Manuel Sanhueza Cruz

Manuel Augusto Sanhueza Cruz (9 July 1925 – 31 January 2000) was a Chilean lawyer, academic, and politician. He served as Chile’s Minister of Justice in 1972 under President Salvador Allende.

Biography Born in Concepción, he studied law at the University of Concepción, graduating in 1950. He later taught there and served as acting director of the Law School.

Originally a member of the Radical Party, he joined the Radical Left (PIR) in 1971 and was appointed Minister of Justice on 28 January 1972, leaving office on 6 April after the PIR split from the Popular Unity coalition.

During the military dictatorship, he defended political prisoners and co-founded the “Group of 24” (Grupo de Estudios Constitucionales). He was dismissed from the University of Concepción in 1980, helped found Intransigencia Democrática (1985) and later the Party for Democracy (PPD). In 1990 President Patricio Aylwin appointed him Ambassador to Hungary.