Guillermo Teillier

Guillermo León Teillier del Valle (29 October 1943 – 29 August 2023) was a Chilean politician, educator, and writer and president of the Communist Party of Chile (PCC).

Political activism Teillier was born in Santa Bárbara in the Biobío region of Chile. He joined the Communist Youth in 1958, serving as regional secretary in the cities of Temuco and Valdivia. He then became regional secretary in Valdivia, where he was caught in the 1973 Chilean coup d'état. In 1974, he held the same post in Concepción and Lota. In the middle of that year, while participating in a political meeting in Santiago, he was arrested by agents of the Air Force Intelligence Service (Sifa). He was imprisoned for two years in the basements of the Aviation War Academy, where he was tortured.

Death Teillier died in Santiago on 29 August 2023, at age 79. President Gabriel Boric expressed his condolences and decreed national mourning for Teillier's death, "as a tribute to his dedication to Chile throughout his life, and his tireless effort to build a more just society". Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro also expressed his condolences, calling Teillier a great friend of his and "of Hugo Chávez and of the Bolivarian Revolution".