Fernando Alessandri Rodríguez (May 21, 1897 – March 27, 1982) 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 ...

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 ...

, candidate of the centre-right in Chile's 1946 presidential election. He was the son of

Arturo Alessandri Arturo Fortunato Alessandri Palma (; December 20, 1868 – August 24, 1950) was a Chilean political figure and reformer who served thrice as president of Chile, first from 1920 to 1924, then from March to October 1925, and finally from 1932 to ...

, who was president from 1920 to 1925 and again from 1932 to 1938, and brother of Jorge Alessandri Rodríguez, who was president from 1958 to 1964. Alessandri 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 ...

, the son of

Arturo Alessandri Palma Arturo Fortunato Alessandri Palma (; December 20, 1868 – August 24, 1950) was a Chilean political figure and reformer who served thrice as president of Chile, first from 1920 to 1924, then from March to October 1925, and finally from 1932 to ...

and of Rosa Ester Rodríguez. He completed his early studies at the Instituto Nacional, and later graduated as a lawyer from 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.

on October 18, 1919. He became professor of Procedural law at the same university in 1922, and in 1924, he married Olga Lyon Vial, with whom he had one son, Fernando, who died at the age of three. After the death of his first wife he married for second time in 1954, to Juanita Izquierdo Huneeus, who survived him. He joined 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 ...

in 1920, and participated actively in the Chilean presidential election of 1920 that was won by his father,

. During this first presidency of his father, he acted as the Secretary of the Presidency. As a lawyer he also drafted the project that eventually became the Organic Code of Chilean Tribunals. He was always very close to his father, and when he was elected president for a second time in the Chilean presidential election of 1932, he again functioned as his assistant. In 1933, Alessandri was elected deputy for "Tarapacá and Antofagasta", and in January 1934, he was elected a senator to replace Aurelio Núñez Morgado, who had been designated Ambassador to

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

. He was reelected in 1937 and 1945. In 1939 he accompanied his father on a tour of Europe. In 1946, he was proclaimed

presidential candidate A candidate, or nominee, is the prospective recipient of an award or honor, or a person seeking or being considered for some kind of position; for example: * to be elected to an office — in this case a candidate selection procedure occurs. * t ...

by the Liberal, Radical Democratic, Agrarian Labor, Democratic, Progressive Liberal and "Authentic" Socialist parties who refused to back the Conservative candidate Eduardo Cruz-Coke. Nonetheless, his split of the right-wing voting base resulted in the triumph of

Gabriel González Videla Gabriel Enrique González Videla (; November 22, 1898 – August 22, 1980) was a Chilean politician and lawyer who served as the 24th president of Chile from 1946 to 1952. He had previously been a member of the Chamber of Deputies from 193 ...

, with him finishing in third place. After the death of his father, he was elected President of the Senate to replace him on September 6, 1950, position he retained until 1958. He was again reelected as a senator in 1953 and 1961. The progressive and almost total loss of sight forced him to leave public life. In 1966 he abandoned his university classes and in 1969 he declined to run again and slowly withdrew from political life. He concentrated on his law practice and dedicated himself to writing law books and guides. He died in

, in 1982, at the age of 84, due to renal failure.

See also