Carlos Quiñones López

Carlos Quiñones López (24 August 1927 – 11 August 2019) was a Chilean naval officer and naval engineer who reached the rank of Rear Admiral in the Chilean Navy. He served as Minister of Mining between 1978 and 1980 during the Pinochet regime.

Early life and naval career Quiñones was born in Lautaro and entered the Arturo Prat Naval Academy in 1943, graduating as guardiamarina in 1947. expanding offshore oil and gas exploration programs in southern Chile.

Quiñones left the ministry in December 1980 and retired from the Navy shortly thereafter.

Later activities After retirement he served as Chilean delegate in various international ocean-policy forums, including the United Nations Law of the Sea meetings. He worked as an engineering consultant for both public and private entities—primarily in mining, petroleum, and naval construction—and collaborated with academic and scientific institutions in marine geology and ocean-mining research.

Quiñones was affiliated with several professional organisations, including Sigma Xi, Tau Beta Pi, the Society of Naval Architects and Marine Engineers (SNAME), and the Royal Institution of Naval Architects (RINA).

He died in Viña del Mar on 11 August 2019 at age 91.

Selected work Autobiografía de un ingeniero y arquitecto naval (2008).