Aurelio Núñez

Aurelio Núñez Morgado (30 September 1885 – 1951) was a Chilean civil engineer and politician. A member of the Radical Party, he served as senator for the northern provinces of Tarapacá and Antofagasta during the 1933–1934 legislative period and later represented Chile as ambassador to Spain between 1934 and 1937.

Biography Núñez Morgado was born in Santiago on 30 September 1885, the son of Samuel Núñez Olaechea and Herminia Morgado. He married María Isabel Meyer Espíndola, with whom he had five children.

He studied at the Liceo de Aplicación and graduated as a civil engineer from the University of Chile on 14 August 1911. His professional career began in 1907 as a draughtsman at the Ministry of Public Works. In 1912, he became chief engineer of the Ports Commission, overseeing the ports of Coquimbo and Huasco. He later served in Arica, Talcahuano, and as head of the Local Port Board of Valparaíso.

In 1921, he was commissioned by the government to study port administration systems in Buenos Aires, Rosario, and Montevideo, with the aim of applying those experiences to Valparaíso. Upon his return, he conducted the engineering studies and oversaw the construction of the coastal road connecting Viña del Mar and Valparaíso, today known as Avenida España.

He later served as engineer of the Fiscal Port Authority of Antofagasta and as Superintendent of Nitrates and Mines.

Political career A militant of the Radical Party, Núñez Morgado was elected senator for the First Provincial Grouping of Tarapacá and Antofagasta, serving from 1933 until 1934. This shortened four-year senatorial term was part of the institutional adjustment following the revolutionary events of June 1932.

Diplomatic career In 1934, he was appointed Ambassador of Chile to Spain, a post he held until 1937. During the Spanish Civil War, he played a prominent role in defending the principle of diplomatic asylum. His actions led to his expulsion from Republican-controlled Spain, after which he served as interim dean of the diplomatic corps from July 1936.

In coordination with Ambassador Agustín Edwards Mac-Clure at the League of Nations, he actively defended the doctrine of diplomatic asylum in December 1936. He was ultimately forced to leave Spain in 1937 after granting asylum to a large number of individuals, whose protection was later continued by his chargé d'affaires, Carlos Morla Lynch.