Héctor Enrique Urban Astete (born 17 November 1971) is a
Chile
Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in western South America. It is the southernmost country in the world and the closest to Antarctica, stretching along a narrow strip of land between the Andes, Andes Mountains and the Paci ...
an politician who served in the
Constitutional Council.
With ties to the ''Sociedad Nacional de la Agricultura'' (SNA), he comes from a right-wing family linked to the agricultural industry.
Together with his family he owns several farms in the area, including the 360-hectare Santa Melanie farm, where wheat, oats and rapeseed are grown.
This land possession has brought successive problems with Mapuche armed groups.
Biography
His family history in Chile began in 1903, when his great-grandfather Enrique Urban immigrated to the country and bought the Montenegro estate, in
Ercilla, 80 kilometers north of
Temuco
Temuco () is a List of cities in Chile, city and Communes of Chile, commune, capital (political), capital of the Cautín Province and of the Araucanía Region in southern Chile. The city is located south of Santiago de Chile, Santiago. The cit ...
.
Urban was born in
Victoria
Victoria most commonly refers to:
* Queen Victoria (1819–1901), Queen of the United Kingdom and Empress of India
* Victoria (state), a state of Australia
* Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, a provincial capital
* Victoria, Seychelles, the capi ...
,
Araucanía Region
The Araucanía ( ), La Araucanía Region ( ) is one of Chile's 16 first-order administrative divisions, and comprises two provinces: Malleco in the north and Cautín in the south. Its capital and largest city is Temuco; other important cities ...
in 1971, to a family of
Swiss
Swiss most commonly refers to:
* the adjectival form of Switzerland
* Swiss people
Swiss may also refer to: Places
* Swiss, Missouri
* Swiss, North Carolina
* Swiss, West Virginia
* Swiss, Wisconsin
Other uses
* Swiss Café, an old café located ...
immigrants who settled in what would become the 'red zone' of the conflict in Araucanía, next to the community of
Temucuicui
Temucuicui or Temocuicui (from ''Mapudungun'' ''Temu kuykuy'', " temu bridge") is a locality made up a group of Mapuche communities in the commune of Ercilla, Malleco Province, Araucanía Region, in Chile.
The Mapuche communities established them ...
.
He grew up in the family home located on the outskirts of Ercilla.
After leaving high school, in early 90s, he traveled to
Osorno to study agricultural and forestry engineering. After graduating, he became vice president of the
Malleco Province
Malleco Province () is one of two provinces in the southern Chilean region of La Araucanía (IX). Its population as of the 2017 census is 205,124, and it covers an area of . The provincial capital is the city of Angol.
Malleco Province is known ...
Farmers Association.
The multiple attacks on his property distanced him from the centre-right due to his lack of effectiveness in security. This brought him closer to conservative politician,
José Antonio Kast
José Antonio Kast Rist (born 18 January 1966), also known by his initials JAK, is a Chilean lawyer and politician. He is running for president in the 2025 Chilean general election, for the third time.
Part of the prominent Kast family, he se ...
, whom he met in 2018 during a visit to Araucanía.
On May 7, 2023, Urban obtained a seat in the
Constitutional Convention.
References
External links
BCN Profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Urban, Hector
1971 births
Living people
Members of the Chilean Constitutional Council
Republican Party (Chile, 2019) politicians