Eliodoro Yáñez Ponce de León (May 6, 1860 – July 26, 1932) was a

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 ...

an journalist, lawyer, and politician, and was one of the founders of ''

La Nación ''La Nación'' () is an Argentine daily newspaper. As the country's leading conservative newspaper, ''La Nación''s main competitor is the more liberal ''Clarín (Argentine newspaper), Clarín''. It is regarded as a newspaper of record for Argen ...

'' newspaper. He also served several times as minister and as

President of the Senate of Chile The president of the Senate of Chile is the presiding officer of the Senate of Chile. The position comes after the Ministers of State in the line of succession of the President of Chile in case of temporary incapacitation or vacancy, according t ...

. Yáñez 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 son of Manuel Antonio Yañez Guerrero and of María Josefa Ponce de León. He coursed his liberal arts studies at the Instituto Nacional, and then enrolled in the

Universidad de Chile The University of Chile () is a public research university 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 co ...

, where he obtained his law degree on 27 May 1883. He soon became known as one of the most versed men around when it came to knowledge and interpretation of laws, and he also had very sound reasoning; the cases (cause) he won in court, where he was highly respected, are thanks to these qualities. His level of prestige was such that his opinions were considered decisive, and were sought out by professionals and magistrates for the resolution of complicated matters. His unquestionable calling as a jurist led him to develop, along with Ricardo Passi Garcia, a ''Compilation of Current Laws and Decrees'' (1884), which was very well received. At the same time, he published articles in several different newspapers, most of them judicial in nature (for example ''On electoral freedom'' () and the ''Forensics magazine'' (). This passion for the articles he wrote transformed him into a figure of journalism at the time. At the time he was practicing as a lawyer and working as a journalist, Eliodoro Yañez was appointed as the rapporteur for the Appeals Court of Santiago (1889). He entered 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. For example, while the political systems ...

and became a board member in 1893. One year later he was elected deputy for ''Valdivia and La Union'', position he was reelected to on several occasions until 1903. He was vice-president of the Chamber of Deputies in 1894 and 1895. Also, he was elected 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 ...

for ''Valdivia'' in 1912 and reelected for several terms until 1930. His parliamentary work was prolific, to such a point that it is said that while he remained in Congress, there were no bills that had not been proposed, studied or reviewed by him. Yañez believed that progress in journalism was fundamental in strengthening democracy. Due to this, he was not only the editor of several printed media from that time, but he also performed a great contribution to the country by founding –along with senators Alfredo Escobar Campaña, Augusto Bruna Valenzuela and Abraham Silva- the

newspaper, the first issue of which was published on January 14, 1917. The new newspaper was characterized for defending liberal ideas, having an excellent presentation and using educated language. In addition, La Nacion acquired other newspapers, like ''Los Tiempos'' (The Times) (1921) and the ''Correo de Valdivia'' (The Valdivia Post) (1924). In addition to being a member of parliament, he was a State minister on several occasions. Between 1901 and 1902, under the administration of

German Riesco German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

, he held the position of minister of Foreign Relations, Cult and Colonization and he was subrogate minister of the Treasury. Fifteen years later, he served as minister of the Interior for

Juan Luis Sanfuentes Juan Luis Sanfuentes Andonaegui (; 27 December 1858 – 16 July 1930) was President of Chile between 1915 and 1920. Sanfuentes was the son of writer and politician Salvador Sanfuentes Torres and Matilde Andonaegui. Orphaned at an early age and ...

’ government between 1917 and 1918. During this period he signed the law that introduced reforms to the Constitution of 1833. He died in Santiago in 1932.

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* {{DEFAULTSORT:Yanez, Eliodoro 1860 births 1932 deaths Ministers of the interior of Chile Foreign ministers of Chile Members of the Senate of Chile Members of the Chamber of Deputies of Chile Chilean journalists Chilean male journalists Politicians from Santiago, Chile University of Chile alumni Liberal Party (Chile, 1849) politicians Presidents of the Senate of Chile Candidates for President of Chile 19th-century Chilean lawyers