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

who served as

president of Chile The president of Chile (), officially the president of the Republic of Chile (), is the head of state and head of government of the Republic of Chile. The president is responsible for both Government of Chile, government administration and s ...

from 1994 to 2000. He was also a

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

, 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 (politics), speaker in some other assemblies. The senate president often ranks high in a jurisdiction's Order of succession, succes ...

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 (; ), was a coalition of center-left political parties in Chile, founded in 1988. Presidential candidates under its banner won every election from when military rul ...

coalition for the 2009 presidential election, but was narrowly defeated. His father was

Eduardo Frei Montalva Eduardo Nicanor Frei Montalva (; 16 January 1911 – 22 January 1982) was a Chileans, Chilean political leader. In his long political career, he was Minister of Public Works, president of his Christian Democratic Party (Chile), Christia ...

, president of Chile from 1964 to 1970. His presidency was marked by a consolidation of Chile's transition to democracy albeit the

indictment and arrest of Augusto Pinochet General Augusto Pinochet was indicted for human rights violations committed in his native Chile by Spanish magistrate Baltasar Garzón in 1998. He was arrested in London six days later and held under house arrest for a year and a half before be ...

in his last year of government heated up national politics. Economically, he oversaw a period of rapid economic growth that was only temporarily stunted by the

1997 Asian financial crisis The 1997 Asian financial crisis gripped much of East Asia, East and Southeast Asia during the late 1990s. The crisis began in Thailand in July 1997 before spreading to several other countries with a ripple effect, raising fears of a worldwide eco ...

. In the 2020s he has taken political positions different from those of the Christian Democratic Party aligning more with the views of centrist and right-wing parties in the constitutional referendums of

2022 The year began with another wave in the COVID-19 pandemic, with SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant, Omicron spreading rapidly and becoming the dominant variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus worldwide. Tracking a decrease in cases and deaths, 2022 saw ...

and

2023 Catastrophic natural disasters in 2023 included the Lists of 21st-century earthquakes, 5th-deadliest earthquake of the 21st century 2023 Turkey–Syria earthquakes, striking Turkey and Syria, leaving up to 62,000 people dead; Cyclone Freddy ...

Early life

Frei 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 ...

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 () is a public university, 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 () 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 counterpart of pneumatics, which concer ...

. After graduation, he followed advanced courses in management in

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

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 Christian democracy is an ideology inspired by Christian ethics#Politics, Christian social teaching to respond to the challenges of contemporary society and politics. Christian democracy has drawn mainly from Catholic social teaching and neo ...

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 {{Infobox company, name = Sigdo Koppers S.A. , logo = , type = S.A. (corporation), Sociedad Anónima , traded_as = {{bcs, SK , company_slogan = , foundation = 1960, location = Santiago, Chile, key_peo ...

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 di ...

, 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 has a variety of definitions, which have been used for different purposes over time. In general, it refers to physical and emotional well-being, especially that associated with normal functioning of the human body, absent of disease, p ...

and

education Education is the transmission of knowledge and skills and the development of character traits. Formal education occurs within a structured institutional framework, such as public schools, following a curriculum. Non-formal education als ...

as well as reducing

poverty Poverty is a state or condition in which an individual lacks the financial resources and essentials for a basic standard of living. Poverty can have diverse Biophysical environmen ...

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

Carlos Menem Carlos Saúl Menem (2 July 1930 – 14 February 2021) served as the 50th president of Argentina for ten years, from 1989 to 1999. He identified as Peronism, Peronist, serving as President of the Justicialist Party for 13 years (from 1990 to 200 ...

. During Frei's ternure the Laguna del Desierto territorial dispute with Argentina was solved, albeit the arbitrage favoured the Argentine position. Following the end of his presidency, Frei assumed, as a former President, a seat as senator-for-life 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 Valdivia Province (; ) is one of two Provinces of Chile, provinces of the southern Chilean Regions of Chile, region of Los Ríos Region, Los Ríos (XIV). The provincial capital is Valdivia (city), Valdivia. Located in the province are two importan ...

and

Osorno Province Osorno Province () 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 provincial capital is the c ...

, together with

Andrés Allamand Andrés Allamand Zavala (born February 7, 1956), a Chilean politician, is the founder and one of the past leaders of Renovación Nacional. He is of French, and Basque descent. On January 14, 2011 he was named Minister of Defense by president Se ...

. 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 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 President of Chile from 2006 to 2010 and again from 2014 to 2018, becoming the first woman to hold the presidency. She was re-elected in December ...

'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 (; 1 December 1949 – 6 February 2024) was a Chilean 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 Party (C ...

, 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 () is an order of merit for the Commonwealth realms, recognising distinguished service in the armed forces, science, art, literature, or the promotion of culture. Established in 1902 by Edward VII, admission into the order r ...

* Grand Master (1994–2000) and Collar of the

Order of Bernardo O'Higgins The Order of 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 state, the independentist gener ...

Foreign honours

*: **

PER Order of the Sun of Peru - Commander BAR

Commander of the

Order of the Sun (Peru) The Order of the Sun of Peru (Spanish: ''Orden El Sol del Perú''), formerly known as the Order of the Sun, is the highest award bestowed by the nation of Peru to commend notable civil and military merit. The award is the oldest civilian award in ...

*: **

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 () is the most senior Italian order of merit. It was established in 1951 by the second President of Italy, President of the Italian Republic, Luigi Einaudi. The highest-ranking honour of the Republi ...

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

Grand Cross of the Grand Order of King Tomislav ("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 (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 () 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 abroad. As such, it is sometimes referred to as ...

*: **

Order of Isabella the Catholic - Sash of Collar

Knight of the Collar of the

Order of Isabella the Catholic The Royal Order of Isabella the Catholic (; Abbreviation, Abbr.: OYC) is a knighthood and one of the three preeminent Order of merit, orders of merit bestowed by the Kingdom of Spain, alongside the Order of Charles III (established in 1771) and ...

, 3 March 1995 ** Member of the

Club de Madrid Club de Madrid is an independent, non-partisan, non-profit organization created to promote democracy and change in the international community. It is composed of 127 regular members from 74 countries, including 5 Nobel Peace Prize laureates and 2 ...

, 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 The Medal of the Oriental Republic of Uruguay is a distinction of Uruguay created by Law No. 16300 and awarded by the Presidency of the Republic at the initiative of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to foreign personalities, by reason of the princip ...

(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 (; ''Seraphim'' being a category of angels) is the highest order of chivalry of the Kingdom of Sweden. It was created by Frederick I of Sweden, King Frederick I on 23 February 1748, together with the Order of the ...

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 Living people 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 Eduardo Alfredo Juan Bernardo Frei Ruiz–Tagle (; born 24 June 1942) is a Chilean politician and civil engineering, civil engineer who served as president of Chile from 1994 to 2000. He was also a Senate of Chile, Senator, fulfilling the role of ...

Knights Grand Cross with Collar of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic Senators for life Politicians from Santiago, Chile 20th-century 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 Senators of the XLVIII Legislative Period of the National Congress of Chile Senators of the LI Legislative Period of the National Congress of Chile Senators of the LII Legislative Period of the National Congress of Chile Senators of the LIII Legislative Period of the National Congress of Chile Chilean Roman Catholics