Samuel Astorga Jorquera

Samuel Ernesto Astorga Jorquera (26 November 1927 – 28 May 2020) was a Chilean politician affiliated first with the Falange Nacional and later with the Christian Democratic Party (PDC). He served as mayor of Iquique (1963–1964) and as a deputy for Arica, Iquique and Pisagua (1965–1969).

Biography Astorga was born in Santiago on 26 November 1927, the son of Samuel Astorga Figueroa and Ester Jorquera Monge. He completed his primary and secondary schooling at the Liceo de Hombres in Iquique and later studied automotive mechanics at the Escuela de Artesanos in the same city.

He worked in the Tarapacá and Antofagasta nitrate companies and in the fertilizer trade. A member of the Falange Nacional from 1941, he was among the founders of the Central Única de Trabajadores (CUT) in Tarapacá. For his union activities he was relegated to Pisagua during the second presidency of Carlos Ibáñez del Campo.

In 1956 he joined the newly formed Christian Democratic Party. He was elected regidor (councillor) of Iquique (1956–1964) and then mayor of the city (1963–1964).

In the 1965 parliamentary elections, he was elected deputy for Arica, Iquique and Pisagua (1965–1969), serving on the permanent commission on Mining and Industries.

During the military dictatorship, he worked as secretary-general of the Central Independiente de Trabajadores.

In 2008 he was awarded a diploma for his long political trajectory during the 51st anniversary of the Christian Democratic Party in Iquique.

He died in Santiago on 28 May 2020 at the age of 92.