Máximo Ramón Lira Donoso was a Chilean diplomat and politician who served as the

plenipotentiary A ''plenipotentiary'' (from the Latin ''plenus'' "full" and ''potens'' "powerful") is a diplomat who has full powers—authorization to sign a treaty or convention on behalf of a sovereign. When used as a noun more generally, the word can als ...

of Chile to Brazil between 1891 and 1896 and the

intendant An intendant (; ; ) was, and sometimes still is, a public official, especially in France, Spain, Portugal, and Latin America. The intendancy system was a centralizing administrative system developed in France. In the War of the Spanish Success ...

of Tacna Province between 1904 and 1912.

Biography

Lira 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 ...

, Chile on November 18, 1846, as the son of Leonardo Lira Donoso and Tomasa Donoso. He married Adela Manso and they had two children. Lira completed his primary and secondary education at Colegio San Ignacio, Santiago de Chile where he received a bachelor's degree. He began his journalism career by translating a novel for El Independiente and published articles favoring the Conservative Party. In the 1873 Chilean parliamentary election he was elected as a substitute deputy for La Unión between 1873 and 1876. In 1874, Lira served as the secretary at the Chilean legation 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 ...

, where he also served as El Independiente's correspondent in the city. In the 1876 parliamentary elections, Lira was re-elected as a substitute deputy, but between 1876 and 1879 was appointed as the deputy for

Rancagua Rancagua () is a city and commune in central Chile and part of the Rancagua conurbation. It is the capital of the Cachapoal Province and of the O'Higgins Region, located south of the national capital of Santiago. It was originally named Sa ...

. During 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 ...

, Lira was elected as a deputy for Los Andes between 1879 and 1882. In 1879, Lira was appointed as secretary to the general quartermaster of the Chilean Army, Francisco Echaurren Huidobro, and later served as secretary to the Minister of War

Rafael Sotomayor Rafael Sotomayor Baeza (13 September 1823 – 20 May 1880) was a Chilean lawyer and politician. As Minister of War and Navy he was the main organiser of Chilean forces during the War of the Pacific The War of the Pacific (), also k ...

. Lira then served as secretary to

Manuel Baquedano Manuel Jesús Baquedano González (; January 1, 1823 – September 30, 1897) was a Chilean soldier and politician, who served as Commander-in-chief of the Army during the War of the Pacific, and briefly as President of Chile during the civil wa ...

. Lira was present as the Bombardment of Antofagasta,

Battle of Los Angeles The Battle of Los Angeles, also known as the Great Los Angeles Air Raid, is the name given by contemporary sources to a rumored attack on the continental United States by Imperial Japan and the subsequent anti-aircraft artillery barrage which ...

Battle of Tacna The Battle of Tacna, also known as the Battle of the Peak of the Alliance (Spanish: ''Batalla del Alto de la Alianza''), effectively destroyed the Peru-Bolivian alliance against Chile, forged by a secret treaty signed in 1873. On 26 May 1880, ...

Battle of Arica The Battle of Arica, also known as ''Assault and Capture of Cape Arica'', was a battle in the War of the Pacific. It was fought on 7 June 1880, between the forces of Chile and Peru. After the Battle of Tacna and the following Bolivian withdra ...

Battle of San Juan and Chorrillos The Battle of San Juan, also known as the Battle of San Juan and Chorrillos, was the first of two battles in the Lima Campaign during the War of the Pacific, and was fought on 13 January 1881. This battle is really a group of smaller, yet fier ...

, and the

Battle of Miraflores The Battle of Miraflores occurred on January 15, 1881 in the Miraflores District of Lima, Peru. It was an important battle during the War of the Pacific that was fought between Chile and the forces of Peru. The Chilean army led by Gen. Manuel ...

. Lira also went on the Mollendo expedition and returned victoriously to Chile. When the war concluded, Lira served in the Chilean Department of the Interior under Baquedano during the latter's time as president. Lira defended

José Manuel Balmaceda José Manuel Emiliano Balmaceda Fernández (; July 19, 1840 – September 19, 1891) served as the 10th President of Chile from September 18, 1886, to August 29, 1891. Balmaceda was part of the Castilian-Basque aristocracy in Chile. While h ...

who had occupied the post of Undersecretary of the Interior of Chile before Balmaceda's rise to presidency. Between 1885 and 1888, Lira was elected as deputy for

Angol Angol is a commune and capital city of the Malleco Province in the Araucanía Region of southern Chile. It is located at the foot of the Cordillera de Nahuelbuta and next to the Vergara River, that permitted communications by small boats to the ...

. During Balmaceda's presidency, Lira had switched his political affiliation away from the Conservatives and supported a liberal ideology. When the

Chilean Civil War of 1891 The Chilean Civil War of 1891 (also known as Revolution of 1891) was a civil war in Chile fought between forces supporting Congress of Chile, Congress and forces supporting the President of Chile, President, José Manuel Balmaceda from 16 Ja ...

broke out, Lira joined Congress against Balmaceda and was tasked with seizing control of the Archives of the National Congress of Chile and the National Congress building itself. When Congress took power, Lira was rewarded with becoming the plenipotentiary of Chile to Brazil, Paraguay, Uruguay, and Peru. In January 1904 he was appointed as intendant of Tacna Province, then under Chilean rule. He served as intendant until 1912. Lira spent the last years of his life in Tacna, dying on October 17, 1916.

References

{{Reflist 1846 births 1916 deaths Ambassadors of Chile to Brazil Chilean politicians Intendants of Tacna Province (Chile)