Rafael Luis Barahona San Martín

Rafael Luis Barahona San Martín (1878 – 22 August 1940) was a Chilean lawyer, journalist and politician. He served as senator of the Republic and held the office of Minister of the Interior during the military government established in 1924.

Biography He was born in Santiago in 1878, the son of Manuel Ramón Barahona and Rafaela San Martín. He married María Victoria Stahr, and they had children.

Barahona studied at the English Radford School in Santiago and later at the Instituto Nacional. He subsequently entered the Faculty of Law of the University of Chile, qualifying as a lawyer on 7 August 1901. His thesis was entitled El ejército como órgano del Estado. He also studied at the Military School, retiring with the rank of army captain.

He practised law in Valparaíso, acting as legal counsel for numerous companies, including the Compañía Sudamericana de Vapores, Compañía Salitrera Agua Santa, Banco Nacional, Wessel Duval y Compañía, Sociedad Fábrica de Cemento El Melón and the Braden Copper Company.

He held various positions on corporate boards. Among others, he served as director of La Chilena Consolidada, the Cooperativa Vitalicia, the Compañía Salitrera Perfetti, the Compañía de Seguros La Internacional and Seguros Esmeralda. He was also director and vice-president of Banco Español. By 1939 he was director of Seguros de Vida La Chilena Consolidada, the Compañía de Gas de Valparaíso and the Compañía de Gas de Antofagasta.

For twenty-three years he held various positions at the newspaper El Mercurio de Valparaíso, eventually becoming chief editorial writer.

He also worked in teaching. In 1906 he taught law and legislation at the Instituto Comercial de Valparaíso. Between 1906 and 1911 he taught several subjects at the Naval School. He later taught civil law at the School of Law and at the School of Legal and Social Sciences of Valparaíso.

Political career Barahona belonged first to the National Party and later to the Liberal Party, of which he served as president and later honorary president.

He served as Minister of the Interior from 19 December 1924 to 23 January 1925 during the military government established after the political crisis of 1924. On the day he assumed office, he signed the decree dividing the former Ministry of War and Navy into two separate ministries, stipulating that they should be headed by officers of the army or navy in order to prevent political influence in ministerial appointments.

He was elected senator for Valparaíso for the 1924–1930 period, representing the National Party. During that term he served as substitute member of the Standing Committees on Public Works and Colonisation and on Finance and Municipal Loans, and as a member of the Standing Committee on War and Navy. He did not complete the term, as the National Congress was dissolved in 1924 by decree of the governing military junta.

Two years later he was again elected senator, this time for the 3rd Provincial Grouping for the 1926–1934 period. On 1 March 1926 he was elected vice-president of the Senate and served on the Standing Committee on Labour and Social Welfare.

The 1932 socialist coup d'état led to the dissolution of the National Congress on 6 June 1932.

Later activities and distinctions Barahona was active in numerous civic and social organisations in Valparaíso. He was a member of the Club de La Unión, a founding member of the Círculo de la Prensa de Valparaíso and a member of the Third Fire Company of the city, later serving as superintendent from 1933. He was also a member and president of the Club de Valparaíso and a member of the Club de Viña del Mar.

He participated in the Liga Marítima de Chile and in the Junta de Beneficencia. He received several distinctions from the Fire Department for 25, 30 and 35 years of service, the Municipal Merit Medal and the title of Knight of the Order of the Crown of Italy. He was also named honorary commander of the Fire Department of Peru.

He died in Valparaíso on 22 August 1940.