Aníbal Zañartu Zañartu was a Chile

Chile

Chile ,officially the Republic of Chile , is a country in South America occupying a long, narrow coastal strip between the Andes mountains to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. It borders Peru to the north, Bolivia to the northeast, Argentina to the east, and the Drake Passage in the far...

an political figure. He served several times as minister and as Vice President in 1901.

He was born in Concepción

Concepción, Chile

Concepción is a city in Chile, capital of Concepción Province and of the Biobío Region or Region VIII. Greater Concepción is the second-largest conurbation in the country, with 889,725 inhabitants...

, the son of Miguel José de Zañartu Santa María and of Juana de Mata Zañartu. After completing his studies in his native city, he graduated as a lawyer from the Universidad de Chile on July 19, 1870. Zañartu married Amelia Iñiguez Vicuña and they had six children. He owned a carbon mine in the Dichato

Dichato

Dichato is a town along the coast of Chile, part of the municipality of Tomé in the northest part of Greater Concepción. At the 2002 census it had 3,057 residents...

 beach, near Tomé

Tomé

Tomé is a port city and commune in the Biobío Region of Chile. It is bordered by Coelemu to the north, Ránquil and Florida to the east, Penco to the south, and the Pacific Ocean to the west...

. Aníbal Zañartu was of Basque

Basque people

The Basques as an ethnic group, primarily inhabit an area traditionally known as the Basque Country , a region that is located around the western end of the Pyrenees on the coast of the Bay of Biscay and straddles parts of north-central Spain and south-western France.The Basques are known in the...

 descent.

He started his political career as plenipotentiary ambassador to Ecuador

Ecuador

Ecuador , officially the Republic of Ecuador is a representative democratic republic in South America, bordered by Colombia on the north, Peru on the east and south, and by the Pacific Ocean to the west. It is one of only two countries in South America, along with Chile, that do not have a border...

, in 1880, during the War of the Pacific

War of the Pacific

The War of the Pacific took place in western South America from 1879 through 1883. Chile fought against Bolivia and Peru. Despite cooperation among the three nations in the war against Spain, disputes soon arose over the mineral-rich Peruvian provinces of Tarapaca, Tacna, and Arica, and the...

. In 1882 was elected as a deputy

Chamber of Deputies of Chile

The Chamber of Deputies of the Republic of Chile is the lower house of Chile's bicameral Congress. Its organisation and its powers and duties are defined in articles 42 to 59 of Chile's current constitution....

 for San Fernando. In 1885 he was first elected as a deputy for Chillán

Chillán

Chillán is a city in the Biobío Region of Chile located about south of the country's capital, Santiago, near the geographical center of the country. It is the capital of Ñuble Province and, with a population of approximately 170,000 people , the most populated urban center of this province...

, on August 22 was elected president of the chamber of deputies and on September 3 was named Minister of Foreign Affairs and Colonization by President Domingo Santa María

Domingo Santa María

Domingo Santa María González was a Chilean political figure. He served as the president of Chile between 1881 and 1886.-Early life:...

. On June 28, 1887 President José Manuel Balmaceda

José Manuel Balmaceda

José Manuel Emiliano Balmaceda Fernández was the 11th President of Chile from September 18, 1886 to August 29, 1891. Balmaceda was part of the Castilian-Basque aristocracy in Chile...

 named him Minister of the Interior

Ministry of the Interior (Chile)

The Ministry of the Interior and Public Security is the cabinet-level administrative office in charge of "maintaining public order, security and social peace" within Chile. It is also charged with planning, directing, coordinating, executing, controlling, and informing the domestic policies...

.

In 1888 Zañartu was elected a Senator for Concepción, and was reelected in 1894. On June 3, 1892, was elected vice-president of the Senate. President Federico Errázuriz Echaurren

Federico Errázuriz Echaurren

Federico Errázuriz Echaurren was a Chilean political figure. Born in Santiago, he served as President of Chile between 1896 and his death in 1901. Federico Errázuriz was of Basque descent.-Early life:...

 named him Minister of the Interior in 1896 and again in 1901. After the death of President Errázuriz Echaurren the same year, he assumed as Vice President of Chile

President of Chile

The President of the Republic of Chile is both the head of state and the head of government of the Republic of Chile. The President is responsible of the government and state administration...

 from July 12 until September 18, when the elected successor, Germán Riesco

Germán Riesco

Germán Riesco Errázuriz was a Chilean political figure, and he served as President of Chile between 1901 and 1906.-Early life:...

, took over. In the same election, Zañartu was elected as a Senator for Ñuble. He died soon after, in his home in Tomé, at the age of 55.

External links

• Official biographical sketch