Arturo Lois

Arturo Hiparco Lois Fraga (22 December 1879 – 17 November 1963) was a Chilean physician and politician. A member of the Radical Party, he served as a deputy for the Third Departamental Grouping (Chañaral, Copiapó and Huasco) during the 1933–1937 legislative period.

Biography Lois was born in Copiapó on 22 December 1879, the son of physician Juan Serapio Lois Cañas and Raquel Fraga Cumplido. He married Laura Perales Ruiz, with whom he had six children.

He completed his secondary education at the Liceo of Copiapó and studied medicine at the University of Chile, graduating as a physician-surgeon in 1904 with a thesis titled Acromegalia Hipófisis. He specialized in internal medicine and urology. He served as an intern and assistant in the Surgical Clinic under Professor Ventura Carvallo and later worked as city and port physician in Taltal between 1905 and 1921, as well as in Copiapó.

From 1921 onward, he worked at the Hospital San Juan de Dios in Santiago as a urologist and later became chief of clinic and head physician of the service under Professor Eduardo Ibarra. In 1939, he was appointed Director of Medical Services of the Social Security Service. He worked for more than three decades in public health and was commissioned by the government to combat outbreaks of bubonic plague and smallpox in Taltal.

Political career Lois was a member of the Radical Party and served as president of the Radical Assembly of Taltal. He was elected deputy on multiple occasions beginning in 1921. In the 1933 parliamentary elections, he was elected deputy for the Third Departamental Grouping (Chañaral, Copiapó and Huasco), serving during the 1933–1937 legislative period.

During his parliamentary career, he was known for his strong secular convictions, advocating the separation of Church and State and refusing to swear his oath on religious texts. He supported mining development, contributed to the drafting of the Chilean Health Code, promoted the creation of the Mining Fund (Caja Minera), and proposed the erection of a monument to Pedro León Gallo. He was also active in public health legislation and social security reforms.

He died in Santiago on 17 November 1963.