Francisco Antonio Pinto y Díaz de la Puente (; July 23, 1785 – July 18, 1858) 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 politician 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 ...

between 1827 and 1829.

Early life

He 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 Joaquín Pinto and Mercedes Díaz de la Puente. Pinto completed his early studies in the Convictorio Carolino, the best school in the country at the time, and then studied law at the '' Real Universidad de San Felipe'', being admitted to practice on October 11, 1808. In his youth he dedicated himself to commerce. According to the social norms of the time, he also became a militia officer in the "''Regimiento del Rey''" (King's regiment). In 1810, while in Lima, he heard of the formation of the Government Junta of the Kingdom, and immediately returned to the country, where he was charged with a diplomatic mission to Buenos Aires. After that successful first mission, he was sent to England, and then to other European countries, with the mission of gathering support for the independence movement. While in Europe he learnt of the news of the defeat of the Chilean army in the

Battle of Rancagua The Battle of Rancagua, also known in Chile as the Disaster of Rancagua, occurred on October 1, 1814, to October 2, 1814, when the Spanish Army under the command of Mariano Osorio defeated the Chilean forces led by Bernardo O’Higgins. This ...

and the recapture of Chile by the Spanish troops. He then returned to Argentina to cooperate in the formation of a new army. Pinto married Luisa Garmendia Aldurralde and had two children,

Aníbal Pinto Aníbal Pinto Garmendia (; March 15, 1825June 9, 1884) was a Chilean political figure. He served as the president of Chile between 1876 and 1881. Early life He was born in Santiago de Chile, the son of former Chilean president General Francisc ...

, who would become President of Chile, and Enriqueta Pinto, future wife of President

Manuel Bulnes Manuel Bulnes Prieto (; December 25, 1799 – October 18, 1866) was a Chilean military and political figure who was President of Chile from 1841 to 1851. Born in Concepción, he served as the president of Chile between 1841 and 1851. At the ...

. His grandnephew (and grandson of

José Miguel Carrera José Miguel Carrera Verdugo (; October 15, 1785 – September 4, 1821) was a Chilean general, formerly Spanish military, member of the prominent Carrera family, and considered one of the founders of independent Chile. Carrera was the most impor ...

), Ignacio Carrera Pinto, became a hero at 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 ...

Political career

In 1820 he finally returned to Chile. He was then sent by

Bernardo O'Higgins Bernardo O'Higgins Riquelme (; 20 August 1778 – 24 October 1842) was a Chilean independence leader who freed Chile from Spanish rule in the Chilean War of Independence. He was a wealthy landowner of Basque people, Basque-Spanish people, Spani ...

to Peru, to help in the independence of that country. In 1824 he was named as Minister of Government and Foreign Affairs, and in 1825, Intendant of Coquimbo. In 1827, due to the resignation of President Agustín Eyzaguirre, General

Ramón Freire Ramón Saturnino Andrés Freire y Serrano (; November 29, 1787 – December 9, 1851) was a Chilean political figure. He was head of state on several occasions, and enjoyed a numerous following until the War of the Confederation. Ramón Fr ...

was elected president, while General Pinto was elected

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 ...

. When General Freire himself resigned on May 5, 1827, General Pinto took over the position as "Accidental President". As such he participated in the drafting of the Constitution of 1828. A new presidential election was called in May 1829. General Pinto was the clear winner out of 9 candidates, with 118 electoral votes (29.06%), and was proclaimed elected on October 19. Nevertheless, the onset of the

Chilean Civil War of 1829 Chilean may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Chile, a country in South America * Chilean people * Chilean Spanish * Chilean culture * Chilean cuisine * Chilean Americans See also *List of Chileans This is a list of Chileans who ar ...

was at hand. The problem that caused the revolution happened in the vice presidential election. The winner should have been the first runner-up,

Francisco Ruiz-Tagle Francisco Antonio Pascual de la Ascensión Ruiz de Tagle y Portales (; c. 1790 – March 23, 1860) was a Chilean political figure. In 1830, he was briefly Provisional President of the Republic of Chile, elected by Congress. Biography He was ...

(98 electoral votes or 24.13%), or the second runner-up, General

José Joaquín Prieto José is a predominantly Spanish and Portuguese form of the given name Joseph. While spelled alike, this name is pronounced very differently in each of the two languages: Spanish ; Portuguese (or ). In French, the name ''José'', pronounced , ...

, (61 votes or 15.02%), both conservatives. Nonetheless, Congress was controlled by the liberals and presided by Francisco Ramón Vicuña, also liberal. Arguing that no vice-presidential candidate had a majority, they selected Joaquín Vicuña, brother of the president of the senate, even though he only got 48 electoral votes (11.82%). That was all the excuse needed by the conservatives to rebel. Pinto resigned the Presidency on November 2 (less than two weeks after his proclamation), an event that marked his retirement from public life. All his powers were assumed by the President of Congress, Francisco Ramón Vicuña, who was already acting as "Accidental President" since July 16, 1829, when Pinto had delegated his powers on him for the duration of the electoral campaign.

Cabinet

Pinto only returned to public life in 1841, as a congressman. The Liberal party proclaimed him as a candidate to the Presidency in the Chilean presidential elections of 1841, in opposition to his son in law, General

, who finally resulted elected. He did not participate in the campaign in any active form. Nonetheless he was elected a deputy for La Serena, and president of the chamber, on May 30, 1843. He was elected a senator in 1846, and became a member of the permanent war and navy commission. He was also named Privy Council by President Bulnes. In 1846, botanist

Claude Gay Claude Gay, often named Claudio Gay in Spanish texts, (18 March 1800 – 29 November 1873), was a French botanist, naturalist and illustrator. This explorer carried out some of the first investigations about Chilean flora, fauna, geology and ge ...

published '' Pintoa'', a genus of

flowering plant Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (). The term angiosperm is derived from the Ancient Greek, Greek words (; 'container, vessel') and (; 'seed'), meaning that the seeds are enclosed with ...

s from Chile, belonging to the family

Zygophyllaceae Zygophyllaceae is a family of flowering plants that contains the bean-caper and caltrop. The family includes around 285 species in 22 genera. Plants in the family Zygophyllaceae may be trees, shrubs, or herbs. They are often found in dry habit ...

and named in honour of Francisco Antonio Pinto. On July 5, 1847 he was elected president of the Senate. He was reelected as a senator on 1855. Pinto died in

at the age of 72, on July 18, 1858, before the end of his mandate as senator.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pinto, Francisco Antonio 1785 births 1858 deaths Presidents of Chile Heads of state of Chile Vice presidents of Chile Ministers of the interior of Chile Foreign ministers of Chile Ministers of defense of Chile Chilean Army generals Members of the Senate of Chile Members of the Chamber of Deputies of Chile People of the Chilean Civil War of 1829–30 Politicians from Santiago, Chile Presidents of the Senate of Chile Liberal Party (Chile, 1849) politicians Candidates for President of Chile Viceroyalty of Peru people Intendants of Coquimbo Province