Eduardo Saffirio

Eduardo Saffirio Suárez (born 12 August 1958) is a Chilean politician who served as deputy. He also is a scholar.

Biography He was born on 12 August 1958 in Temuco, Chile.

He is married and the father of four children.

Professional career He completed his secondary education at Liceo Nº 1 de Hombres de Temuco. He later entered the Faculty of Law of the University of Chile, where he obtained a Licentiate in Legal and Social Sciences. He subsequently earned a Master’s degree in Political Science from the Pontifical Catholic University of Chile and became a Ph.D. candidate in Philosophy at the University of Chile.

During the 1980s he served as national vice president of the Christian Democratic Youth (JDC).

He practiced law in the cities of Temuco and Santiago. He was Professor of Political Law and Economic Analysis of Law at Universidad Andrés Bello, where he also served as Director of its School of Law. He also taught in the Master’s programs in Law and Political Science at the University of Chile; at the Institute of Political Science of the Pontifical Catholic University of Chile; and in the Master’s program in Ethics and Social Sciences at Universidad Alberto Hurtado.

He served as Director of the Legislative Advisory Program of Corporación Tiempo 2000 and was a researcher at the Center for Development Studies (CED).

He is author and co-author of monographs and articles published in journals such as Política y Espíritu; Cuadernos del Segundo Centenario (CED); Política, of the Institute of Political Science of the University of Chile; Estudios Sociales (CPU); and the Journal of Political Science of the Pontifical Catholic University of Chile. He was also a member of the editorial team of the newspaper La Época and a columnist for the evening newspaper La Hora.

Political career In December 2001 he was elected Deputy for the IX Region of La Araucanía, representing the Christian Democratic Party (DC), for the 2002–2006 legislative term, for District Nº 50 (Padre Las Casas and Temuco). He served on the standing committees on Natural Resources, National Assets and Environment; Finance; and Economy, which he chaired. He also participated in the Special Joint Budget Committee and the Special Committee on Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs).

In December 2005 he was re-elected for the same district for the 2006–2010 term. He served on the standing committees on Economy; Labor and Social Security; and Constitution, Legislation and Justice. He also participated in the Special Committee on the Study of the Chilean Political Regime and chaired the investigative committees on the actions of the Labor Directorate and on the AUGE Plan.

For the December 2009 elections, he decided not to seek re-election to the Chamber of Deputies.