Máximo Pacheco Gómez (26 October 1924 − 5 May 2012) was a Chilean

politician A politician is a person who participates in Public policy, 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 ...

and lawyer. He served as a

senator A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or Legislative chamber, chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the Ancient Rome, ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior ...

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 ...

, and ambassador to both the

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and the

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, and was a judge on the

Inter-American Court of Human Rights The Inter-American Court of Human Rights (I/A Court H.R.) is an international court based in San José, Costa Rica. Together with the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, it was formed by the American Convention on Human Rights, a human r ...

Professional life

Máximo Pacheco Gómez 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 ...

in 1924 to Máximo Pacheco del Campo and Sara Gómez Pérez. In 1926 his father was appointed governor of

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 ...

and Pacheco Gómez's first days at school took place there. The family returned to Santiago in 1930, and he continued his education at the Instituto Nacional. From 1942 to 1948 studied at the

Universidad de Chile The University of Chile () is a public research university 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 co ...

, where he earned a law degree. In 1949 he won a scholarship awarded by the

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to study at the University of Rome, where he completed his doctorate. After returning to Chile, he taught at the University of Chile's law school. In 1965, following the previous year's re-establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries, President

Eduardo Frei Montalva Eduardo Nicanor Frei Montalva (; 16 January 1911 – 22 January 1982) was a Chileans, Chilean political leader. In his long political career, he was Minister of Public Works, president of his Christian Democratic Party (Chile), Christia ...

appointed him ambassador to the

, where he remained until 1968. President Frei then selected him to serve as his

until the end of his presidential term in 1970. Two of his most important achievements at the ministry were introducing standardized uniforms for all schools, both public and private, and allowing high-school students to discharge their

military service Military service is service by an individual or group in an army or other militia, air forces, and naval forces, whether as a chosen job (volunteer military, volunteer) or as a result of an involuntary draft (conscription). Few nations, such ...

obligations simultaneously with their studies. From 1970 until his removal by ''de facto'' president

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 ...

in 1974, he was the dean of the law school at the University of Chile. In 1978, together with

Jaime Castillo Velasco Jaime Castillo Velasco (; 14 March 1914 – 29 October 2003) was a Chilean politician who served as president and vice-president of the Christian Democrat Party on several occasions. Early life Born in Santiago, he studied at the Liceo Alemán ...

and others, he founded the , an advocacy NGO with which he served as both vice-president and president. His

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work continued with his 1984 election as vice-president of the Paris-based

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and his 1985 appointment to the board of the Inter-American Institute of Human Rights in San José, Costa Rica. In March 1989, in the final months of the

Pinochet regime An authoritarian military dictatorship ruled Chile for seventeen years, between 11 September 1973 and 11 March 1990. The dictatorship was established after the Presidency of Salvador Allende, democratically elected socialist government of Salv ...

following the 1988 plebiscite, Pacheco was allowed to return to his teaching duties at the University of Chile. In the December 1989 general election he was elected to the

Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

for the

Maule Region The Maule Region (, ) is one of Chile's 16 first order administrative divisions. Its capital is Talca. The region derives its name from the Maule River which, running westward from the Andes, bisects the region and spans a basin of about 20,6 ...

on the

Christian Democratic Party __NOTOC__ Christian democratic parties are political parties that seek to apply Christian principles to public policy. The underlying Christian democracy movement emerged in 19th-century Europe, largely under the influence of Catholic social tea ...

ticket as part of the ''

Concertación The Concertación, officially the Concertación de Partidos por la Democracia (; ), was a coalition of center-left political parties in Chile, founded in 1988. Presidential candidates under its banner won every election from when military rul ...

'' alliance. In 1991 he was elected by the

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, held in Santiago, to a six-year term as a judge on the

. He served on the court from 1992 to 2003 (following his re-election in 1997), including a term as its vice president in 2000–2001. The cases on which he and his fellow judges ruled during his tenure included '' The Caracazo v. Venezuela'' (1999), '' Barrios Altos v. Peru'' (2001) and the '' Mayagna (Sumo) Awas Tingni Community v. Nicaragua'' (2001). He also contributed to advisory opinions on such matters as the right to information on

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and the human rights of children. In 2001, President

Ricardo Lagos Ricardo Froilán Lagos Escobar (; born 2 March 1938) is a Chilean lawyer, economist and social-democratic politician who served as president of Chile from 2000 to 2006. During the 1980s he was a well-known opponent of the Chilean military di ...

appointed him ambassador to the

Holy See The Holy See (, ; ), also called the See of Rome, the Petrine See or the Apostolic See, is the central governing body of the Catholic Church and Vatican City. It encompasses the office of the pope as the Bishops in the Catholic Church, bishop ...

, where he served until 2007 during the papacies of both

John Paul II Pope John Paul II (born Karol Józef Wojtyła; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 16 October 1978 until Death and funeral of Pope John Paul II, his death in 2005. In his you ...

and

Benedict XVI Pope BenedictXVI (born Joseph Alois Ratzinger; 16 April 1927 – 31 December 2022) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 19 April 2005 until resignation of Pope Benedict XVI, his resignation on 28 Februar ...

. In 2010 he was named Professor Emeritus of the University of Chile. Máximo Pacheco Gómez died in Santiago on 5 May 2012 after being hospitalized a few days earlier. The government of Chile declared a national day of mourning on 7 May.

Personal life

Pacheco Gómez married Adriana Matte Alessandri, the daughter of senator and 1952 presidential candidate , in 1948. Following Adriana's death in 2000, he married Mercedes Pérez Campino in 2003. He was the father of nine children, including

Máximo Pacheco Matte Maximo or Máximo may refer to: Arts * Capcom video game series ** '' Maximo: Ghosts to Glory'' (also known as just ''Maximo'') ** '' Maximo vs. Army of Zin'', the sequel to ''Ghosts to Glory'' * Maxïmo Park, a British indie rock band * Maximu or ...

, who served as minister of energy in 2014–2016 under President

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 ...

. Pacheco's parents were both agnostics – his mother, in particular, was

anti-clerical Anti-clericalism is opposition to religious authority, typically in social or political matters. Historically, anti-clericalism in Christian traditions has been opposed to the influence of Catholicism. Anti-clericalism is related to secularism, ...

–and he had no religious instruction in his early years. After meeting his future wife, however, he embraced the

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

faith and received his

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at the age of 19.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pacheco Gomez, Máximo 1924 births 2012 deaths University of Chile alumni Sapienza University of Rome alumni Christian Democratic Party (Chile) politicians Ministers of education of Chile Politicians from Santiago, Chile Senators of the XLVIII Legislative Period of the National Congress of Chile Inter-American Court of Human Rights judges