Pedro Opaso Letelier (July 20, 1876 – April 9, 1957) was a Chilean politician and provisional vice president of Chile in 1931. He was born in Talca, the son of Ursicino Opaso and Margarita Letelier. He completed his studies in his native city, and then attended the Universidad de Chile, where he became a physician. He started his political career as the first mayor of the city of

Río Claro Río Claro is a commune of the Talca Province in Chile's Maule Region. The municipal seat is the town of Cumpeo. Demographics According to the 2002 census of the National Statistics Institute, Río Claro spans an area of and has 12,698 inhabit ...

. In 1920 Opaso was named minister in several occasions as a representative of the Democratic Liberal Party. He was elected a deputy for Curicó (1921–1924) and a Senator for Talca (1924–1930) and Talca, Linares and Curico (1930–1932). At the time of the collapse of the first administration of Carlos Ibáñez del Campo in 1931, he was the

President of the Senate President of the Senate is a title often given to the presiding officer of a senate. It corresponds to the speaker in some other assemblies. The senate president often ranks high in a jurisdiction's succession for its top executive office: for e ...

. As such he took over as provisional vice president. He assumed on July 26, and that same night he formed his cabinet, headed by

Juan Esteban Montero Juan Esteban Montero Rodríguez (February 12, 1879 – February 25, 1948) was a Chilean political figure. He served twice as president of Chile between 1931 and 1932. Early life He was born in Santiago, the son of Benjamín Montero and of Eug ...

as interior minister and Pedro Blanquier, the other key player, as Finance minister. When the ministers arrived on the next morning, Opaso resigned by decree on Montero. His entire administration had lasted less than 24 hours. The speed he demonstrated to get rid of the power earned him the nickname of ''The Relayer'' (), that accompanied him till his death. After his very brief administration, he was elected Senator for Curicó, Talca, Maule y Linares (1933–1949) and again President of the Senate in 1944. He died in Santiago in 1957.

References

1876 births 1957 deaths People from Talca Chilean people of French descent Liberal Democratic Party (Chile, 1893) politicians United Liberal Party (Chile) politicians Liberal Party (Chile, 1849) politicians Chilean Ministers of Defense Presidents of the Senate of Chile Members of the Chamber of Deputies of Chile {{Chile-politician-stub