Patricio Cornejo Vidaurrazaga

Patrico Cornejo Vidaurrazaga (born 17 October 1942) is a Chilean politician who served as deputy.

Biography He was born in Santiago on 17 October 1942. He was the son of Eugenio Cornejo Guerrero and Luisa Vidaurrazaga Rodríguez. He was married to Carmen Correa Bustamante and had two children.

Professional career He completed his primary education at Colegio Hispanoamericano in Santiago and his secondary education at the Instituto Nacional in the same city. In 1963 he entered the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Chile, where he qualified as a physician and surgeon. In 1985 he completed postgraduate studies in General Surgery through CONACEM, and in 1997 he undertook further postgraduate studies in Public Health.

He practiced medicine in San Felipe, beginning in 1971 as a general practitioner assigned to the public health service. In 1976 he became head of the Emergency Service at the local hospital. Between 1990 and 1997 he served as director of the Health Service in San Felipe and Los Andes. He was also president of the Medical Chapter and chief physician of the Occupational Safety Institute (Instituto de Seguridad del Trabajo).

Political career He began his political activities as a student, serving as president of the university branch of the Christian Democratic Party at the School of Medicine between 1968 and 1969. He later became communal vice-president of the party in San Felipe until 1973, and between 1985 and 1990 he served as president of the Professional and Technical Front in that city.

In the 1997 parliamentary elections he was elected to the Chamber of Deputies of Chile for District No. 11 (Calle Larga, Catemu, Los Andes, Llay-Llay, Panquehue, Putaendo, Rinconada, San Esteban, San Felipe, and Santa María) in the Valparaíso Region, serving from 1998 to 2002. In December 2001 he was re-elected for the 2002–2006 term, obtaining the first majority in the district. He was not re-elected in 2005.

Between 2006 and 2010 he served as Legislative Adviser at the Ministry of Health. He subsequently returned to the practice of medicine.