José Rafael del Carmen Balmaceda Fernández (August 23, 1850 – August 7, 1911) 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 ...

politician 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 ...

diplomat A diplomat (from grc, δίπλωμα; romanized ''diploma'') is a person appointed by a state or an intergovernmental institution such as the United Nations or the European Union to conduct diplomacy with one or more other states or internati ...

and brother 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 ful ...

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 wa ...

. 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.

Early life

He was born in

Renca Renca is a commune of Chile located in Santiago Province, Santiago Metropolitan Region. It was founded on May 6, 1894. Demographics According to the 2002 census of the National Statistics Institute, Renca spans an area of and has 133,500 inha ...

, the son of Manuel José Balmaceda Ballesteros and of Encarnación Fernández Salas. He completed his studies at the Instituto Nacional and then attended the

University of Louvain A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, the ...

, where he graduated with a

doctorate A doctorate (from Latin ''docere'', "to teach"), doctor's degree (from Latin ''doctor'', "teacher"), or doctoral degree is an academic degree awarded by universities and some other educational institutions, derived from the ancient formalism ''l ...

in Political Science. Early in his life he dedicated most of his time to his

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San José in Puente Alto.

Political career

José Rafael Balmaceda started his political career by joining the

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. __TOC__ Active liberal parties This is a li ...

and was promptly elected deputy for "Angol" (1888–1891) and was reelected for the "Balmaceda" congress as a deputy for "Concepción and Talcahuano", but this congress was dissolved after only a few months. After the

1891 Chilean Civil War The Chilean Civil War of 1891 (also known as Revolution of 1891) was a civil war in Chile fought between forces supporting Congress and forces supporting the President, José Manuel Balmaceda from 16 January 1891 to 18 September 1891. The war ...

that deposed his brother, President

, his house was looted, and he was exiled together with his family. In

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he published ''"The revolution and condemnation of the Vicuña ministry"'', under the

pseudonym A pseudonym (; ) or alias () is a fictitious name that a person or group assumes for a particular purpose, which differs from their original or true name (orthonym). This also differs from a new name that entirely or legally replaces an individua ...

''"Nemo"'', in which he defended his brother's policies and attacked the revolutionary party. He also published ''"History Pages"'' and ''"Death of Balmaceda"''. After being allowed to return to Chile, he concentrated his efforts on the reconstruction of the political base that had been defeated in the war and became the force behind the Liberal Democratic Party. On the congressional elections of 1894 he was elected deputy for "La Serena, Elqui and Coquimbo" (1894–1897) and was reelected for the same region (1897–1900). On November 19, 1901, President

Germán Riesco Germán Riesco Errázuriz (; May 28, 1854 – December 8, 1916) was a Chilean political figure, and he served as President of Chile between 1901 and 1906. Early life He was born in Rancagua, the son of Mauricio Riesco, a Spanish merchant and o ...

appointed him Minister of Justice and Public Instruction, position he held until November 20, 1902, and later

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 March 18, 1905 to August 1, 1905. In 1906, his son

Ernesto Ernesto, form of the name Ernest in several Romance languages, may refer to: * ''Ernesto'' (novel) (1953), an unfinished autobiographical novel by Umberto Saba, published posthumously in 1975 ** ''Ernesto'' (film), a 1979 Italian drama loosely ba ...

was murdered in

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, prompting a celebrated case that came to define diplomatic privileges and immunities for the retinue and families of diplomatic staff. President

Pedro Montt Pedro Elías Pablo Montt Montt (; 29 June 1849, Santiago, Chile – 16 August 1910, Bremen, Germany) was a Chilean political figure. He served as the president of Chile from 1906 to his death from a probable stroke in 1910. His government furth ...

appointed him Minister of Foreign Affairs, Cult and Colonization on August 29, 1908, a position he held until June 15, 1909. In 1909, he was elected a Senator for "Coquimbo" (1909–1915), but 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 ...

before the end of his term in 1911 at the age of 61.

Personal life

Balmaceda married Ana Bello Codesido, and together they had seven children.

References

Official biography
{{DEFAULTSORT:Balmaceda, Jose Rafael 1850 births 1911 deaths People from Santiago Province, Chile Chilean people of Basque descent Liberal Party (Chile, 1849) politicians Liberal Democratic Party (Chile, 1893) politicians Chilean Ministers of Justice Chilean Ministers of the Interior Foreign ministers of Chile Deputies of the XXII Legislative Period of the National Congress of Chile Deputies of the Constituent Congress of Chile (1891) Deputies of the XXIV Legislative Period of the National Congress of Chile Deputies of the XXV Legislative Period of the National Congress of Chile Senators of the XXIX Legislative Period of the National Congress of Chile Senators of the XXX Legislative Period of the National Congress of Chile People of the Chilean Civil War of 1891 (Balmacedistas) Chilean exiles

Early life

Political career

Personal life

See also

References