Juan Pulgar

Juan Segundo Pulgar Montoya (12 December 1900 – 18 July 1990) was a Chilean educator, journalist and parliamentarian who served as a member of the Chamber of Deputies between 1945 and 1949.

Biography Pulgar Montoya was born in Viña del Mar, Chile, on 12 December 1900. He was the son of Juan Nepomuceno Pulgar and Adelina Montoya.

He completed his secondary education at the Liceo of Viña del Mar and later studied at the Instituto Pedagógico de la Universidad de Chile, qualifying as a State Teacher of French in 1923.

In 1923 he moved to Valdivia, where he became a founder and professor of the Universidad Popular de Valdivia. He taught French and Philosophy at the Liceo de Hombres of Valdivia between 1923 and 1939, served as Subdirector of the Valdivia Industrial School in 1940, and later taught Philosophy at the Liceo de Niñas of Valdivia in 1941.

In 1945 he relocated to Santiago, where he worked as a teacher at the Ñuñoa Industrial School.

Pulgar Montoya was also active in journalism. He worked as editor of El Diario of Valdivia, served as deputy director of La República, directed the newspaper La Tribuna, and contributed to El Correo, all published in Valdivia.

He married Flor Gallardo Gómez in Valdivia in 1927. The couple had two children, Álvaro and Carmen.

He died in Santiago on 18 July 1990.

Political career Pulgar Montoya was a member of the Radical Party. He served as provincial president of the party and as Secretary of the Radical Convention held in Santiago in 1940.

He was elected Deputy for the 22nd Departmental Group —Valdivia, La Unión and Río Bueno— for the 1945–1949 legislative term. During his tenure, he served as a replacement member of the Standing Committees on Constitution, Legislation and Justice, and on Labour and Social Legislation, and was a full member of the Standing Committee on Public Education.

Outside parliament, he served as councillor of the Caja de Crédito Popular and was a member of the Liga de Estudiantes Pobres. He was also one of the founders of the Valdivia Children’s Home (Hogar Infantil de Valdivia), which provided care to more than seventy children with state support.