Carlos Atienza Pedraza

Carlos Atienza Pedraza (19 April 1899 – 11 June 1954) was a Chilean professor, lawyer, writer, and Liberal politician.

Biography Atienza was born to Ignacia Pedraza Salgado and Zacarías Atienza Martín. He studied at the Instituto Inglés and the Instituto Nacional General José Miguel Carrera, before entering the Faculty of Law of the University of Chile and the Instituto Pedagógico de la Universidad de Chile, graduating as a lawyer in 1922 with the thesis La necesidad de una moneda de valor fijo, and as a professor of English the same year.

He pursued postgraduate studies in the United States and United Kingdom, specialising in philosophy and English literature. He later entered the University of Oxford, where he studied economic and social sciences, becoming the first American professor trained at that institution. He also studied Civil Law at the Sorbonne in France.

A founder of the Liceo Nocturno “Federico Hansen”, he taught at the Liceo José Victorino Lastarria, the Internado Nacional Barros Arana, and at the School of Agronomy of the University of Chile. He became Vice-Rector of the Instituto Pedagógico of the same university and served as Director General of Secondary Education (1933) at the Ministry of Public Instruction.

Political career A member of the Liberal Party, he became its secretary general. He was elected Deputy for the 1st Metropolitan District (Santiago) for the 1941–1945 legislative term, serving on the Permanent Committee on Constitution, Legislation, and Justice.

He was re-elected Deputy for Santiago for the 1945–1949 term, where he sat on the Permanent Committee on Economy and Commerce and served as second vice president of the Chamber of Deputies.

Social activities He was president of the Society of Professors of Santiago, a member of the Club de Septiembre and of Textil Maipo S.A., and participated in several civic organisations, including the Liga de Estudiantes Pobres, the Rotary Club of Santiago, and the University Council of the University of Chile.

He was director of the Círculo Español and of the Instituto de Cultura Hispánica, and presided over the Chilean–British Institute of Culture. He was an honorary member of the Compañía de Bomberos España, Unión Española, and the Sociedad Española de Beneficencia.

Literary work Atienza wrote a pedagogical text titled English Reader, intended for the teaching of English in Chilean schools. He also published a biographical work on Edward, Duke of Windsor.