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Miguel Adolfo Gerardo Zaldívar Larraín (September 13, 1943 – February 27, 2013) was a Chilean politician and lawyer.[1] He was senator for Aisén and from March 2008 until his death in February 2013 he had been President of the Chilean Senate. He was an historic member of the Christian Democratic Party, leading its right-wing faction[2] until his expulsion from the political party in December 2007.
Adolfo Zaldívar | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Chilean Ambassador to Argentina | |
| In office 16 April 2010 – 27 February 2013 | |
| Preceded by | Miguel Otero Lathrop |
| Succeeded by | Milenko Skoknic |
| Senator of Chile For Aisen Region | |
| In office 11 March 1994 – 11 March 2010 | |
| Preceded by | Hernán Vodanovic |
| Succeeded by | Patricio Walker |
| President of the Senate of Chile | |
| In office March 12, 2008 – March 13, 2009 | |
| Preceded by | Eduardo Frei Ruiz-Tagle |
| Succeeded by | Jovino Novoa |
| President of the Independent Regionalist Party | |
| In office 2009–2010 | |
| Preceded by | Jaime Mulet |
| Succeeded by | Eduardo Díaz del Río |
| Personal details | |
| Born | September 13, 1943 Santiago, Chile |
| Died | February 27, 2013 (aged 69) |
| Resting place | Parque del Recuerdo |
| Political party | Partido Regionalista de los Independientes (2009-2010) Christian Democrat Party of Chile (1957–2007) |
| Spouse | María Alicia Larraín |
| Occupation | Lawyer |
Zaldívar was married to María Alicia Larraín Shaux and had six children. He was the brother of former President of the Senate of Chile and Interior Minister Andrés Zaldívar.
Life and career edit
Early life edit
Zaldívar received secondary formation at the Instituto de Humanidades Luis Campino. Then, he went to university at the law faculty of the Catholic University in Chile, which he concluded in 1967. As a partner at the law firm "Irureta, Zaldivar, Briones y Hernández", he worked in his profession until he finished his studies.
Political life edit
In 1965 Zaldívar became the university party leader of the Christian Democrat Party (PDC), and from 1970 to 1972 he occupied the post of national counselor for youth of this party. In the following year he became the national leader of the lawyers of the PDC, and filled this position until 1980. He was a co-founder of the Chilean Commission of Human Rights.
From 1985 to 1988 Zaldívar was president of the Forum of Political Integration of Chile and Argentina. From 1983 to 1989 he was part of the fiscal commission of the PDC. Then from 1983 to 1990 he worked as national counselor of the PDC, then he became premier national vice-president.
In the elections of December 1993 Zaldívar was elected senator, and formed the senate's mining commission. He went on to form the commission on national defense and the commission of maritime interests, fishing and aquaculture. From 2002 to 2006 he was president of the PDC.
Party expulsion edit
In early 2006, after he lost the presidency of the PDC to Soledad Alvear, Zaldívar became a vocal critic of the Chilean economic system and voiced his disappointment with the government's "unwillingness" to amend it. He frequently came into conflict with Alvear and in August 2007 the Christian Democrat Party's Supreme Tribunal chastised him for his criticisms. Additionally, he was one of the harshest critics of the Transantiago public transport system, created under the leadership of the Concertación coalition to which the Christian Democrats belonged. In November 2007, Zaldívar, together with senators from the Alliance for Chile and independents Fernando Flores and Carlos Bianchi, voted against continued funding for the Transantiago, against the wishes of his party's leadership. Alvear and her followers accused Zaldívar of "siding with the right" and requested his expulsion from the party. In December, the party leadership formally presented the expulsion request to the Supreme Tribunal of the party, on the basis of his decision to ignore the party wishes on the Transantiago funding bill and for Zaldívar's harsh criticisms of the leadership's actions regarding corruption. The Tribunal finally decided to expel Zaldívar on December 27, 2007. On March 12, 2008 he became President of the Senate with the votes from the right-wing Alliance for Chile.
References edit
- ^ "Adolfo Zaldívar: A los 69 años fallece el embajador de Chile en Argentina y ex senador | Política". La Tercera. 1990-01-01. Archived from the original on 2013-02-27. Retrieved 2013-02-27.
- ^ Morgado, José (2013-02-27). "Último adiós a los "colorines"". 24horas.cl (in Spanish). Retrieved 2022-10-01.
External links edit
