Hernán Figueroa Anguita

Hernán Alfonso Figueroa Anguita (24 February 1897 – 8 February 1985) was a Chilean lawyer, diplomat and politician affiliated with the Radical movement.

He served twice as Deputy (1924–1930), was Chile's chargé d'affaires in Spain (1940–1945), Minister of the Interior in 1945, and Senator for the south (1949–1957).

Biography Early life and education Born in Traiguén to Juan Pelagio Figueroa and Tulia Anguita, he studied at the Instituto Nacional General José Miguel Carrera and earned his law degree from the University of Chile in 1918 with the thesis «Lesión Enorme». He later practiced privately and lectured in procedural law. His brother Martín served as Chilean minister plenipotentiary to Cuba (1939–1943).

Figueroa married twice: first to Laura Pérez Covarrubias, with whom he had two daughters, and in 1973 to Rosa Olivia Valdés Wood. His daughter Marisol died in a plane crash in 1965.

Political and diplomatic career A member of the Radical Party, he was elected Deputy for Collipulli and Mariluán in 1924 but saw his term cut short by the coup of 11 September 1924. He returned to Congress in 1926 representing Angol, Collipulli, Traiguén and Mariluán (1926–1930).

In 1932 he was elected Senator for the 8th Provincial Group (Biobío and Cautín), serving 1933–1941 and again 1949–1957. He twice held the Vice-Presidency of the Senate (1936; 1955–1957). Figueroa sat on numerous committees, including Constitution, Legislation and Justice, Public Health, and Foreign Relations, and presented key motions later enacted as laws on taxation, judicial reform, and regional development.

In 1940, President Pedro Aguirre Cerda appointed him Chile's chargé d'affaires in Spain, a post he continued under President Juan Antonio Ríos Morales. On 14 May 1945 Ríos named him Minister of the Interior, though his tenure lasted only eight days. He later headed the Caja de Crédito Hipotecario (Mortgage Credit Fund) and in 1946 joined the Democratic Radical Party, returning to the Radical Party in 1953.

During the late 1960s he adhered to Radical Democracy, aligning with the center-right within Chilean radicalism, and in 1972 chaired the Federación Nacional-Democracia Radical, part of the Confederation of Democracy (CODE.

He was also long-time superintendent of the Santiago Fire Department (1946–1949; 1957–1968), a director of the Banco Sudamericano, and in 1976 a member of the Council of State created during the military regime.

He died in Santiago on 8 February 1985 at age 87.