Pedro Vicente Reyes Palazuelos (b. 1835 - July 6, 1918), 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 ...

an lawyer, journalist,

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 ...

, and candidate during the 1896 presidential election. Vicente Reyes 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 Manuel Reyes Saravia and of Mercedes Palazuelos Astaburiaga. He completed his studies in the Instituto Nacional and at 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.

, where he graduated as a lawyer in 1858 with a thesis about the copyright of literary works. By 1856 he was already well known in the literary circles of the time and as a journalist of the ''El Ferrocarril'' newspaper and the ''La Semana'' magazine. In 1857 he joined the civil service as section chief at the

Ministry of the Interior An interior ministry (sometimes called a ministry of internal affairs or ministry of home affairs) is a government department that is responsible for internal affairs. Lists of current ministries of internal affairs Named "ministry" * Ministry ...

and later at the Ministry of Public Instruction, where he remained until 1861, when he was elected as alternate deputy for Ovalle for the period 1861–1864. He also became a professor at the School of Law of the Universidad de Chile and was one of the original members of the Chilean Academy of Language. On June 15, 1863 he married Luisa Solar Valdés and together they had 10 children. In 1869 he was elected president of the ''Club de la Reforma'', the historical nucleus of 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 ...

. He was elected deputy (this time representing

Talca Talca () is a List of cities in Chile, city and Communes of Chile, commune in Chile located about south of Santiago, Chile, Santiago, and is the capital of both Talca Province and Maule Region (7th Region of Chile). As of the 2012 census, the ...

) for the period 1870-1873 and reelected to congress as a deputy for

Valparaíso Valparaíso (; ) is a major city, seaport, naval base, and educational centre in the commune of Valparaíso, Chile. "Greater Valparaíso" is the second largest metropolitan area in the country. Valparaíso is located about northwest of Santiago ...

for the period 1876-1879 and 1879–1882. President

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 ...

designed him

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 ...

, a position he held from October 27, 1877 to August 5, 1878. In 1885, he was elected Senator for

Coquimbo Coquimbo is a port city, commune and capital of the Elqui Province, located on the Pan-American Highway, in the Coquimbo Region of Chile. Coquimbo is situated in a valley south of La Serena, with which it forms Greater La Serena with more than ...

for the period 1885–1891; and was one of the principal supporters of the presidential bid of

José Francisco Vergara José Francisco Vergara Echevers was a Chilean politician, war hero, cavalry commander, presidential candidate, engineer and journalist who was notable for founding Viña del Mar as well as his several military campaigns of the War of the Pacific ...

, who went on to lose the party nomination to

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 ...

. On June 5, 1889 was elected

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 ...

; position he resigned shortly after and was one of the few senators who refused to sign the ''Act of Destitution'' of President Balmaceda; and did not participate in 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 ...

. In 1894, President

Jorge Montt Jorge Montt Álvarez (; April 26, 1845 – October 8, 1922) was a vice admiral in the Chilean Navy and president of Chile from 1891 to 1896.L.S. Rowe, "Passing of a Great Figure in Chilean History." ''Bulletin Pan American Union'' 55 (1922): ...

asked him to head a coalition cabinet, but he refused. Reyes was reelected a Senator (for Santiago this time) for the period 1891–1897, was elected President of the Senate on April 26, 1895 and again on August 25, 1909. For the 1896 presidential election, the

named him their candidate. He lost to

Federico Errázuriz Echaurren Federico Errázuriz Echaurren (Santiago, November 16, 1850 – Valparaíso, July 12, 1901) was a Chilean politician who served as the 12th President of Chile. Early life He was son of the president Federico Errázuriz Zañartu and of Eulogia ...

by only two electoral votes. He was reelected a Senator for the periods 1897–1903, 1903–1909, 1909–1915 and 1915–1921, but died in

before completing his last period, of

Bronchopneumonia Bronchopneumonia is a subtype of pneumonia. It is the acute inflammation of the bronchi, accompanied by inflamed patches in the nearby lobules of the lungs. citing: Webster's New World College Dictionary, Fifth Edition, Copyright 2014 It is often ...

at the age of 83 in 1918.

See also