Alessandri Palma, Arturo (1868-1950)

Chilean president 1920-25 and 1932-37. Social and political reforms proposed in his first presidential term were blocked by an opposition-controlled congress. Forced into exile, he returned to achieve a measure of economic recovery at the expense of the repression of opponents, a policy that made him a controversial figure in Chilean history. During his second term, he established a central bank and introduced monetary reform to stabilize the national currency.

Alessandri was born in Linares and educated at the University of Chile, becoming a radical lawyer with a gift for oratory, and emerging as a national anti-government figure in 1915. He held several government posts including industry and public works, finance, and the interior, before labour and middle-class voters elected him president. In 1946 he was elected senator.