Juan Francisco Meneses Echanes (June 24, 1785 – December 25, 1860) 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 ...

priest A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in particu ...

and

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 ...

Early life

Meneses 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, whose ...

, the son of José Ignacio Meneses and of Micaela Echanes. He studied humanities, philosophy and law (both civil and canonic) at the Convictorio de San Carlos, and later graduated from the

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 teachin ...

on August 29, 1804 as a doctor in "both sciences" (Doctor in Civil and Canonic Law.) In 1808 he married Carmen Bilbao, with whom he had several children. The same year he was named secretary to Royal Governor Francisco García Carrasco. After the dismissal of Governor García Carrasco, he was named legal and military aide to the Intendent of Concepción. When the Chilean independence movement swept the country, he joined the Royalist side. In 1812, he was named secretary of the New Appeals Court (''Tribunal de Apelaciones''), the body that replaced the colonial Appeals Court (''Real Audiencia''), and later became Minister of the Supreme Court of Justice. Royal Governor

Francisco Marcó del Pont Francisco Casimiro Marcó del Pont y Ángel (; June 25, 1770 – May 19, 1819) was a Spanish soldier and the last Governor of Chile. He was one of the main figures of the Chilean independence process, being the final Spaniard to rule as Royal G ...

appointed him as his secretary in 1815, but after the

Battle of Chacabuco The Battle of Chacabuco, fought during the Chilean War of Independence, occurred on February 12, 1817. The Army of the Andes of the United Provinces of the Río de la Plata, led by Captain–General José de San Martín, defeated a Spanish for ...

put an end to the Royal power in Chile, he went into exile to

Lima Lima ( ; ), originally founded as Ciudad de Los Reyes (City of The Kings) is the capital and the largest city of Peru. It is located in the valleys of the Chillón River, Chillón, Rímac River, Rímac and Lurín Rivers, in the desert zone of t ...

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 privately practiced law and became a secretary to the

Viceroy A viceroy () is an official who reigns over a polity in the name of and as the representative of the monarch of the territory. The term derives from the Latin prefix ''vice-'', meaning "in the place of" and the French word ''roy'', meaning "k ...

. While there he became a widower.

Political participation

After the death of his wife, he started his theology studies in

Cuzco Cusco, often spelled Cuzco (; qu, Qusqu ()), is a city in Southeastern Peru near the Urubamba Valley of the Andes mountain range. It is the capital of the Cusco Region and of the Cusco Province. The city is the seventh most populous in Peru; ...

but returned to Santiago in 1821, being finally ordained as a

on April 21, 1822. He was named rector of Santa Rosa de Los Andes. He was elected a deputy for Los Andes in 1823 and reelected in 1826 and 1829. In 1827, he was named rector of the Instituto Nacional and professor of the

. During this period, he became the principal voice of the clergy, discontented with the new republican order, in replacement of the exiled Bishop Santiago Rodríguez Zorrilla. As such, he participated in the conspiracies that led to the Chilean Civil War of 1829. En 1829 he was named secretary to the victorious Conservative Government Junta. In 1830, President

Francisco Ruiz-Tagle Francisco Antonio Pascual de la Ascensión Ruiz de Tagle y Portales (; c. 1790 – March 23, 1860) was a Chilean political figure. In 1830, he was briefly Provisional President of the Republic of Chile, elected by Congress. Biography He was b ...

named him first Minister of the Interior and Foreign Affairs and later President

José Tomás Ovalle José Tomás Ovalle y Bezanilla (; December 21, 1787 – March 21, 1831) was a Chilean political figure. He served twice as provisional president of Chile. Early life He was born in Santiago, the son of Vicente María Ovalle Guzmán and of María ...

named him

Minister of Finance A finance minister is an executive or cabinet position in charge of one or more of government finances, economic policy and financial regulation. A finance minister's portfolio has a large variety of names around the world, such as "treasury", " ...

. He was reelected to congress again in 1830 and elected as a Senator for Aconcagua in 1831. In 1833 he was secretary of the Constitutional Assembly that redacted and promulgated the new constitution. Meneses was again reelected as a Senator in 1834 and successively until 1849. He was also a journalist who wrote in the ''El Araucano'' and the ''La Gaceta del Rey'' and was in charge of the National Museum. In March 1830 he became the last rector of the

and after this institution was replaced by 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 1843, he became first vice-rector and after 1846 he also was

Dean Dean may refer to: People * Dean (given name) * Dean (surname), a surname of Anglo-Saxon English origin * Dean (South Korean singer), a stage name for singer Kwon Hyuk * Dean Delannoit, a Belgian singer most known by the mononym Dean Titles * ...

of the School of Law and Political Sciences, position he retained until 1855. In 1856 he was one of the members of the clergy who sued the Archbishop of Santiago Rafael Valentín Valdivieso over the expulsion of

verger A verger (or virger, so called after the staff of the office, or wandsman (British)) is a person, usually a layperson, who assists in the ordering of religious services, particularly in Anglican churches. Etymology The title of ''verger'' a ...

Pedro Santelices. In October 1859 he was named

and

Vicar A vicar (; Latin: ''vicarius'') is a representative, deputy or substitute; anyone acting "in the person of" or agent for a superior (compare "vicarious" in the sense of "at second hand"). Linguistically, ''vicar'' is cognate with the English pref ...

of the Cathedral of Santiago. He died in Santiago on Christmas Day of 1860, aged 75.

External links

Official biography
{{DEFAULTSORT:Meneses, Juan Francisco 1785 births 1860 deaths Politicians from Santiago 19th-century Chilean Roman Catholic priests Chilean people of Spanish descent Chilean Ministers of the Interior Chilean Ministers of Finance Members of the Senate of Chile Members of the Chamber of Deputies of Chile Chilean journalists Male journalists People of the Chilean War of Independence People of the Chilean Civil War of 1829–30