Roberto Wachholtz

Francisco Alejandro Roberto Wachholtz Araya (19 July 1899 – 21 May 1980) was a Chilean civil engineer and politician, member of the Radical Party of Chile. He served as Minister of Finance under Presidents Pedro Aguirre Cerda and Gabriel González Videla, and later as Senator of the Republic for Santiago between 1959 and 1965.

Family and studies He was born in Tacna, Chile, on 19 July 1899, son of Máximo Wachholtz and Elvira Araya. His brother Jorge Wachholtz was senator and intendant of Tarapacá during the first government of President Carlos Ibáñez del Campo.

He studied at the Tacna Lyceum, the Iquique Lyceum, and the University of Chile, graduating as an engineer in 1925 with the thesis Electrificación de Ferrocarriles.

He married Senta Buchholtz Kern, with whom he had seven children.

Professional career Wachholtz worked as an engineer in Santiago in the firm “Barriga, Wachholtz y Alessandri” from 1925 to 1932. He was one of the organizers of the Chilean Petroleum Company (Copec), where he served until 1935.

That same year he partnered with Carlos Alessandri Altamirano under “Wachholtz y Alessandri,” building important infrastructure works such as Tocopilla’s water supply, the Cocule–Lago Ranco rail branch, the Corte Alto–Maullín line, the Iquique–Pintados railway workshops, and later the Matucana rail variant in Santiago.

In 1946 he was appointed president of the «Corporación de Reconstrucción y Auxilio», of the Corporation of Nitrate and Iodine Sales, and of the Council of the Civil Servants’ Fund. In the private sector he was director of Viñas Unidas S.A., Tejidos y Vestuarios S.A. and Yarur S.A.

He also dedicated himself to agriculture, owning the “Tipaume” farm near Rosario, dedicated to fruit plantations and crops. He was a member of the Chilean Institute of Engineers, of the Club de La Unión, and of the National Agriculture Society (SNA).

Political career In politics, Wachholtz joined the Radical Party. On 24 December 1938 he was appointed Minister of Finance by President Pedro Aguirre Cerda. During his tenure, the CORFO was created, marking the beginning of Chile’s developmentalist economic model, and he faced the aftermath of the 1939 Chillán earthquake.

Under President Gabriel González Videla, he served again as Finance Minister and simultaneously as Minister of Economy and Commerce from November 1946 to January 1947.

In January 1959 he was elected Senator for Santiago in a by-election, filling the vacancy left by Jorge Alessandri when he assumed the presidency. He held the seat until 1965.

He died in Rengo on 21 May 1980 at the age of 80, while still engaged in agricultural activities.