Julio Subercaseaux

Julio Bernardo Subercaseaux Barros (Santiago, 5 April 1926 – ibid., 30 January 2012) was a Chilean lawyer and politician.

He served as Deputy of the Republic between 1961 and 1965 and later became an important figure of political transition from conservatism to democratic reform in the late twentieth century.

Early life Born in 1926, son of Julio Subercaseaux Aldunate and Isabel Barros Vicuña. He studied at the Liceo Alemán de Santiago, graduating in 1946, and then entered the University of Chile, where he earned a law degree in 1951. His thesis was titled Study of the Transfer in Coal Concessions.

Marriages and children He first married Mary Rose Mac-Gill, with whom he had four children. Later, he married Mónica Allen Fisher, with whom he had three children.

Professional and public career Subercaseaux worked for 17 years in the legal department of the Banco Sud Americano, retiring in 1962 under the Pension Fund for Bank Employees. He was president of the Agricultural Employers' Union of San Antonio and member of several traditional institutions such as the Club de La Unión, the Club de Polo y Equitación San Cristóbal, and the Club Hípico de Santiago.

Political career He began his political activity in the Conservative Party, where he served as president of the Conservative Youth and later as a member of its executive board. After the 1949 division of Chilean conservatism, he joined the Social Christian Conservative Party and later the United Conservative Party.

In 1961, he was elected Deputy for the Seventh Departmental Grouping “Santiago, First District” for the 1961–1965 term, where he participated in the Standing Committees on Labor and Social Legislation, and on Economy and Commerce.

He later joined the National Party, serving as its vice president. During the 1970s, he participated in the opposition to the military regime. In 1978, he became a member of the Constitutional Studies Group (known as the “Group of 24”), where he chaired the Subcommittee on Electoral Systems and Political Parties.

In 1982, he was one of the founders of the Republican Party (unrelated to the current party of the same name) and, in 1988, participated in the foundation of the Party for Democracy (PPD).

During the democratic transition, he was appointed Ambassador of Chile to Turkey in 1991 under the government of President Patricio Aylwin.