827 and 1829.^[1]

He was born in

In his youth he dedicated himself to commerce. According to the social norms of the time, he also became a militia officer in the "Regimiento del Rey" (King's regiment). In 1810, while in Lima, he heard of the formation of the Government Junta of the Kingdom, and immediately returned to the country, where he was charged with a diplomatic mission to Buenos Aires. After that successful first mission, he was sent to England, and then to other European countries, with the mission of gathering support for the independence movement. While in Europe he learnt of the news of the defeat of the Chilean army in the Battle of Rancagua and the recapture of Chile by the Spanish troops. He then returned to Argentina to cooperate in the formation of a new army.

Pinto married Luisa Garmendia Aldurralde and had two children, Aníbal Pinto, who would become President of Chile, and Enriqueta Pinto, future wife of President Manuel Bulnes. His grandnephew (and grandson of José Miguel Carrera), Ignacio Carrera Pinto, became a hero at the War of the Pacific.

In 1820 he finally returned to Chile. He was then sent by

In 1827, due to the resignation of President Agustín Eyzaguirre, General Ramón Freire was elected president, while General Pinto was elected Vice President. When General Freire himself resigned on May 5, 1827, General Pinto took over the position as "Accidental President". As such he participated in the drafting of the Constitution of 1828.

A new presidential election was called in May 1829. General Pinto was the clear winner out of 9 candidates, with 118 electoral votes (29.06%), and was proclaimed elected on October 19. Nevertheless, the onset of the

The problem that caused the revolution happened in the vice presidential election. The winner should have been the first runner-up,

Pinto resigned the Presidency on November 2 (less than two weeks after his proclamation), an event that marked his retirement from public life. All his powers were assumed by the President of Congress, Francisco Ramón Vicuña, who was already acting as "Accidental President" since July 16, 1829, when Pinto had delegated his powers on him for the duration of the electoral campaign.

Pinto only returned to public life in 1841, as a congressman. The Liberal party proclaimed him as a candidate to the Presidency in the Chilean presidential elections of 1841, in opposition to his son in law, General Manuel Bulnes, who finally resulted elected. He did not participate in the campaign in any active form. Nonetheless he was elected a deputy for La Serena, and president of the chamber, on May 30, 1843. He was elected a senator in 1846, and became a member of the permanent war and navy commission. He was also named Privy Council by President Bulnes.^[4]

In 1846, botanist Claude Gay published Pintoa, a genus of flowering plants from Chile, belonging to the family Zygophyllaceae and named in honour of Francisco Antonio Pinto.^[5]

On July 5, 1847 he was elected president of the Senate. He was reelected as a senator on 1855. Pinto died in