Federico Errázuriz Echaurren (

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 ...

, November 16, 1850 –

Valparaíso Valparaíso () is a major city, Communes of Chile, commune, Port, seaport, and naval base facility in the Valparaíso Region of Chile. Valparaíso was originally named after Valparaíso de Arriba, in Castilla–La Mancha, Castile-La Mancha, Spain ...

, July 12, 1901) was a Chilean politician who served as the 12th

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 ...

Early life

He was son of the president Federico Errázuriz Zañartu and of Eulogia Echaurren García-Huidobro. He studied at San Ignacio School of

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

and in the National Institute of Santiago, where he received a bachelor's degree. He was joined 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 became a lawyer on March 23, 1873. In 1875 he married Gertrudis Echeñique Mujica, a direct descendant of the

governor of Chile The royal governor of Chile ruled over the Spanish colonization of the Americas, Spanish colonial administrative district called the Captaincy General of Chile, and as a result the royal governor also held the title of a captain general. There w ...

Martín de Mujica, of whom she was the last heir of the El Huique; They had six children: Juan José, Elena, Federico, Eulogia, Jorge and María Jesús. Errázuriz Echaurren joined the Liberal Party and started his political life in 1876, when he was elected as a deputy for Constitución. He was reelected in 1879 and was characterized as a centrist politician. He did not participate in the campaigns of the

War of the Pacific The War of the Pacific (), also known by War of the Pacific#Etymology, multiple other names, was a war between Chile and a Treaty of Defensive Alliance (Bolivia–Peru), Bolivian–Peruvian alliance from 1879 to 1884. Fought over Atacama Desert ...

, preferring instead to remain in his hacienda, but during the religious controversies between Church and State under President

Domingo Santa María Domingo Santa María González (; August 4, 1825 – July 18, 1889) was a Chilean political figure. He served as the president of Chile between 1881 and 1886. Early life He was born in Santiago, Chile, Santiago, the son of Luis José Santa Ma ...

, he joined the conservative forces. In August 1890, President José Manuel Balmaceda named him Minister of War and Navy, under the conciliation cabinet of Belisario Prats; but when Prats resigned his position, so did Errázuriz, and both joined the opposition. In 1891 he was one of the signers of the Act of Deposition of Presidente Balmaceda. Even so, he did not participate in the 1891 Chilean Civil War. After the end of the civil war, he was elected deputy for Cauquenes and Constitución (1891–1894). His ill-health forced him to travel to Germany, in search of specialists. During a year and a half, he travelled through Europe, even visiting Pope

Leo XIII Pope Leo XIII (; born Gioacchino Vincenzo Raffaele Luigi Pecci; 2March 181020July 1903) was head of the Catholic Church from 20 February 1878 until his death in July 1903. He had the fourth-longest reign of any pope, behind those of Peter the A ...

. He returned to Chile and in 1894 was elected Senator for Maule and designed Minister of Justice and Public Instruction, under President Jorge Montt.

Presidency

After a very contested election, Errázuriz Echaurren was elected

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...

and assumed power on September 18, 1896. He took over office at the age of 46, but by then he already was showing the symptoms of the illness that was going to kill him before the end of his mandate. Both his supporters and the opposition considered him a man of great political cunning, but while his supporters saw him as a true patriot, the opposition pictured him as a corrupt politician capable of the worst excesses. These characterizations made his rule difficult from the start, since he had a majority in the

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

but not in the

Chamber of Deputies The chamber of deputies is the lower house in many bicameral legislatures and the sole house in some unicameral legislatures. Description Historically, French Chamber of Deputies was the lower house of the French Parliament during the Bourb ...

. He received a country where the economic situation had steadily worsened due to the progressive crisis of the nitrate industry and the associated unemployment and social crisis caused by it; while the international relationships with Perú, Bolivia, and Argentina were also in a critical state. To counteract the instability he tried to broaden the political consensus of his supporting coalition by forming a cabinet made up of three liberals and three conservatives, with the Liberal

Aníbal Zañartu Aníbal Zañartu Zañartu (; 12 April 1847 – 1 February 1902) was a Chilean political figure. He served several times as minister and, for a brief time, as vice president in 1901. He was a member of the Liberal Party. Early life He was born ...

Minister of the Interior An interior minister (sometimes called a minister of internal affairs or minister of home affairs) is a cabinet official position that is responsible for internal affairs, such as public security, civil registration and identification, emergency ...

. This seemingly impeccable arrangement only lasted for two months. In what was the norm during the governments of the period, Errázuriz Echaurren went on to have 17 cabinets during his administration. Between 1896 and 1897, he named Carlos Antúnez as his Minister of the Interior and charged him with guaranteeing free and "clean" elections. Antúnez was in charge until after the general election of March 1897, considered his mission accomplished afterwards and resigned. These elections were greeted with general acceptance, but did not change the political support for the government, so Errázuriz Echaurren had to continue trying to achieve a balance, to maintain a semblance of political stability. In the course of this search, Errázuriz Echaurren became closer and closer to the Conservative Party, until in 1898 he named Carlos Walker Martínez, president of the Conservatives as

. Nonetheless, he remained always loyal to the coalition that elected him, and for example never allowed any member of the Radical party into any of his cabinets. Errázuriz's responses to the cabinet crisis, elections and in general to any problem within his administration was always consistent. He never took any decision without first consulting his political basis in congress, and always subordinated himself to the will of the political parties.

