Arturo Frei Bolívar | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Member of theSenate of Chile | |
| In office 11 March 1990–11 March 1998 | |
| Succeeded by | Hosain Sabag |
| Member of theChilean Chamber of Deputies forConcepción | |
| In office 1969–1973 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Erwin Arturo Frei Bolívar (1939-11-18)18 November 1939 Santiago,Chile |
| Died | January 2022 |
| Political party |
|
| Other political affiliations | Progressive Union of the Centrist Center (1999) |
| Relations |
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| Alma mater | Pontifical Catholic University of Chile |
Erwin Arturo Frei Bolívar (18 November 1939 – January 2022) was a Chilean politician who was asenator and presidential candidate in the1999 election.
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Arturo Frei was born inSantiago on 18 November 1939, as the son of Arturo Frei Montalva and Marcela Bolívar Le Fort. His uncle wasEduardo Frei Montalva, who would becomePresident of Chile in 1964. Frei studied at theColegio de los Sagrados Corazones inConcepción and Santiago. Later he studied law at thePontifical Catholic University of Chile, graduating as a lawyer. As a student, he joined theChristian Democrat Party in 1957. Frei married María Beatriz Ruitort Barrenechea, and they have a son: Arturo Eduardo.
For a few years he was assistant professor of tax law, while also working as a lawyer for theMinister of Finance. At the same time he participated in the1964 election that was won by his uncle. After the1973 Chilean coup d'état, he retired from politics and dedicated himself to private practice, and also to running theIrene Frei Montalva foundation, which provided free daycare for children of poor families.
In 1969, he was electeddeputy for Concepción, being reelected in 1973, with one of the highest majorities at the national level. After the return of the democracy, Frei was elected senator in 1989 and served as chairman of the Armed Forces Committee where he developed strong links with the military. After Chilean dictatorAugusto Pinochet's arrest in the United Kingdom, Frei visited him inLondon and his independent presidential campaign to succeed his cousinEduardo Frei Ruiz-Tagle as President was seen as a maneuver by the general to preventRicardo Lagos from winning the election. TheProgressive Union of the Centrist Center presented Frei as their candidate for the1999 presidential elections, where Frei fared disastrously, gaining only 0.35% of the vote, the lowest percentage of any candidate since the end of themilitary dictatorship.
His death was reported on 13 January 2022, at the age of 82.[1]