Gustavo Lagos

Gustavo Dagoberto Lagos Matus (30 August 1924 – 24 December 2003) was a Chilean lawyer, political scientist, academic and Christian Democratic politician.

He served as a cabinet minister —as Minister of Justice— during the administration of President Eduardo Frei Montalva from 1969 to 1970.

Early life He was the son of Gustavo Lagos Lagos and Rosenda Matus Benavente, nephew of Julio Lagos Lagos, grandson of Dagoberto Lagos Pantoja, and great-grandson of Pedro Lagos Marchant.

He studied at the Colegio de los Sagrados Corazones de Santiago and later at the University of Chile, where he graduated as a lawyer in 1948. He subsequently pursued studies in sociology and political science at the Sorbonne and at the Institut d'Études Politiques de Paris in France.

Marriage and family In 1948 he married Marta Cruz-Coke Madrid, later head of the National Library, Archives and Museums Directorate (DIBAM) under President Ricardo Lagos Escobar. She was the daughter of senator Eduardo Cruz-Coke, the Conservative presidential candidate in the 1946 election. The couple had three children: Marta, María Isabel and Gustavo.

Career From his early professional years he pursued an active academic career, teaching at various national and international universities.

He was also the founder and first secretary-general of the Latin American Faculty of Social Sciences (FLACSO) in Santiago (1957–1961).

He authored numerous academic works, including International Stratification and Underdeveloped Countries, published in the United States, which was used as a textbook in several North American universities.