Justiniano Sotomayor

Justiniano Sotomayor Pérez Cotapos (26 August 1904 – 16 January 1961) was a Chilean politician and lawyer who served as deputy of the Republic.

Biography Sotomayor Pérez Cotapos was born in Valdivia, Chile, on 26 August 1904. He was the son of Justiniano Sotomayor Zavalla and Rosa Pérez Cotapos.

He studied at the College of the Sacred Hearts of Santiago and later at the Faculty of Law of the University of Chile. He was sworn in as a lawyer on 5 May 1930.

Between 1925 and 1926, he worked at the Small Claims Court (Juzgado de Menor Cuantía). He later taught at the School of Physical Education between 1931 and 1932 and concurrently at the Higher Institute of Commerce. In 1932, he served as legal secretary of the Intendancy of Santiago. He was a professor of Political and Social Economy at the Law School of the University of Chile.

He served as adviser to the Permanent Delegation of Chile to the United Nations, acting as administrative head of the Technical Industrial Cooperation Service under the Point Four Program. He was also a delegate and president of the Chilean representation to the International Labour Conference held in Havana. He served as fiscal officer of mechanized equipment for two years.

He married Rebeca de la Cruz Rojas on 1 September 1928, with whom he had five children.

Political career Sotomayor Pérez Cotapos was a member of the Radical Party. In 1936, he was one of the promoters of the Popular Front political coalition in Chile.

He was elected Deputy for the Seventh Departmental Grouping (Santiago), Third District, for the 1933–1937 legislative period. During this term, he served as substitute member of the Standing Committees on Internal Government and on Internal Police and Regulations, and was a member of the Standing Committee on Foreign Relations and Commerce.

He was re-elected for the same constituency for the 1937–1941 legislative period. During this term, he served as a member of the Standing Committee on Foreign Relations and as substitute member of the Standing Committee on Constitution, Legislation and Justice. In 1938, he was stripped of parliamentary immunity by the Court of Appeals at the request of the government.

Other activities He was a member of the Firefighters’ Corps, the League of Poor Students, and the Chilean Bar Association. He was also a member of the Club de la Unión.

Death Justiniano Sotomayor Pérez Cotapos died on 16 January 1961.