Luis Claro Solar (January 20, 1857 – July 19, 1945) was a distinguished

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, politician and jurist. He was a Senator of the Republic of Chile and President of the Senate. His

magnum opus A masterpiece, ''magnum opus'' (), or ''chef-d’œuvre'' (; ; ) in modern use is a creation that has been given much critical praise, especially one that is considered the greatest work of a person's career or a work of outstanding creativity, ...

was the treatise ''Explicaciones del Derecho Civil Chileno y Comparado'' (Explications of the Chilean and Comparate Law) consisting of fifteen tomes. He also was a member of the Cuerpo de Bomberos de Santiago (Santiago's Fire Brigade), becoming superintendent.

Biography

Family and studies

His parents were José Luis Claro y Cruz and Amelia Solar de Claro. His firsts studies were cursed in the Instituto Nacional, where he was admitted in 1870, being rector of that institution don

Diego Barros Arana Diego Jacinto Agustín Barros Arana (; August 16, 1830 – November 4, 1907) was a Chilean professor, legislator, minister and diplomat. He is considered the most important Chilean historian of the 19th century. His main work ''General History of ...

. Later, in 1876 he was admitted into the Faculty of Law of 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.

, titrating on January 3, 1880. In 1884 he got married with Victoria Salas Errázuriz, with whom he had six sons.

Politic career

In the administration, he served the charge of Subsecretary of 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 ...

- at that time called Major Officer - during the government of

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 ...

. During 1912, he returned to the politics when he was elected as Senator by the Province of Aconcagua. He integrated the

Senate of Chile The Senate of the Republic of Chile is the upper house of Chile's Bicameralism, bicameral National Congress of Chile, National Congress, as established in the current Constitution of Chile. Composition According to the present Constitution of ...

during two periods, until 1924, presiding it since 1920. In 1918 he was called to the

Ministry of Finance A ministry of finance is a part of the government in most countries that is responsible for matters related to the finance. Lists of current ministries of finance Named "Ministry" * Ministry of Finance (Afghanistan) * Ministry of Finance and Eco ...

, from where he advocated monetary policies that influenced the creation of the

Central Bank of Chile The Central Bank of Chile ( es, Banco Central de Chile) is the central bank of Chile. It was established in 1925 and is incorporated into the current Chilean Constitution as an autonomous institution of constitutional rank. Its monetary policy is ...

Academic career

Later, he was involved into the exercise of the profession and also into the university teaching, having in both an outstanding performance. He taught Civil Law in the University of Chile, being his principal work the "''Explications of the Chilean and Comparate Law''" (Explicaciones del Derecho Civil Chileno y Comparado), that, even though incomplete due his dying, is the most important work of the Civil Law Jurisprudence and one of the most transcendent in the Latino-American Jurisprudence.

References

Revista del Abogado 5, 1995, p. 44
Digitalizado por la Universidad de los Andes
Reseña biográfica de un gran jurista -Publicado en La Semana Jurídica Nº 285, 2006, pp. 8–9
por Hernán Corral Talciani
Biografía en la Biblioteca del Congreso Nacional
Members of the Senate of Chile 1857 births 1945 deaths 19th-century Chilean lawyers 20th-century Chilean lawyers {{Chile-politician-stub