Eduardo Alfredo Juan Bernardo Frei Ruiz–Tagle (; born 24 June 1942) is 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 eas ...

an politician and

civil engineer A civil engineer is a person who practices civil engineering – the application of planning, designing, constructing, maintaining, and operating infrastructure while protecting the public and environmental health, as well as improving existing ...

who served as

president of Chile The president of Chile ( es, Presidente de Chile), officially known as the President of the Republic of Chile ( es, Presidente de la República de Chile), is the head of state and head of government of the Republic of Chile. The president is re ...

from 1994 to 2000. He was also a

Senator A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

, fulfilling the role of

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 ex ...

from 2006 to 2008. He attempted a comeback as the candidate of the ruling

Concertación The Concertación, officially the Concertación de Partidos por la Democracia ( en, Coalition of Parties for Democracy), was a coalition of center-left political parties in Chile, founded in 1988. Presidential candidates under its banner won ...

coalition for the 2009 presidential election, but was narrowly defeated. His father was Eduardo Frei Montalva, president of Chile from 1964 to 1970.

Early life

Frei 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, whos ...

to Eduardo Frei Montalva and María Ruiz-Tagle Jiménez. He received all his schooling at the Luis Campino Institute. He then attended the

University of 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 civil engineer, specializing in

hydraulics Hydraulics (from Greek: Υδραυλική) is a technology and applied science using engineering, chemistry, and other sciences involving the mechanical properties and use of liquids. At a very basic level, hydraulics is the liquid counte ...

. After graduation, he followed advanced courses in management in

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

Political career

Frei took his first steps in politics while at the university, where he was a student leader. In 1958, he joined the Christian Democrat party, and in 1964 participated actively in his father's successful presidential campaign. Between 1969 and 1988 he concentrated on his profession, as one of the partners of Sigdo Koppers S.A., the largest engineering company in Chile. In 1988 Frei founded and promoted the ''Comité Pro Elecciones Libres'' ("Committee for the promotion of free elections"). In 1989, he was elected Senator for Santiago, obtaining the highest number of votes in the whole country. In the Senate, he presided over the Treasury and Budget Commission and was a member of the Housing Commission.

Presidency

In 1992, Frei participated in the presidential primary election of his coalition, defeating

Ricardo Lagos Ricardo Froilán Lagos Escobar (; born 2 March 1938) is a Chilean lawyer, economist and social-democratic politician who served as president of Chile from 2000 to 2006. During the 1980s he was a well-known opponent of the Chilean military dic ...

, and then went on to win the presidential elections of 1993 by securing 58% of the votes cast. He took office on 11 March 1994 and was succeeded by Lagos in 2000. Frei's presidency was notable in making improvements in

health Health, according to the World Health Organization, is "a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease and infirmity".World Health Organization. (2006)''Constitution of the World Health Organ ...

and

education Education is a purposeful activity directed at achieving certain aims, such as transmitting knowledge or fostering skills and character traits. These aims may include the development of understanding, rationality, kindness, and honesty ...

as well as reducing

poverty Poverty is the state of having few material possessions or little income. Poverty can have diverse

Eduardo Frei Ruiz-Tagle, had particularly good relations with his Argentine counterpart

Carlos Menem Carlos Saúl Menem (2 July 1930 – 14 February 2021) was an Argentine lawyer and politician who served as the President of Argentina from 1989 to 1999. Ideologically, he identified as a Peronist and supported economically liberal policies. He ...

. During Frei's ternure the Laguna del Desierto territorial dispute with Argentina was solved, albeit the arbitage favoured the Argentine position. Following the end of his presidency, Frei assumed, as a former President, a seat as

senator-for-life A senator for life is a member of the senate or equivalent upper chamber of a legislature who has life tenure. , six Italian senators out of 206, two out of the 41 Burundian senators, one Congolese senator out of 109, and all members of the Bri ...

in Congress.

Return to the Congress

Since constitutional reforms in 2005 abolished life senators from 2006, Frei ran for and won an elected Senate seat in the December 2005 parliamentary elections in the electoral district of Valdivia Province and

Osorno Province Osorno Province ( es, Provincia de Osorno) is one of the four provinces in the southern Chilean region of Los Lagos (X). The province has an area of and a population of 221,496 distributed across seven communes ( Spanish: ''comunas''). The provi ...

, together with Andrés Allamand. On 11 March 2006 Frei became President of the Senate, like his father, who was also President of the Senate after being President of the Republic. Frei, whose grandfather Eduardo Frei Schlinz had emigrated to Chile from Switzerland, obtained

Swiss citizenship Swiss citizenship is the status of being a citizen of Switzerland and it can be obtained by birth or naturalisation. The Swiss Citizenship Law is based on the following principles: * Triple citizenship level (Swiss Confederation, canton, and mun ...

in February 2009. In 2009-2010 elections, Frei ran for the presidency of Chile for a second time, again as the candidate of the centre-left

center-coalition, promising continuity of the popular outgoing President

Michelle Bachelet Verónica Michelle Bachelet Jeria (; born 29 September 1951) is a Chilean politician who served as United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights from 2018 to 2022. She previously served as President of Chile from 2006 to 2010 and 2014 to 201 ...

's path. Some of his presidential campaign banners and billboards pictured him, accompanied by Bachelet over his left shoulder. In the first round of the elections, held on 13 December 2009, Frei held 29.60% of the official vote, second to his opponent

Sebastián Piñera Miguel Juan Sebastián Piñera Echenique OMCh (; born 1 December 1949) is a Chilean billionaire businessman and politician who served as president of Chile from 2010 to 2014 and again from 2018 to 2022. The son of a Christian Democratic polit ...

