Gregorio Amunátegui Jordán

Gregorio Amunátegui Jordán (17 January 1901 – 22 July 1981) was a Chilean civil engineer and liberal politician.

He served as Deputy and later Senator of the Republic of Chile, and was President of the Chamber of Deputies of Chile between 1937 and 1941.

Early life and education Born in Santiago to politician Gregorio Amunátegui Solar and Ana Luisa Jordán Swinburn, Amunátegui studied at the Instituto Nacional and graduated as a civil engineer from the University of Chile in 1923, with a thesis titled “Puente de concreto armado” (“Reinforced Concrete Bridge”). He later married Yolanda Valentina Prá Balmaceda.

Professional career He worked at the Directorate of Electrical Services (1925–1928) and co-founded the construction firm Amunátegui y Leonvendagar (1926–1932). He also served as Director of the insurance company La Agraria, Sociedad Minera Inca de Oro, and Sociedad de Abogados Calizos.

He was a member of the Agricultural Credit Fund (Caja de Crédito Agrario, 1932), the Warrants Commission (1933), and Director of the Central Bank of Chile (1936). Additionally, he managed the estates San Gabriel and La Placilla in Linares and San Francisco de Mostazal.

Political career A member of the Liberal Party since 1921, Amunátegui rose to become its national president.

He was elected Deputy for Santiago (1st Metropolitan District) from 1933 to 1941, serving on the Permanent Commission of Finance, and was re-elected for the following term. In 1940, he ran unsuccessfully in a special senatorial election to replace Cristóbal Sáenz Cerda, losing to the Radical candidate Rudecindo Ortega Mason (22,619 to 18,564 votes).

Between 1937 and 1941 he presided over the Chamber of Deputies.

Elected Senator for the 8th Provincial Grouping (Biobío, Malleco, and Cautín) from 1941 to 1949, he served on the Permanent Commission of Finance and Budget. He was re-elected for the periods 1949–1957 and 1957–1965, remaining active in the same commission, which he later chaired.

In 1964, he left the Liberal Party after internal conflicts regarding his support for the socialist presidential candidate Salvador Allende.

He was President of the Electoral Qualification Tribunal (Tribunal Calificador de Elecciones) during the 1963 municipal elections, and later joined the Independent Alessandrist Movement (1969) to support Jorge Alessandri Rodríguez.