Eduardo Cruz-Coke Lassabe (April 22, 1899 – March 18, 1974) was a

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east a ...

political figure A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking, a ...

, the conservative candidate in Chile's 1946 presidential election and the principal creator of the Chilean health system. Cruz-Coke was born in

Valparaíso Valparaíso (; ) is a major city, seaport, naval base, and educational centre in the commune of Valparaíso, Chile. "Greater Valparaíso" is the second largest metropolitan area in the country. Valparaíso is located about northwest of Santiago ...

, Chile, the son of Ricardo Cruz-Coke and of Celeste Lassabe. He completed his secondary studies at the Padres Franceses in Santiago, and later graduated as a

medical doctor A physician (American English), medical practitioner (Commonwealth English), medical doctor, or simply doctor, is a health professional who practices medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring health through th ...

from the

Universidad de Chile The University of Chile ( es, Universidad de Chile) is a public research university in Santiago, Chile. It was founded on November 19, 1842, and inaugurated on September 17, 1843.

in 1921. While still a student, Cruz-Coke together with classmate Emilio Tizzoni, founded the ''National Association of Catholic Students'' ( es, Asociación Nacional de Estudiantes Católicos, links=no) (ANEC) based on the

Catholic social teaching Catholic social teaching, commonly abbreviated CST, is an area of Catholic doctrine concerning matters of human dignity and the common good in society. The ideas address oppression, the role of the state (polity), state, subsidiarity, social o ...

s. Cruz-Coke became its first president, and in 1920 he joined the

Conservative party The Conservative Party is a name used by many political parties around the world. These political parties are generally right-wing though their exact ideologies can range from center-right to far-right. Political parties called The Conservative P ...

. After working as a microscopy assistant to professor Juan Noé, in 1925 he became professor of

physiology Physiology (; ) is the scientific study of functions and mechanisms in a living system. As a sub-discipline of biology, physiology focuses on how organisms, organ systems, individual organs, cells, and biomolecules carry out the chemical ...

and

pathology Pathology is the study of the causes and effects of disease or injury. The word ''pathology'' also refers to the study of disease in general, incorporating a wide range of biology research fields and medical practices. However, when used in ...

at the same university, a position he retained until 1955. The same year, he travelled to Berlin to a

sexology Sexology is the scientific study of human sexuality, including human sexual interests, behaviors, and functions. The term ''sexology'' does not generally refer to the non-scientific study of sexuality, such as social criticism. Sexologists app ...

congress and remained in Europe studying for a year. At his return, he founded the ''Society of Biology of Santiago'' in 1928. Between 1927 and 1937 he was Chief of Medicine at the San Juan de Dios Hospital. Between 1937 and 1938 Cruz-Coke served as Minister of Public Health, Social Assistance and Welfare appointed by President

Arturo Alessandri Arturo Fortunato Alessandri Palma (; December 20, 1868 – August 24, 1950) was a Chilean political figure and reformer who served thrice as president of Chile, first from 1920 to 1924, then from March to October 1925, and finally from 1932 to 1 ...

. During his tenure, Cruz-Coke implemented a health program based upon a strictly scientific (as opposed to politic) approach to tackle the main health challenges, particularly maternal and infant mortality. He was the force behind Law 6026 (for Mother and Child) and Law 6174 (of Preventive Medicine). He set up a "National Food Council" ( es, Consejo Nacional de Alimentación, links=no) that defined innovative policies to improve the alimentary weaknesses, particularly among the low-income sectors, and organized the Preventive Medicine Services to diminish labour sickness. The measures had a positive impact in Public Health indexes and were followed by its successors. In 1941, Cruz-Coke was elected a

senator A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

for Santiago and was reelected in 1949. In 1946, he was proclaimed

presidential candidate A candidate, or nominee, is the prospective recipient of an award or honor, or a person seeking or being considered for some kind of position; for example: * to be elected to an office — in this case a candidate selection procedure occurs. * t ...

by the

, but a split of his voting base between him and

Fernando Alessandri Fernando Alessandri Rodríguez (May 21, 1897 – March 27, 1982) was a Chilean political figure, candidate of the centre-right in Chile's 1946 presidential election. He was the son of Arturo Alessandri, who was president from 1920 to 1925 and a ...

resulted in the triumph of

Gabriel González Videla Gabriel Enrique González Videla (; November 22, 1898 – August 22, 1980) was a Chilean politician and lawyer who served as the 24th president of Chile from 1946 to 1952. He had previously been a member of the Chamber of Deputies from 193 ...

, with Cruz-Coke finishing in second place. In 1948, Cruz-Coke founded the

Social Christian Conservative Party The Social Christian Conservative Party ( es, Partido Conservador Social Cristiano, PCSC) was a centrist political party in Chile, founded in 1949 as the Conservative Party split in two factions. For electoral purposes, one of the factions was name ...

. After the end of his senatorial term in 1957, he decided not to run for reelection. In 1958 he was named Ambassador to

Peru , image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg , image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg , other_symbol = Great Seal of the State , other_symbol_type = Seal (emblem), National seal , national_motto = "Fi ...

, where he remained until 1960. In 1963 he was named the first president of the newly established National Committee on Atomic Energy ( es, Comisión Nacional de Energía Atómica, links=no), and in 1965 produced the first plan for the use of

nuclear power Nuclear power is the use of nuclear reactions to produce electricity. Nuclear power can be obtained from nuclear fission, nuclear decay and nuclear fusion reactions. Presently, the vast majority of electricity from nuclear power is produced b ...

in the mining industries of the north of Chile. He died in

Santiago Santiago (, ; ), also known as Santiago de Chile, is the capital and largest city of Chile as well as one of the largest cities in the Americas. It is the center of Chile's most densely populated region, the Santiago Metropolitan Region, whose ...

, in 1974, at the age of 74.

External links

Public Health policies and Ministers

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cruz-Coke, Eduardo 1899 births 1974 deaths People from Valparaíso Cruz Family Chilean people of Italian descent Chilean Roman Catholics Conservative Party (Chile) politicians Social Christian Conservative Party politicians Chilean Ministers of Health Senators of the XXXIX Legislative Period of the National Congress of Chile Senators of the XL Legislative Period of the National Congress of Chile Candidates for President of Chile Ambassadors of Chile to Peru Chilean diplomats University of Chile alumni

See also

External links