Laura Allende Gossens (3 September 1911 – 23 May 1981) 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 politician, a member of the lower chamber of parliament and sister of former

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 r ...

Salvador Allende Salvador Guillermo Allende Gossens (, , ; 26 June 1908 – 11 September 1973) was a Chilean physician and socialist politician who served as the 28th president of Chile from 3 November 1970 until his death on 11 September 1973. He was the fir ...

Early life

A member of the

Allende family The Allende family is a Chilean family of Spanish descent. They became well known during the 19th century and are based in Santiago. They have played a very significant role in Chilean politics. Relatives * Ramón Allende Padín (1845–1884 ...

, Laura was of

Basque Basque may refer to: * Basques, an ethnic group of Spain and France * Basque language, their language Places * Basque Country (greater region), the homeland of the Basque people with parts in both Spain and France * Basque Country (autonomous co ...

and

Belgian Belgian may refer to: * Something of, or related to, Belgium * Belgians, people from Belgium or of Belgian descent * Languages of Belgium, languages spoken in Belgium, such as Dutch, French, and German *Ancient Belgian language, an extinct languag ...

(

Walloons Walloons (; french: Wallons ; wa, Walons) are a Gallo-Romance ethnic group living native to Wallonia and the immediate adjacent regions of France. Walloons primarily speak '' langues d'oïl'' such as Belgian French, Picard and Walloon. Wall ...

) descent. She was born in

Tacna Tacna is a city in southern Peru and the regional capital of the Tacna Region. A very commercially active city, it is located only north of the border with Arica y Parinacota Region from Chile, inland from the Pacific Ocean and in the valley of ...

, then under Chilean rule, the youngest child of Salvador Allende Castro and Laura Uribe. Laura Allende completed her studies at the ''Colegio de los Sagrados Corazones de Valparaíso'' and the ''Liceo'' of Viña del Mar. She later studied law 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.

in Valparaíso for four years, but never completed her degree. While at the university, she joined the

Chilean Socialist Party The Socialist Party of Chile ( es, Partido Socialista de Chile, or PS) is a centre-left political party founded in 1933. Its historic leader was President of Chile Salvador Allende, who was deposed in a CIA-backed coup d'état by General Augusto ...

(PS), of which in time she would become a member of its central committee. She married Gastón Pascal Lyon, with whom she had four children, among them

Andrés Pascal Allende Andrés Pascal Allende (born July 12, 1943) is a Chilean Marxist dissident and nephew of former President Salvador Allende. He is of Basque people, Basque and Belgians, Belgian descent. He was born in Santiago, Chile, Santiago, the son of Gastón ...

, the future revolutionary. She also worked at the ''Copper Office'' (Departamento del Cobre) from 1955 to 1965, before launching her political career.

Political career

In 1965, she was elected deputy for Santiago and Talagante. In 1969 she was reelected, and again in 1973. During this time she was part of two international delegations: first to

Havana Havana (; Spanish: ''La Habana'' ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of the La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port and commercial center.

in 1971, and then to China, in May 1973. At that time, she already was showing the first symptoms of the

lymphatic cancer Lymphoma is a group of blood and lymph tumors that develop from lymphocytes (a type of white blood cell). In current usage the name usually refers to just the cancerous versions rather than all such tumours. Signs and symptoms may include enlar ...

that was to haunt her till the end of her life. On November 2, 1974 she was arrested together with her daughter Marianne. The two were taken to the prison camp of Cuatro Alamos. Later exiled from the country, she relocated to

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

. In 1976 she moved to

Cuba Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribbea ...

, where she lived until her death. After being diagnosed with terminal cancer she committed suicide in

Havana Havana (; Spanish: ''La Habana'' ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of the La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port and commercial center.

, on May 23, 1981. After Chile's return to democracy in 1990, her body was returned and on August 28, 1998, she was reinterred at the Allende family mausoleum in Santiago.

References

External links

Chilean Library of Congress biography

{{DEFAULTSORT:Allende, Laura 1911 births 1981 suicides 1981 deaths People from Valparaíso Laura Chilean people of Basque descent Socialist Party of Chile politicians Deputies of the XLV Legislative Period of the National Congress of Chile Deputies of the XLVI Legislative Period of the National Congress of Chile Deputies of the XLVII Legislative Period of the National Congress of Chile 20th-century Chilean women politicians Women members of the Chamber of Deputies of Chile Salvador Allende Chilean prisoners and detainees Prisoners and detainees of Chile Chilean exiles Chilean emigrants to Cuba

Early life

Political career

See also

References

External links