Francisco Antonio Pinto y Díaz de la Puente (; July 23, 1785 – July 18, 1858) was a Chilean politician who served as President of Chile between 1827 and 1829.

Early life

He was born in Santiago, the son of Joaquín Pinto and Mercedes Díaz de la Puente. Pinto completed his early studies in the Convictorio Carolino, the best school in the country at the time, and then studied law at the ''

Real Universidad de San Felipe The Royal University of San Felipe ( es, Real Universidad de San Felipe) was a university created by King Philip V in 1738, in territory which was then part of the Kingdom of Spain. It was officially founded in Santiago in 1747 and began teach ...

'', being admitted to practice on October 11, 1808. 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 Luisa (Italian and Spanish), Luísa (Portuguese) or Louise ( French) is a feminine given name; it is the feminine form of the given name Louis (Luis), the French form of the Frankish Chlodowig (German Ludwig), from the Germanic elements ''hlod' ...

and had two children,

Aníbal Pinto Aníbal Pinto Garmendia (; March 15, 1825June 9, 1884) was a Chilean political figure. He served as the president of Chile between 1876 and 1881. Early life He was born in Santiago de Chile, the son of former Chilean president General Francisco ...

, who would become President of Chile, and

Enriqueta Pinto Enriqueta Pinto Garmendia (1817 — 26 December 1904)Virgilio Figueroa. Diccionario histórico, biográfico y bibliográfico de Chile, t.4-5, p.523, Balcells, Santiago de Chile, 1931 was First Lady of Chile and the wife of President Manuel Bul ...

, future wife of President

Manuel Bulnes Manuel Bulnes Prieto (; December 25, 1799 – October 18, 1866) was a Chilean military and political figure. He was twice President of Chile, from 1841 to 1846 and from 1846 to 1851. Born in Concepción, he served as the president of Chile bet ...

. His grandnephew (and grandson of José Miguel Carrera), Ignacio Carrera Pinto, became a hero at the War of the Pacific.

Political career

In 1820 he finally returned to Chile. He was then sent by Bernardo O'Higgins to Peru, to help in the independence of that country. In 1824 he was named as Minister of Government and Foreign Affairs, and in 1825, Intendant of Coquimbo. 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

Chilean Civil War of 1829 Chilean may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Chile, a country in South America * Chilean people * Chilean Spanish * Chilean culture * Chilean cuisine * Chilean Americans See also *List of Chileans This is a list of Chileans who ar ...

was at hand. The problem that caused the revolution happened in the vice presidential election. The winner should have been the first runner-up, Francisco Ruiz-Tagle (98 electoral votes or 24.13%), or the second runner-up, General José Joaquín Prieto, (61 votes or 15.02%), both conservatives. Nonetheless, Congress was controlled by the liberals and presided by Francisco Ramón Vicuña, also liberal. Arguing that no vice-presidential candidate had a majority, they selected

Joaquín Vicuña José Joaquín Vicuña Larraín (; 1786–1857) was a Chilean politician whose selection as Vice President of Chile by Congress precipitated the Chilean Civil War of 1829. He was of Basque descent. Vicuña was from a powerful family; of his broth ...

, brother of the president of the senate, even though he only got 48 electoral votes (11.82%). That was all the excuse needed by the conservatives to rebel. 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.

Cabinet

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

, 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. In 1846, botanist

Claude Gay Claude Gay, often named Claudio Gay in Spanish texts, (March 18, 1800 – November 29, 1873), was a French botanist, naturalist and illustrator. This explorer carried out some of the first investigations about Chilean flora, fauna, geology and geo ...

published '' Pintoa'', a genus of flowering plants from Chile, belonging to the family Zygophyllaceae and named in honour of Francisco Antonio Pinto. On July 5, 1847 he was elected president of the Senate. He was reelected as a senator on 1855. Pinto died in Santiago at the age of 72, on July 18, 1858, before the end of his mandate as senator.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pinto, Francisco Antonio 1785 births 1858 deaths Presidents of Chile Heads of state of Chile Vice presidents of Chile Chilean Ministers of the Interior Foreign ministers of Chile Chilean Ministers of Defense Chilean Army generals Members of the Senate of Chile Members of the Chamber of Deputies of Chile People of the Chilean Civil War of 1829–30 People from Santiago Presidents of the Senate of Chile Liberal Party (Chile, 1849) politicians Candidates for President of Chile Chilean people of Spanish descent Chilean people of Portuguese descent