René León Echaiz

René Benedicto León Echaiz (12 January 1914 – 21 August 1976) was a Chilean lawyer, historian, essayist, novelist and parliamentarian.

Biography León Echaiz was born in Curicó, Chile, on 12 January 1914. He was the son of Benedicto León León and Adelaida Echaíz Amaral.

He studied at the Liceo of Curicó and later attended the University of Chile Faculty of Law, qualifying as a lawyer on 24 October 1934. His thesis was entitled La mujer frente al delito y al derecho penal.

He practiced law in Curicó and Santiago. He married Marta Manieu del Canto in Curicó on 28 December 1940, with whom he had four children: Leticia, Gisella, Marcela and René.

León Echaiz died during surgery in Santiago on 21 August 1976, shortly before receiving the National History Prize.

Political career León Echaiz was a member of the Liberal Party between 1935 and 1966, and later became a founding member of the National Party. Within the Liberal Party, he served as Secretary of the Curicó Assembly in 1941, President of the Curicó–Mataquito Grouping Council, and member of the party’s Executive Committee.

He was elected Deputy for the 11th Departmental Group —Curicó and Mataquito— for the 1941–1945 term, serving on the Standing Committee on Constitution, Legislation and Justice. He was re-elected for the 1945–1949 term, during which he served on the Standing Committee on Industries.

Between 1960 and 1963, he served as Intendant of Curicó. He was also a councillor of the Banco Comercial de Curicó.

Academic and cultural work León Echaiz was a prominent historian and essayist. He became a full member of the Academia Chilena de la Historia in 1960 and a corresponding member of the Real Academia de la Historia of Spain in 1968.

He served on the Board of Administration of the Sociedad Chilena de Historia y Geografía and was its President at the time of his death in 1976. He was also associated with the Instituto Chileno de Investigaciones Genealógicas.