María Teresa del Canto Molina (18 January 1898 – 14 May 1987) was a Chilean teacher and politician. She was the country's second woman to become a

minister of state Minister of state is a designation for a government minister, with varying meanings in different jurisdictions. In a number of European countries, the title is given as an honorific conferring a higher rank, often bestowed upon senior minister ...

, after

Adriana Olguín Adriana Margarita Olguín Büche (born Luz Adriana Margarita Olguín Buche; 18 November 1911 – 24 December 2015) was a Chilean lawyer and politician. She was the Minister of Justice during the rule of Gabriel González Videla, making Olguín th ...

. She also served as mayor 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 ...

from 1953 to 1957.

Biography

María Teresa del Canto was born in Catemu on 18 January 1898. She began her education in San Felipe, attending a boys' school, as there were no girls' schools in the city at the time. After obtaining the title of English Teacher from the Pedagogical School of Santiago, she worked in that capacity in San Felipe, San Carlos, and

Rengo Rengo is a city and commune located in the Zona Central of Chile, situated in the Cachapoal Province of the O'Higgins Region at a distance of south of the city of Rancagua and south of the national capital Santiago. It was named after the c ...

, retiring in 1950. She was a member of the Women's Party of Chile, and was its national director of social affairs. On 3 November 1952, she took office as

Minister of Education An education minister (sometimes minister of education) is a position in the governments of some countries responsible for dealing with educational matters. Where known, the government department, ministry, or agency that develops policy and deli ...

in the second government of

Carlos Ibáñez del Campo General Carlos Ibáñez del Campo (; 3 November 1877 – 28 April 1960) was a Chilean Army officer and political figure. He served as president twice, first between 1927 and 1931, and then from 1952 to 1958, serving for 10 years in office. E ...

, after the position was turned down by fellow Women's Party member

María de la Cruz María de la Cruz Toledo (September 18, 1912 – September 1, 1995) was a Chilean political activist for women's suffrage, a journalist, a writer, and a political commentator. In 1953, she became the first woman ever elected to the Chilean Senate ...

. She was succeeded as minister by

Juan Gómez Millas Juan Gómez Millas (; July 18, 1900 – March 16, 1987) was a Chilean politician and educator. In 1925, he was accepted as a professor of universal history from the Pedagogical Institute. Years later, he became director of the Institute of His ...

on 1 April 1953. She was then appointed mayor of

by President Ibáñez, a position she held from 19 June 1953 to 31 October 1957. In 1958 she became Superintendent of Education in the government of

Jorge Alessandri Jorge Eduardo Alessandri Rodríguez (; 19 May 1896 – 31 August 1986) was the 26th president of Chile from 1958 to 1964, and was the candidate of the Chilean right in the crucial presidential election of 1970, which he lost to Salvador A ...

. In 1954, María Teresa del Canto was awarded a medal by the mayor of Paris, and the

Pro Ecclesia et Pontifice ''Pro Ecclesia et Pontifice'' ("For Church and Pope" in Latin) is a decoration of the Holy See. It is currently conferred for distinguished service to the Catholic Church by lay people and clergy. History The medal was established by Leo XII ...

by The Holy See. She also received honors from the cities of Madrid, Rio de Janeiro, and Asunción. She was awarded the Order of Merit of the World Board of Education in 1987, shortly before her death. She was also named an Illustrious and Meritorious Daughter of Catemu. In 1993 a school in her hometown was named in her honor. María Teresa del Canto died on 14 May 1987 at age 89.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:del Canto, Maria Teresa 1898 births 1987 deaths 20th-century Chilean educators Chilean feminists Ministers of education of Chile Chilean schoolteachers Mayors of Santiago, Chile People from San Felipe de Aconcagua Province Women government ministers of Chile 20th-century Chilean politicians 20th-century Chilean women politicians Catholic feminists Government ministers of Chile