Nicanor de la Cruz

Nicanor de la Cruz Araya (born 7 March 1938) is a Chilean politician who served as deputy and governor.

Biography De la Cruz was born on 4 March 1938 in Combarbalá, Chile. He was the son of María Araya Michea.

He married María Alicia Jofré, and they had five children.

Professional career He completed his primary education at the public school in Combarbalá and obtained his secondary school diploma by taking free examinations at Liceo No. 104 in Santiago.

In 1959, he began working as a laborer at the Chuquicamata Division of Codelco. From 1966 to 1969, he served as sectional personnel delegate and was active in sports and social mutual organizations; from 1967 to 1970, he presided over the Occupational Safety and Environmental Hygiene Committees. In 1980, he was elected president of Workers’ Union No. 2, serving until March 1987. That year, he was also chief delegate to the annual conference of the International Metalworkers' Federation in Norway and Sweden.

In August 1988, at the Constituent Congress of the Central Unitaria de Trabajadores, he was elected secretary general of the union federation. He subsequently became president of the Confederation of Copper Workers and served in that role until April 1989. He also acted as national counselor of the Copper Workers’ Center.

He later participated as a delegate at the Congress of Workers of Latin America and the Caribbean on External Debt in Venezuela.

Political career In the 1989 parliamentary elections, he was elected Deputy for District No. 3 (Tocopilla, María Elena, Calama, Ollagüe, and San Pedro de Atacama), Antofagasta Region, for the 1990–1994 term. He was elected as an independent on the Concertación ticket, receiving 24,803 votes (29.16 % of the validly cast ballots).

While serving as a deputy, he joined the Socialist Party of Chile on 30 August 1990.

After his term in the Chamber of Deputies of Chile, he worked at the Radomiro Tomic mine in the northern division of Codelco.

In 2009, he served as provincial president of the Socialist Party in El Loa Province. On 27 April 2009, President Michelle Bachelet appointed him Governor of El Loa Province, a position he held until 11 March 2010.