Emilio Sotomayor Baeza

Emilio Sotomayor Baeza (1826-1894) was a Chilean general and politician who was the Commander-in-Chief of the Chilean Army from January 4, 1884 to August 22, 1888 as well as a prominent military commander during the War of the Pacific.

Biography Emilio was the son of farmer Justo Sotomayor y Elzo and Clara Baeza y Ojeda. He was the seventh of 12 sons, among whom Rafael Sotomayor Baeza was one of them. He married Rosa Leighton Frederick.

After entering the Chilean Army in 1845 and in 1846 he was already an officer in the National Guard. On August 17, 1847, before his 22nd birthday, he held the position of Alférez de Artillería. In 1880, he was promoted to Brigadier General and delegated inspector of the Army in operations against Peru and Bolivia. He also participated in the Occupation of Lima, when Chilean troops triumphantly entered the Peruvian capital on January 17, 1881 and served as the first political chief during the occupation. On February 28, he agreed to the position of general in chief due to the absence of General Manuel Baquedano.

In 1856 he entered the Grand Lodge of Chile, where from 1870 he held the position of Venerable Master of the Lodge "Duty and Constancy" No. 7.

He directed the Escuela Militar del Libertador Bernardo O'Higgins in 1868, 1878 and 1880 but in 1888. After more than 40 years of service, he definitively retired from the Army. He died at his home in Santiago on March 17, 1894, as a victim of a strange disease and was buried at the Santiago General Cemetery.