| 158th | Top political families |
| Eduardo Frei Ruiz-Tagle | |
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32nd President of Chile
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| In office March 11, 1994 – March 11, 2000 |
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| Preceded by | Patricio Aylwin |
| Succeeded by | Ricardo Lagos |
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| Born | June 24, 1942 Santiago, Chile |
| Nationality | Chilean, Swiss |
| Political party | Christian Democrat |
| Spouse(s) | Marta Larraechea Bolívar |
| Religion | Roman Catholicism |
Eduardo Alfredo Juan Bernardo Frei Ruiz-Tagle Spanish pronunciation: [eˈðwaɾðo alˈfɾeðo ˈxwan beɾˈnaɾðo ˈfɾei ˈrwis ˈtaɣle] (born June 24, 1942) is a Chilean-Swiss politician and civil engineer who was President of Chile from 1994 to 2000. He is currently Senator for Los Ríos and was President of the Senate from 2006 to 2008. He attempted a comeback as the candidate of the ruling Concertación coalition for the 2009 presidential election, but was narrowly defeated.
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Frei was born in Santiago to Eduardo Frei Montalva and María Ruiz-Tagle Jiménez. He received all his schooling at the Luis Campino Institute. He then attended the University of Chile, where he graduated as a Civil Engineer, specializing in hydraulics. After graduation, he followed advanced courses in management in Italy.
Frei, whose grandfather Eduardo Frei Schlinz emigrated to Chile from Switzerland, obtained Swiss citizenship in February 2009.[1][2][3][4][5]
Frei took his first steps in politics while at the university, where he was a student leader. In 1958, he joined the Christian Democrat party, and in 1964 participated actively in his father's successful presidential campaign. Between 1969 and 1988 he concentrated on his profession, as one of the partners of Sigdo Koppers S.A., the largest engineering company in Chile.
In 1988 Frei founded and promoted the Comité Pro Elecciones Libres ("Committee for the promotion of free elections"). In 1989 he was elected Senator for Santiago, obtaining the highest amount of votes in the whole country. In the Senate, he presided over the Treasury and Budget commission, and was a member of the Housing commission.
In 1992 Frei participated in the primary presidential elections of his coalition, where he defeated Ricardo Lagos, and then went on to win the presidential elections in 1993. He took office on March 11, 1994 and was succeeded by Lagos in 2000. Frei assumed then, as a former President, a seat as senator-for-life in Congress. Given that Constitutional reforms in 2005 abolished life senators starting in 2006, Frei ran for an elected Senate seat in the December 2005 parliamentary elections and was victorious. He was elected in the electoral district of Valdivia Province and Osorno Province together with Andrés Allamand. On March 11, 2006 Frei became President of the Senate, like his father, who was also President of the Senate after being President of the Republic.
In 2009-2010, Frei ran for the presidency of Chile for a second time, again as the candidate of the centre-left Concertación center-coalition, promising continuity of the popular outgoing President Michelle Bachelet's path[6]. Some of his presidential campaign banners and billboards pictured him accompanied by Michelle Bachelet over his left shoulder. In the first round of the elections, held on December 13, 2009, Frei held 29.60% of the official vote, second to his opponent Sebastian Piñera, who led with 44.05%. Since neither candidate received more than half of the total votes, a run-off election was held on Sunday, January 17, 2010. The first preliminary results announced by the Deputy Interior Ministry at 21:00 GMT on election day gave Piñera 51.87% and Frei holding 48.12%. Frei conceded[7] to Piñera at 21:44 GMT.
In a graceful exit from the campaign, former President Eduardo Frei stated,
"The election is over and Chileans have shown civic maturity... The results clearly show the solidity of our democracy. It has been clean and transparent in line with our tradition. I want to congratulate Pinera, to whom most Chileans have given their trust for the next four years." [8]
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Patricio Aylwin |
President of Chile 1994-2000 |
Succeeded by Ricardo Lagos |
| Preceded by Sergio Romero |
President of the Senate of Chile 2006-2008 |
Succeeded by Adolfo Zaldívar |
| Party political offices | ||
| Preceded by Andrés Zaldívar |
Christian Democrat Party President 1991-1993 |
Succeeded by Gutenberg Martínez |
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