Enrique Víctor Aquiles Balmaceda Toro (3 March 1878 – 4 January 1962) 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 ...

an politician, diplomat and son of

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university * President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ...

José Manuel Balmaceda José Manuel Emiliano Balmaceda Fernández (; July 19, 1840 – September 19, 1891) served as the 10th President of Chile from September 18, 1886, to August 29, 1891. Balmaceda was part of the Castilian-Basque aristocracy in Chile. While he was ...

. He was of

Basque Basque may refer to: * Basques, an ethnic group of Spain and France * Basque language, their language Places * Basque Country (greater region), the homeland of the Basque people with parts in both Spain and France * Basque Country (autonomous co ...

descent and a member of the

Balmaceda family The Balmaceda family of Chile became politically influential during the 19th century, and played a very significant role in Chilean politics. The Balmaceda family is of Basque descent. They are members of the Castilian-Basque aristocracy in Chile.< ...

. Balmaceda was born 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, whos ...

in 1878, the seventh of eight children born to José Manuel Balmaceda Fernández and Emilia de Toro Herrera. He was baptised Enrique Víctor Aquiles. His mother was the granddaughter of Mateo de Toro Zambrano, 1st Count of La Conquista. Five of his siblings lived to adulthood. His father committed suicide in 1891, when Enrique was 13 years old. Balmaceda started his political career by joining the Liberal Democratic Party and was promptly elected deputy for "Itata" (1906–1909) in a 1907

by-election A by-election, also known as a special election in the United States and the Philippines, a bye-election in Ireland, a bypoll in India, or a Zimni election (Urdu: ضمنی انتخاب, supplementary election) in Pakistan, is an election used to f ...

to replace deputy Alberto Sanfuentes who had died, but lost his bid for reelection. In the congressional elections of 1918, he was elected deputy for "Castro" (1918–1921) and was reelected for the same region (1921–1924). On 12 May 1921, 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 ...

appointed him Minister of War and Navy, position he held until 16 August 1921. During the first administration of President

Carlos Ibáñez Carlos may refer to: Places ;Canada * Carlos, Alberta, a locality ;United States * Carlos, Indiana, an unincorporated community * Carlos, Maryland, a place in Allegany County * Carlos, Minnesota, a small city * Carlos, West Virginia ;Elsewhe ...

he was appointed

Minister of the Interior An interior minister (sometimes called a minister of internal affairs or minister of home affairs) is a cabinet official position that is responsible for internal affairs, such as public security, civil registration and identification, emergency ...

from 23 May 1927 to 24 February 1928; he concurrently served as interim Minister of Public Works and of Justice. During the second administration of President Ibáñez, he was appointed Ambassador to the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

. Balmaceda died in Santiago, in 1962, two months shy of his 84th birthday.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Balmaceda, Enrique 1878 births 1962 deaths Politicians from Santiago Balmaceda family Chilean people of Basque descent Liberal Democratic Party (Chile, 1893) politicians Chilean Ministers of Defense Chilean Ministers of Health Chilean Ministers of the Interior Chilean Ministers of Justice Chilean Ministers of Public Works Deputies of the XXVIII Legislative Period of the National Congress of Chile Deputies of the XXXII Legislative Period of the National Congress of Chile Deputies of the XXXIII Legislative Period of the National Congress of Chile Ambassadors of Chile to the United Kingdom