General César Leonidas Mendoza Durán (September 11, 1918 – September 13, 1996) was a member of the Government Junta which ruled

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in western South America. It is the southernmost country in the world and the closest to Antarctica, stretching along a narrow strip of land between the Andes, Andes Mountains and the Paci ...

from 1973 to 1990, representing the country-wide police force, the ''

Carabineros de Chile The () are the Chilean national law enforcement gendarmerie, who have jurisdiction over the entire national territory of the Republic of Chile. Created in 1927, their mission is to maintain order and enforce the laws of Chile. They reported to ...

''. Mendoza was born in

Santiago Santiago (, ; ), also known as Santiago de Chile (), is the capital and largest city of Chile and one of the largest cities in the Americas. It is located in the country's central valley and is the center of the Santiago Metropolitan Regi ...

, the youngest of the eleven children of Atilio Mendoza Valdebenito, a science teacher and first mayor of La Cisterna, and Amalia Durán, a pianist. In 1938, young César Mendoza began his compulsory military service. In 1940, he matriculated at the Carabineros' School, from which he graduated as a second lieutenant the following year. Mendoza worked in different cities during his police career, starting in 1942 as a lieutenant at Molina, Talca, and the Carabineros' School. He was promoted to captain in 1953, to major in 1959, to lieutenant colonel in 1965, to colonel in 1968, to general in 1970, and to general inspector in 1972. On 10 September 1973 Mendoza was the eighth in rank in the Chilean Police Corps, a professional military body which could have stood up to the army in defense of the Allende government. He agreed to join the coup leaders who promoted him to General Director. In this position, he eventually formed part of the Government Junta that came into power in the September 11 1973 coup d'état (which coincidentally happened on Mendoza's birthday). Of the four members of the Junta (who represented the Chilean Army, Air Force, Navy and Carabineros or National Police), Mendoza was widely considered the one who held the least amount of power and influence, even being derisively referred to as ''Mendocita''. Mendoza served in the Government Junta until August 2, 1985, where the public outcry from Caso Degollados led to his forced resignation. He was replaced by Rodolfo Stange Oelckers. A noted horseman, Mendoza won a silver medal in the XV Olympic Games of 1952 at

Helsinki Helsinki () is the Capital city, capital and most populous List of cities and towns in Finland, city in Finland. It is on the shore of the Gulf of Finland and is the seat of southern Finland's Uusimaa region. About people live in the municipali ...

as a member of the

show jumping Show jumping is a part of a group of English riding equestrian events that also includes eventing, hunters, and equitation. Jumping classes are commonly seen at horse shows throughout the world, including the Olympics. Sometimes shows ar ...

team in the equestrian event.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mendoza, Cesar 1918 births 1996 deaths Heads of state of Chile Chilean police officers Chilean anti-communists Leaders who took power by coup Olympic silver medalists for Chile Olympic equestrians for Chile Chilean male equestrians Equestrians at the 1952 Summer Olympics Show jumping riders Sportspeople from Santiago, Chile Olympic medalists in equestrian Medalists at the 1952 Summer Olympics Pan American Games gold medalists for Chile Pan American Games bronze medalists for Chile Pan American Games gold medalists in equestrian Pan American Games bronze medalists in equestrian Equestrians at the 1951 Pan American Games Equestrians at the 1959 Pan American Games Medalists at the 1951 Pan American Games Medalists at the 1959 Pan American Games 20th-century Chilean sportsmen