, who led with 44.05%. Since neither candidate received more than half of the total votes, a runoff election was held on Sunday, 17 January 2010. The first preliminary results announced by the Deputy Interior Ministry at 21:00 GMT on election day gave Piñera 51.87% and Frei holding 48.12%. Frei conceded to Piñera at 21:44 GMT. In a graceful exit from the campaign, Frei stated,

"The election is over and Chileans have shown civic maturity.... The results clearly show the solidity of our democracy. It has been clean and transparent in line with our tradition. I want to congratulate Pinera, to whom most Chileans have given their trust for the next four years."''

Styles, honours and arms

National honours

Grand Master (1994-2000) and Collar of the

Order of Merit The Order of Merit (french: link=no, Ordre du Mérite) is an order of merit for the Commonwealth realms, recognising distinguished service in the armed forces, science, art, literature, or for the promotion of culture. Established in 1902 by ...

CHL Order of Bernardo O'Higgins - Grand Cross BAR

Grand Master (1994-2000) and Collar of the

Order of Bernardo O'Higgins The Order of Bernardo O'Higgins ( es, Orden de Bernardo O'Higgins) is an award issued by Chile. It is the highest civilian honor awarded to non-Chilean citizens. This award was established in 1965 and named after one of the founders of the Chilean ...

Foreign honours

*: **

PER Order of the Sun of Peru - Commander BAR

Commander of the

Order of the Sun (Peru) Order of the Sun may refer to: * Order of the Sun (Peru) (1821–present), the highest award bestowed by the Republic of Peru to commend notable civil and military merit and the oldest civilian award in the Americas. * Order of the Sun (India) (1 ...

*: **

Cordone di gran Croce di Gran Cordone OMRI BAR

Knight Grand Cross with Collar of the

Order of Merit of the Italian Republic The Order of Merit of the Italian Republic ( it, Ordine al Merito della Repubblica Italiana) is the senior Italian order of merit. It was established in 1951 by the second President of the Italian Republic, Luigi Einaudi. The highest-rankin ...

(19 July 1995) *: ** Ribbon of an order of king Tomislav

Grand Cross of the

Grand Order of King Tomislav The Grand Order of King Tomislav ( hr, Velered kralja Tomislava), or officially the Grand Order of King Tomislav with Sash and Great Morning Star (''Velered kralja Tomislava s lentom i Velikom Danicom''), is the highest state order of Croatia. It ...

("For outstanding achievements in promoting the development of friendship and fruitful cooperation in political, cultural and economic development between the Republic of Croatia and the Republic of Chile, and in promoting peace, democracy, stability and international cooperation in the world on the basis of the principles of the UN Charter and the provisions of international law." - 8 November 1994) *: ** Honorary Recipient of the

Order of the Crown of the Realm The Most Exalted Order of the Crown of the Realm ( ms, Darjah Utama Seri Mahkota Negara) is a Malaysian federal award. It is ranked lower than the Order of the Royal Family of Malaysia. It should not be confused with the Order of Loyalty to th ...

(1995) *: ** POL Order Zaslugi RP kl1 BAR

Grand Cross of the

Order of Merit of the Republic of Poland The Order of Merit of the Republic of Poland ( pl, Order Zasługi Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej) is a Polish order of merit created in 1974, awarded to persons who have rendered great service to Poland. It is granted to foreigners or Poles resident a ...

*: **

Order of Isabella the Catholic - Sash of Collar

Knight of the Collar of the

Order of Isabella the Catholic The Order of Isabella the Catholic ( es, Orden de Isabel la Católica) is a Spanish civil order and honor granted to persons and institutions in recognition of extraordinary services to the homeland or the promotion of international relations a ...

, 3 March 1995 ** Member of the

Club de Madrid Club de Madrid is an independent non-profit organization created to promote democracy and change in the international community. Composed of 121 regular members from 72 countries, including 7 Nobel Peace Prize laureates and 20 first female heads ...

, an independent non-profit organization created to promote democracy and change in the international community, composed by more than 100 members: former democratic Heads of State and Government from around the world. * **

Medal of the Oriental Republic of Uruguay - ribbon bar

Medal of the Oriental Republic of Uruguay (1996)

Arms

Coat of Arms of Eduardo Frei Ruiz-Tagle (Order of the Seraphim).svg, As Knight of the Collar of the

Order of the Seraphim The Royal Order of the Seraphim ( sv, Kungliga Serafimerorden; ''Seraphim'' being a category of angels) is a Swedish order of chivalry created by King Frederick I on 23 February 1748, together with the Order of the Sword and the Order of the P ...

References

External links

Senado's Personal profileBiography by CIDOB Foundation
(in Spanish)
Genealogical chart of Frei-Montalva Family
, - , - , - , - , - , - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Frei Ruiz-Tagle, Eduardo 1942 births 20th-century Chilean engineers Candidates for President of Chile Children of presidents of Chile Chilean people of Austrian descent Chilean people of German descent Chilean people of Spanish descent Chilean people of Swiss descent Christian Democratic Party (Chile) politicians Collars of the Order of Isabella the Catholic Eduardo Frei Ruiz-Tagle Knights Grand Cross with Collar of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic Legislators with life tenure Living people Members of the Senate of Chile Politicians from Santiago Presidents of Chile Presidents of the Senate of Chile 3 Frei Ruiz-Tagle, Eduardo Recipients of the Order of Merit of the Republic of Poland Recipients of the Medal of the Oriental Republic of Uruguay Recipients of the Order of Prince Yaroslav the Wise, 1st class University of Chile alumni Chilean civil engineers