José Antonio Viera-Gallo Quesney (born 2 December 1943) is 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. Before turning 30, Viera-Gallo was a Member of Congress during the left-wing elected government of president

Salvador Allende Salvador Guillermo Allende Gossens (26 June 1908 – 11 September 1973) was a Chilean socialist politician who served as the 28th president of Chile from 1970 until Death of Salvador Allende, his death in 1973 Chilean coup d'état, 1973. As a ...

, representing the

Socialist Party of Chile The Socialist Party of Chile (, or PS) is a centre-left to Left-wing politics, left-wing political party founded in 1933. Its historic leader was President of Chile Salvador Allende, who was deposed in a 1973 Chilean coup d'état, coup d'état by ...

. Following the 1973 coup by General

Augusto Pinochet Augusto José Ramón Pinochet Ugarte (25 November 1915 – 10 December 2006) was a Chilean military officer and politician who was the dictator of Military dictatorship of Chile, Chile from 1973 to 1990. From 1973 to 1981, he was the leader ...

, he was among those persecuted by the new regime. Like other left-wing ousted politicians, he sought refuge in a foreign diplomatic mission, specifically the

Apostolic Nunciature An apostolic nunciature is a top-level diplomatic mission of the Holy See that is equivalent to an embassy. However, it neither issues visas nor has consul (representative), consulates. The head of the apostolic nunciature is called a ''nuncio ...

, where he lived for over six months. With the help of then

Apostolic Nuncio An apostolic nuncio (; also known as a papal nuncio or simply as a nuncio) is an ecclesiastical diplomat, serving as an envoy or a permanent diplomatic representative of the Holy See to a state or to an international organization. A nuncio is ...

Angelo Sodano Angelo Raffaele Sodano (23 November 1927 – 27 May 2022) was an Italian prelate of the Catholic Church. He served as the Dean of the College of Cardinals from 2005 to 2019 and previously as the Cardinal Secretary of State from 1991 to 2006; S ...

(who would later rise to the rank of

cardinal Cardinal or The Cardinal most commonly refers to * Cardinalidae, a family of North and South American birds **''Cardinalis'', genus of three species in the family Cardinalidae ***Northern cardinal, ''Cardinalis cardinalis'', the common cardinal of ...

in the

Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

hierarchy), Viera-Gallo was able to obtain safe passage out of

, and moved to exile in

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

, Italy. Together with other politicians including

Bernardo Leighton Bernardo Leighton Guzmán (August 16, 1909, Negrete, Bío Bío Province – January 26, 1995, Santiago) was a Chilean Christian Democrat Party of Chile, Christian Democratic Party politician and lawyer. He served as Ministries of Chile, mini ...

, and with the support of leading

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, a Romance ethnic group related to or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance languag ...

socialists including

Bettino Craxi Benedetto "Bettino" Craxi ( ; ; ; 24 February 1934 – 19 January 2000) was an Italian politician and statesman, leader of the Italian Socialist Party (PSI) from 1976 to 1993, and the 45th Prime Minister of Italy, prime minister of Italy from 1 ...

and Rino Formica, he led the

from exile 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 ...

, while the

Communist Party of Chile The Communist Party of Chile (, ) is a communist party in Chile. It was founded in 1912 as the Socialist Workers' Party () and adopted its current name in 1922. The party established a youth wing, the Communist Youth of Chile (, JJ.CC), in 1932. ...

was led by Colodomiro Almeida and others from

Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...

in the then

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

. As part of his advocacy efforts to fight the regime of

, Viera-Gallo founded the magazine ChileAmérica, which would later become incorporated into the Centre for Social Studies (CESOC). In 1985 he was allowed to return to

. During the government of president

Patricio Aylwin Patricio Aylwin Azócar (; 26 November 1918 – 19 April 2016) was a Chilean politician from the Christian Democratic Party of Chile, Christian Democratic Party, lawyer, author, professor and former senator. He was the 30th president of Chil ...

, he was President of the Chamber of Deputies from 11 March 1990 to 21 July 1993. Viera-Gallo later covered various other appointments, including lead senator of his party. From 2007 to 2010, he was Minister Secretary General of the Presidency, in the government of

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 ...

. In 2010 prior to becoming a member of the Constitutional Tribunal, he quit the Socialist Party. He is married to Maria Teresa Chadwick, and has three daughters: Maria José, Titi, and Manuela.

Publications

* "Investigaciones para un estudio de la Revolución en América Latina" * "La trampa de la Seguridad, Carrera Armamentista y Desarme" * "Chile: Un Nuevo Camino" * "11 de septiembre, la Pausa de la Razón" * "Se abre la Sesión" * Foreword in "La Tansición Cubana y el Bloqueo Norteamericano" by Maurizio Giuliano

Sources

Curriculum of Senator Viera-Gallo
{{DEFAULTSORT:Viera-Gallo, Jose Antonio 1943 births Living people Chilean Ministers Secretary General of the Presidency Chilean essayists Chilean political writers Politicians from Santiago, Chile United Conservative Party (Chile) politicians Popular Unitary Action Movement politicians Party for Democracy (Chile) politicians Socialist Party of Chile politicians Colegio del Verbo Divino alumni Cycling advocates Deputies of the XLVIII Legislative Period of the National Congress of Chile Deputies of the XLIX Legislative Period of the National Congress of Chile Senators of the L Legislative Period of the National Congress of Chile Senators of the LI Legislative Period of the National Congress of Chile