Roberto Vergara Herrera

Roberto Vergara Herrera (30 August 1902 – 1987) was a Chilean engineer, economist, academic, and politician. He served as a minister of state – holding simultaneously the portfolios of finance, economy and trade, and mining – during the administration of President Jorge Alessandri, between 1958 and 1960.

Previously, he had held positions in ministerial offices during the government of Alessandri’s father, President Arturo Alessandri (1932–1938).

Family and education Vergara was born in Santiago, Chile, on 30 August 1902, the son of Gabriel Vergara Amigo and María Elisa Herrera Navarrete. He completed his primary education at Colegio San Agustín in Santiago and later pursued higher studies in engineering at the Pontifical Catholic University of Chile, where he graduated as a civil engineer in 1925.

He later worked at the state-owned Corporación de Fomento de la Producción (CORFO) as head of finance and control, and at the Compañía de Acero del Pacífico (CAP) as a manager, in addition to engaging in other business activities. He held these offices until 15 September 1960, with a brief interruption in 1959 when he traveled to the United States and Europe, during which time engineer Eduardo Figueroa Geisse served as acting minister. He was known for his strong and authoritarian personality. Despite this, his administration did not eliminate fiscal deficits: the 1960 fiscal year ended with a deficit equivalent to 3.4 percent of gross domestic product. This situation was further aggravated by the 1960 Valdivia earthquake, which forced the government to allocate approximately 10 percent of the public budget to national reconstruction efforts. The accusation, brought forward by deputies from the Communist Party of Chile and the Socialist Party of Chile, was ultimately rejected.

As Minister of State, he was also responsible for creating the press room of the Ministry of Finance, commonly known as La Ruca, in reference to Vergara’s nickname.