Miguel Schweitzer

Miguel Álex Schweitzer Speisky (6 July 1908 – 21 September 1997) was a Chilean lawyer, academic and political figure of Jewish descent who held senior government positions under President Jorge Alessandri and the military government led by General Augusto Pinochet.

He served as Minister of Labour and Social Welfare (1963–1964) and later as Minister of Justice (1975–1977).

Early life and education Schweitzer was born in Antofagasta as the fifth of six children of Segismundo Schweitzer and Ana Speisky, a middle-class Jewish family.

He studied humanities at the Liceo Eduardo de la Barra in Valparaíso and later at the Liceo Miguel Luis Amunátegui in Santiago. He then entered the Faculty of Law of the Universidad de Chile, earning his law degree on 16 June 1931 with the thesis «Should a husband who kills his wife after discovering her in the act of adultery be punished?» Prior to studying law, he briefly pursued medical studies at the same university.

Academic career In 1935 he was appointed assistant professor of criminal law at the University of Chile. In 1948 he became full professor in Santiago's School of Law, and simultaneously taught criminal law at the Higher Institute of Carabineros. Between 1951 and 1963 he served as a councillor of the Colegio de Abogados de Chile.

Government service In September 1963, during the presidency of Jorge Alessandri, Schweitzer was appointed Minister of Labour and Social Welfare, while also serving as vice president of the Institute of Penal Sciences.

Following the 1973 Chilean coup d'état, the military government led by General Augusto Pinochet appointed him Minister of Justice in April 1975, a position he held until March 1977.

In February 1981 he was appointed President of the Council of State, succeeding former President Jorge Alessandri.

Legal and legislative influence Schweitzer participated actively in major legal reforms. He was a member of the commission studying amendments to the Penal Code of Chile and also took part in drafting the 1981 General Law of Universities, which facilitated the creation of private higher education institutions.

He is also remembered for advising Minister of Justice Mónica Madariaga in formulating the 1978 Amnesty Law.

Death Schweitzer died in Santiago on 21 September 1997 at the age of 89.