Guillermo Labarca Hubertson

Guillermo Labarca Hubertson (2 July 1879 – 8 November 1954) was a Chilean writer and politician, member of the Radical Party.

Biography He was born in Santiago, Chile, on 2 July 1879. He completed his secondary education at the Instituto Andrés Bello and the Instituto Nacional. While pursuing studies that led him to qualify as a professor and lawyer, he collaborated with the magazines Instantáneas de Luz y Sombra and Pluma y Lápiz, and in 1905 became editorial secretary of Zig-Zag.

In 1905 he married Amanda Labarca, who later adopted his surname as her literary name.

In 1907 he was appointed professor of History and Geography at the Liceo de Aplicación. In 1910 he was commissioned by the Chilean government to continue his studies in the United States, enrolling at Columbia University in New York City. He returned to Chile in 1913.

In 1924 he was appointed Minister of Justice and Public Instruction, and also temporarily served as Minister of the Interior. During the administration of Carlos Ibáñez del Campo (1927–1931), he resided in Mendoza, Argentina. Upon returning to Chile, he served as Mayor of Santiago between 1932 and 1935.

In 1939 he was appointed Minister of National Defense, and the following year again served as Minister of the Interior under President Pedro Aguirre Cerda.

He later served for ten years, until November 1952, as Executive Vice President of the Caja Nacional de Empleados Públicos y Periodistas, overseeing an extensive urban construction program.

He died in Santiago on 8 November 1954.

Works Books Al Amor de la Tierra (1908) Mirando al Océano (1911)