Tomás René Hirsch Goldschmidt (born 19 July 1956) is a leftist

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 and businessman. He was the Together We Can Do More pact candidate for the 2005 Chilean presidential election, winning 5.4% of the vote.

Biography

Hirsch was born in

Santiago, Chile 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 ...

, to

Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

- German parents. His mother, Lysa Goldschmidt, arrived in Chile before

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, while his father, Jorge Hirsch, arrived in the country escaping from German

Nazi Nazism (), formally named National Socialism (NS; , ), is the far-right politics, far-right Totalitarianism, totalitarian socio-political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Germany. During H ...

concentration camps. During his youth, Hirsch became interested in

Silo A silo () is a structure for storing Bulk material handling, bulk materials. Silos are commonly used for bulk storage of grain, coal, cement, carbon black, woodchips, food products and sawdust. Three types of silos are in widespread use toda ...

, an Argentinian writer and leader of a movement that inspired the founders of the Humanist Party. In 1974 Hirsch began studying Industrial Civil Engineering at the

University of Chile The University of Chile () is a public university, public research university in Santiago, Chile. It was founded on November 19, 1842, and inaugurated on September 17, 1843.

, but dropped out in 1978. Later he began working on his brother's photo company. Hirsch is married to Juanita Vergara and has two children.

Political life

In 1983 Hirsch helped found the Humanist Party, the first political party legalized (1987) under the government of

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 ...

, and was president of the party from 1994 until 1999. He was also one of the founders of the Coalition of Parties for Democracy (CPD) and served as Chile's ambassador to

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

between 1990 and 1992, under the democratic government of

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 ...

. In January 1993, the Humanist Party withdrew from the CPD. Hirsch unsuccessfully ran for a seat in the lower house of Congress in 1997 and for

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...

1999 1999 was designated as the International Year of Older Persons. Events January * January 1 – The euro currency is established and the European Central Bank assumes its full powers. * January 3 – The Mars Polar Lander is launc ...

, representing the Humanists. Hirsch was a leading spokesperson for the victims 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 ...

- when Pinochet was under house arrest in London. He would often appear on international news cables demanding that Pinochet be sent to

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

and be put on trial for

crimes against humanity Crimes against humanity are certain serious crimes committed as part of a large-scale attack against civilians. Unlike war crimes, crimes against humanity can be committed during both peace and war and against a state's own nationals as well as ...

. He criticized the government of Ricardo Lagos for pushing for Pinochet's release from detention claiming that Pinochet would never stand trial in Chile where he was protected by the Chilean Army and the Chilean political establishment. Hirsch has also been a major critic of the course the Coalition of Parties for Democracy has taken and was cynical of the

euphoria Euphoria ( ) is the experience (or affect) of pleasure or excitement and intense feelings of well-being and happiness. Certain natural rewards and social activities, such as aerobic exercise, laughter, listening to or making music and da ...

created by the election of the socialist 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 ...

claiming that her government meant a continuation of the same for most Chileans. Hirsch has a highly

revolutionary A revolutionary is a person who either participates in, or advocates for, a revolution. The term ''revolutionary'' can also be used as an adjective to describe something producing a major and sudden impact on society. Definition The term—bot ...

conception of Chilean society and his party calls for systemic changes to the economy to create a more

egalitarian Egalitarianism (; also equalitarianism) is a school of thought within political philosophy that builds on the concept of social equality, prioritizing it for all people. Egalitarian doctrines are generally characterized by the idea that all h ...

, truly

socialist Socialism is an economic ideology, economic and political philosophy encompassing diverse Economic system, economic and social systems characterised by social ownership of the means of production, as opposed to private ownership. It describes ...

ic and democratic society for all Chileans. He is also a supporter of the cause of the natives of Chile – the Mapuches. Some of his views are close to those of 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. ...

(with which his party formed an electoral front in the coalition '' Juntos Podemos Más'' ( English: Together we can do more) in the Chilean presidential elections of 2005. Hirsch has been arrested on a number of occasions by the Chilean police for taking part in demonstrations in support of political causes.

References

External links

Official presidential campaign siteSpokesperson of New Humanism for LatinamericaNotice of Hirsch's lecture in Tel-Aviv, March 2012, on the "Park Project Israel-Palestine" website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hirsch, Tomas 1956 births Living people Candidates for President of Chile Ambassadors of Chile to New Zealand Chilean Jews Chilean humanists Chilean people of German-Jewish descent Jewish socialists Libertarian socialists Politicians from Santiago, Chile Humanist Party (Chile) politicians University of Chile alumni Deputies of the LV Legislative Period of the National Congress of Chile Deputies of the LVI Legislative Period of the National Congress of Chile