Joaquín Prieto Vial (; August 20, 1786 – November 22, 1854) 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 military and

political figure A politician is a person who participates in policy-making processes, usually holding an elective position in government. Politicians represent the people, make decisions, and influence the formulation of public policy. The roles or duties tha ...

. He was

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 1831 and 1841. Joaquín Prieto was of

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many countries in the Americas **Spanish cuisine **Spanish history **Spanish culture ...

and

Basque Basque may refer to: * Basques, an ethnic group of Spain and France * Basque language, their language Places * Basque Country (greater region), the homeland of the Basque people with parts in both Spain and France * Basque Country (autonomous co ...

descent.

Early life

Prieto was one of five sons of a Creole

officer An officer is a person who has a position of authority in a hierarchical organization. The term derives from Old French ''oficier'' "officer, official" (early 14c., Modern French ''officier''), from Medieval Latin ''officiarius'' "an officer," fro ...

in Concepción. After finishing school, he joined the

cavalry Historically, cavalry (from the French word ''cavalerie'', itself derived from ''cheval'' meaning "horse") are groups of soldiers or warriors who Horses in warfare, fight mounted on horseback. Until the 20th century, cavalry were the most mob ...

garrison A garrison is any body of troops stationed in a particular location, originally to guard it. The term now often applies to certain facilities that constitute a military base or fortified military headquarters. A garrison is usually in a city ...

in his home town. In 1810, he joined the Chilean fight for independence against his father's will. He met Manuela Warnes García de Zúñiga in

Buenos Aires Buenos Aires, controlled by the government of the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires, is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Argentina. It is located on the southwest of the Río de la Plata. Buenos Aires is classified as an Alpha− glob ...

and married her in 1812. During the

Chilean War of Independence The Chilean War of Independence (Spanish language, Spanish: ''Guerra de la Independencia de Chile'', 'War of Independence of Chile') was a military and political event that allowed the emancipation of Chile from the Spanish Empire, Spanish Mona ...

, he served as a

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

. In the dispute between

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 ...

and

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 ...

, he took the side of O'Higgins, who then made him Quartermaster general of the southern army. After the defeat 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 ...

, which he wasn't a part of, Prieto fled to Mendoza,

Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...

to build up the Liberation Army of the Andes. After the victory of the Chileans in the

battle of Chacabuco The Battle of Chacabuco, fought during the Chilean War of Independence, took place on February 12, 1817. The Army of the Andes, from the United Provinces of the Río de la Plata and led by Captain (land), Captain–General José de San Martín, ...

in 1817, in which he also wasn't involved, he was appointed Commanding General of

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 ...

, where he dealt with defense strategies and military matters. Then, he turned his attention to

Peru Peru, officially the Republic of Peru, is a country in western South America. It is bordered in the north by Ecuador and Colombia, in the east by Brazil, in the southeast by Bolivia, in the south by Chile, and in the south and west by the Pac ...

, in order to support its fight for independence. His military accomplishments - especially in the south of the country - earned the respect of conservative-centralist circles, which encouraged him to start a political career. He did so in 1823; in this year he was elected into the Chilean House of Deputies and appointed into State council. In this position, he advocated a strong and influential central government and fought the federalist independence ambitions of the regionalists. In 1828, he was elected vice-president of Chile.

Political career and Civil War of 1829

Prieto's military career continued to progress. In 1828, he was promoted to

general A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air force, air and space forces, marines or naval infantry. In some usages, the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colone ...

and commander of the army in the south. In 1829 presidential elections, neither he nor his liberal-federalist opponent Joaquín Vicuña received an

absolute majority A majority is more than half of a total; however, the term is commonly used with other meanings, as explained in the " Related terms" section below. It is a subset of a set consisting of more than half of the set's elements. For example, if a gr ...

. The liberal majority in Congress nominated Francisco Ramón Vicuña, president of the senate, as vice-president. The conservatives considered this move to be unconstitutional and started a

civil war A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...

. As commander of the southern army, Prieto Vial marched onto Santiago. On December 14, 1829, he and his troops met the liberal army under Francisco de la Lastra and defeated them at the Battle of Ochagavía. Then, in 1830, an agreement was finally found after the defeat of

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 ...

at the Battle of Lircay.

Administration

After the transitional president José Tomás Ovalle died, Fernando Errázuriz Aldunate became ''Provisional President'' from March 8 to March 31, 1831, rapidly replaced by Prieto himself on April 10. On September 18, 1831, Prieto was finally able to take over the job as elected president for a first term of five years. His main focus on first taking power was to restore law and order; for that he relied on Diego Portales, who continue to be the almost universal minister and provided the necessary political stability for the country to recover from the decade of anarchy. He also instructed

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 ...

to seize the bandits commanded by the brothers Pablo and José Antonio Pincheira who made the area around Concepción unsafe. On May 25, 1833, a new constitution was passed, which - with a few amendments - would be valid until 1925. It provided for a 5-year long term of office for the president, who could be re-elected only once. The president received much authority. During his 10-year-long presidency, Prieto expanded the governmental power and laid the foundation for a

public administration Public administration, or public policy and administration refers to "the management of public programs", or the "translation of politics into the reality that citizens see every day",Kettl, Donald and James Fessler. 2009. ''The Politics of the ...

in Chile. The first educational establishments like the '' Instituto Nacional'' were founded and in 1837 the ministries for justice and public education were created. Prieto's foreign policy was dominated by Chile's war with Peru between 1836 and 1839. The Chilean army under Manuel Blanco Encalada suffered heavy losses, which climaxed in the Treaty of Paucarpata, following which Manuel Bulnes took over the leadership of the army and led it into the victorious

Battle of Yungay The Battle of Yungay (or Yungai) was the final battle of the War of the Confederation, fought on January 20, 1839, near Santo Domingo de Yungay, Yungay, Peru. The United Restoration Army, led by Chilean General Manuel Bulnes, consisting mainly ...

Cabinet

Later life

In 1841, the victorious hero Bulnes was elected as the successor of Prieto. After his resignation Prieto served as Senator until 1852 and even took over the command of the infantry and the navy of

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 ...

until 1846. In 1846, he moved to Santiago de Chile, where he died on November 22, 1854, at the age of 68.

References

Official biography
(in Spanish) {{DEFAULTSORT:Prieto Vial, Jose Joaquin 1786 births 1854 deaths People from Concepción, Chile Presidents of Chile Members of the Senate of Chile Members of the Chamber of Deputies of Chile Chilean Army generals Chilean people of Basque descent Chilean people of French descent Chilean people of Spanish descent People of the Chilean Civil War of 1829–30 People of the War of the Confederation Chilean Navy officers Conservative Party (Chile) politicians Candidates for President of Chile Viceroyalty of Peru people Intendants of Valparaíso Province Intendants of Concepción Province