Public policies

Errázuriz's administration was characterized by a marked advancement in public education. Under his direction several institutions for the development of health professionals were created, such as courses for matrons and nurses, the Professional School for Girls of

, the Commercial Institute of Santiago, and new high schools in Santiago and Iquique. This administration also contributed with new tram systems in Santiago, Valparaíso, San Felipe and San Bernardo. Errázuriz Echaurren contracted the new sewerage system for Santiago, and the water reservoir of Peñuelas, which still provides the water for Valparaíso. He faced his biggest problems in the area of monetary policy. The much-wanted return to the metallic conversion, to which he was opposed but which was favored by the parliamentary majorities, was shelved due to the threat of a war with Argentina. The delay of the measure until 1902 pushed the banking system to near collapse, forcing the government to issue and circulate paper money.

Argentine problem

The biggest problem that the administration had to face was on the international area. Chile and Argentina were on the brink of war, due to long-standing border disputes stemming from the peace treaty of 1881, the situation of the

Puna de Atacama The Puna de Atacama or Atacama Plateau''Atacama Plateau''
article at the ''Encyclopædia Bri ...

(a disputed territory formerly owned by Bolivia and claimed by both countries) and an ongoing naval arms race. President Errázuriz was avowedly pacifist, but at one point both countries got to the point of calling up their reserve soldiers. The final solution was to submit the problem to an arbitration by the King of England, the adjudication of which was not resolved until 1902, during the administration of

Germán Riesco Germán Riesco Errázuriz (; May 28, 1854 – December 8, 1916) was a Chilean political figure, and he served as President of Chile between 1901 and 1906. Early life He was born in Rancagua, the son of Mauricio Riesco, a Spanish people, Spani ...

, President Errázuriz's cousin and successor. To celebrate the decision to arbitrate and avoid war, President Errázuriz and Argentinian President Julio Argentino Roca held an international meeting in the

Strait of Magellan The Strait of Magellan (), also called the Straits of Magellan, is a navigable sea route in southern Chile separating mainland South America to the north and the Tierra del Fuego archipelago to the south. Considered the most important natura ...

. This meeting, known as the , took place in front of the city of

Punta Arenas Punta Arenas (, historically known as Sandy Point in English) is the capital List of cities in Chile, city of Chile's southernmost Regions of Chile, region, Magallanes Region, Magallanes and Antarctica Chilena. Although officially renamed as ...

on February 15, 1899.

Succession controversy

Like most presidents of the time, he became involved early in the election of his successor. The Liberal-Conservative Coalition that supported him went on to proclaim

, cousin and brother-in-law of President Errázuriz, as their candidate on March 8, 1901. The President responded in a public letter:

..as I have the firm purpose of not intervening in any political campaign and I don't have or want to have any candidate, I am firmly resolved to prevent the participation of any member of this administration in the upcoming elections.

Health problems and death

Errázuriz's ill-health continued to plague him during all his period. Before his election, he already had had to travel to Germany in 1893 for treatment, and the death of his oldest son from

tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB), also known colloquially as the "white death", or historically as consumption, is a contagious disease usually caused by ''Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can al ...

in 1897 weakened him further. On June 11, 1900, he had to delegate his mandate to Elías Fernández Albano, the Vice President, so he could travel again to seek medical advice. He reassumed his duties on October 11 of the same year, but died suddenly of cerebral

thrombosis Thrombosis () is the formation of a Thrombus, blood clot inside a blood vessel, obstructing the flow of blood through the circulatory system. When a blood vessel (a vein or an artery) is injured, the body uses platelets (thrombocytes) and fib ...

on July 12, 1901, while in

. He was constitutionally replaced by his

, who assumed as

Vice President A vice president or vice-president, also director in British English, is an officer in government or business who is below the president (chief executive officer) in rank. It can also refer to executive vice presidents, signifying that the vi ...

for the remainder of his mandate.

Legacy

In the late 18th century, zoologist and paleontologist

Rodolfo Amando Philippi Rodolfo Amando (or Rudolph Amandus) Philippi (14 September 1808 – 23 July 1904) was a German–Chilean paleontologist and zoologist. Philippi contributed primarily to malacology and paleontology, but also published a major work on Diptera of C ...

named a newly discovered species of plant after Errázuriz Echaurren: ''Errazurizia glandulifera'', a "curious leguminous plant with 'long rat-tail spikes of flowers of a peculiar purple and yellow' with an 'incense-like' scent.

References

External links

Short biography

Genealogical chart of Errázuriz family

Museum of ''El Huique''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Errazuriz Echaurren, Federico 1850 births 1901 deaths Politicians from Santiago, Chile F Chilean people of Basque descent Liberal Party (Chile, 1849) politicians Presidents of Chile Ministers of defense of Chile Deputies of the XVIII Legislative Period of the National Congress of Chile Deputies of the XIX Legislative Period of the National Congress of Chile Deputies of the XX Legislative Period of the National Congress of Chile Deputies of the XXI Legislative Period of the National Congress of Chile Deputies of the XXIII Legislative Period of the National Congress of Chile Senators of the XXIV Legislative Period of the National Congress of Chile Candidates for President of Chile Children of presidents of Chile Instituto Nacional General José Miguel Carrera alumni University of Chile alumni People of the Chilean Civil War of 1891 Deaths from cerebral thrombosis