Francisco Melivilú Henríquez

Francisco Melivilu Henríquez (1895 – 30 June 1932) was a Chilean lawyer, educator, and public official of Mapuche origin.

Early life and family He was born in Temuco in 1895, the son of Francisco Zenón Melivilu Jaramillo and María Clarisa Henríquez Jaque.

In 1918 he married Anita Serani Bronzini, who died in 1920. In 1924, in Vilcún, he married Olga Serani Burgos; they had one daughter, Ana Luisa.

Education and professional career He completed his secondary education at the Liceo of Temuco and at the School of Arts and Crafts, where he pursued studies in Electricity.

In 1912, shortly after graduating from the School of Arts and Crafts, he became an inspector at the same institution. At the same time, he studied Mathematics and Physics at the Instituto Pedagógico of the University of Chile, graduating as a professor of mathematics in 1916.

He later studied law and qualified as a lawyer at the University of Chile in 1924.

Between 1916 and 1924, he served as professor of mathematics, Physics, and Chemistry at the Industrial School of Temuco. He also collaborated with the press in Temuco.

Political career He was a member of the Sociedad Caupolicán Defensora de la Araucanía, considered the first modern political organization of the Mapuche people.

He joined the Democratic Party and served as general secretary of the Liberal Alliance in Cautín between 1915 and 1921.

In 1925, President Arturo Alessandri Palma appointed him Governor of the province of Freirina.

He died in Santiago on 30 June 1932.