Ismael Pereira Lyon

Ismael Pereira Lyon (9 April 1911 – 5 August 2007) was a Chilean farmer and politician, member of the country’s conservative movement from the mid-20th century until the advent of National Renewal in 1987.

Biography Born in Santiago on 9 April 1911, Pereira Lyon was the son of Ismael Pereira Íñiguez and Luz Lyon Lynch. He spent part of his youth at the family’s historic residence, the Palacio Pereira, commissioned by his grandfather, the politician and businessman Luis Pereira Cotapos.

He completed primary studies at the Jesuit Stella Matutina College in Feldkirch, and secondary education at the Liceo Alemán de Santiago, graduating in 1927. Later he pursued higher studies in agriculture at the Pontifical Catholic University of Chile.

He married Ana Yrarrázaval Yrarrázaval in 1939; the couple had five children: Ismael, José Miguel, Antonio, Ana María and Carmen. Pereira Lyon managed the family estate Santa Amelia de Almahue in Pichidegua, where he developed a lifelong interest in rural modernization and housing policy.

Political career Pereira Lyon began his public life as mayor of Pichidegua between 1934 and 1940, representing the local conservative movement.

He was elected Deputy for the 10th Departmental Grouping (San Fernando and Santa Cruz) in 1945 and reelected in 1949. During these terms he served on the Permanent Commissions of Agriculture and Colonization, Economy and Commerce, Education, and Public Health.

After a brief hiatus, he was again elected Deputy for Santiago (7th Grouping, 3rd District) in 1957 and 1961. He presided over the Permanent Commission of Government and Interior and was deputy-member of the Social Assistance and Health Committee.

He is remembered as the author of Law No. 9,135, known as the “Ley Pereira”, which promoted the construction of tax-exempt “economic housing” for middle-income families, a measure that significantly expanded Chile’s early social housing system.

Beyond politics, he was director of Sociedad Hogar Obrero, member of the National Agricultural Society, honorary member of the Club de la Unión, and active in the Polo Club San Cristóbal and the Automobile Club of Chile.

In 1987 he joined the founding ranks of the National Renewal party. He died in Santiago on 5 August 2007, aged 96.