Edgardo Enríquez Frödden (; February 9, 1912 - November 1, 1996) was a Chilean physician, academic and minister of education under the

Salvador Allende Salvador Guillermo Allende Gossens (, , ; 26 June 1908 – 11 September 1973) was a Chilean physician and socialist politician who served as the 28th president of Chile from 3 November 1970 until his death on 11 September 1973. He was the fi ...

government.

Biography

Family and careers

Enríquez Frödden was born into an

upper middle class In sociology, the upper middle class is the social group constituted by higher status members of the middle class. This is in contrast to the term ''lower middle class'', which is used for the group at the opposite end of the middle-class strat ...

family that featured prominently in the political history of the city of Concepción,

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east a ...

, as the son of Marco Antonio Enríquez Henríquez and Rosalba Frödden Lorenzen. His sister, Inés Enríquez Frödden, (1913–1998) was a lawyer, a leader of the Chilean Radical Party and the first woman elected into the chamber of deputies of the Chilean parliament. His brother, Humberto Enríquez Frödden (1907–1989), was a law professor, Chilean

senator A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the ...

and minister of health. Another brother, Hugo Enríquez Frödden, a physician, held the position of director of the ''Juan Aguirre Hospital'' in Santiago and was a distinguished member of the

World Health Organization The World Health Organization (WHO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations responsible for international public health. The WHO Constitution states its main objective as "the attainment by all peoples of the highest possible level of h ...

. He entered the medical school of the

University of Concepción A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, the ...

in 1930 and graduated in 1936. As a student he received the ''A. de Ambrossy Prize'' from the

and the ''Carlos Mockenberg Prize'' from the

University of Chile The University of Chile ( es, Universidad de Chile) is a public research university in Santiago, Chile. It was founded on November 19, 1842, and inaugurated on September 17, 1843.

– both awards were earned for academic excellence. He married the lawyer Raquel Espinoza Townsend with whom he had four children: his youngest child Miguel Enríquez (1944–1974) followed him into the field of medicine and became the legendary revolutionary figure who founded the

MIR ''Mir'' (russian: Мир, ; ) was a space station that operated in low Earth orbit from 1986 to 2001, operated by the Soviet Union and later by Russia. ''Mir'' was the first modular space station and was assembled in orbit from 1986 to& ...

and headed the resistance against the

Pinochet Augusto José Ramón Pinochet Ugarte (, , , ; 25 November 1915 – 10 December 2006) was a Chilean general who ruled Chile from 1973 to 1990, first as the leader of the Military Junta of Chile from 1973 to 1981, being declared President of ...

dictatorship. Enríquez Frödden served in the Naval Academy from 1938, first as a general practitioner, later he became the director of the Naval Hospital of

Talcahuano Talcahuano () (From Mapudungun ''Tralkawenu'', "Thundering Sky") is a port city and commune in the Biobío Region of Chile. It is part of the Greater Concepción conurbation. Talcahuano is located in the south of the Central Zone of Chile. Geo ...

; ultimately reaching the rank of Captain of the Naval Medical Services Corp. He was also a professor of anatomy and medicine in a number of schools and institutions and he chaired the first ''Latin American Studies Conference'' held in Concepción in 1969.

Popular Unity

Just after the June 29, 1973 ''

tanquetazo ''El Tanquetazo'' or ''El Tancazo'' (both Spanish for "tank putsch") of 29 June 1973 was a failed coup attempt in Chile led by Lieutenant Colonel Roberto Souper against the government of Socialist president Salvador Allende. It is named becau ...

'',

began to set up a new cabinet to appease his opponents in Congress who were systematically impairing his democratically elected socialist government. Allende began to offer ministerial posts to members of the

Christian democratic party __NOTOC__ Christian democratic parties are political parties that seek to apply Christian principles to public policy. The underlying Christian democracy movement emerged in 19th-century Europe, largely under the influence of Catholic social tea ...

- a party that had traditionally represented the

middle class The middle class refers to a class of people in the middle of a social hierarchy, often defined by occupation, income, education, or social status. The term has historically been associated with modernity, capitalism and political debate. Co ...

es in Chile. By 1973 the

had started to shift to the right and openly show support for a military overthrow of the popular unity government. Letter sent by Eduardo Frei Montalva to Mariano Rumor justifying the military coup of September 11, 1973 that ended Salvador Allende’s government. (Spanish language) In this climate of open political provocation by his enemies in Congress Allende found it difficult to find someone with the credentials to accept the ministerial portfolio for education because the education reforms he had initiated encountered major obstacles. Allende had promised an overhaul in education in Chile, he massively increased expenditure for

public education State schools (in England, Wales, Australia and New Zealand) or public schools (Scottish English and North American English) are generally primary or secondary educational institution, schools that educate all students without charge. They are ...

and had implemented a university reform aimed to facilitate access to higher education for the

working class The working class (or labouring class) comprises those engaged in manual-labour occupations or industrial work, who are remunerated via waged or salaried contracts. Working-class occupations (see also " Designation of workers by collar colo ...

and people from the shanty towns. His reform had started to encounter powerful and staunch opposition from

private education An independent school is independent in its finances and governance. Also known as private schools, non-governmental, privately funded, or non-state schools, they are not administered by local, state or national governments. In British Eng ...

al institutions (which was backed by the

Roman Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

hierarchy and

employers' organisation An employers' organization or employers' association is a collective organization of manufacturers, retailers, or other employers of wage labor. Employers' organizations seek to coordinate the behavior of their member companies in matters of mutual ...

s) – where the Chilean elite normally enrolled their children to prevent them associating with lower or working-class people. It was within this political context that Enríquez Frödden accepted the post of minister of education offered to him by Allende - but his ministerial term was cut short by the U.S. backed military overthrow of the

government on September 11, 1973.

Arrest and exile

After the military overthrow of the Popular Unity government and the subsequent death of President Salvador Allende, the new military junta declared members of his government enemies of the state. The military junta moved quickly to remove Allende’s ministers from the public scene with many imprisoned, exiled and some murdered. Enriquez Frödden was arrested, imprisoned and then relocated to the remote concentration camp set up in

Dawson Island Dawson Island () is an island in the Strait of Magellan that forms part of the Tierra del Fuego archipelago, 100 km south of the city of Punta Arenas in Chile, and part of the Municipality of Punta Arenas. It is located southeast of Brunswi ...

. He was forced into

exile Exile is primarily penal expulsion from one's native country, and secondarily expatriation or prolonged absence from one's homeland under either the compulsion of circumstance or the rigors of some high purpose. Usually persons and peoples suf ...

with his wife in 1976 and settled in Mexico where he remained for about 14 years. Enriquez Frödden (with his wife Raquel) spent the rest of their lives campaigning for the

disappeared An enforced disappearance (or forced disappearance) is the secret abduction or imprisonment of a person by a state or political organization, or by a third party with the authorization, support, or acquiescence of a state or political organiza ...

and denouncing the human rights abuses that were committed by the

regime. Two of his sons Miguel Enríquez, and Edgardo Enriquez along with his ex-son in law Bautista van Schouwen (all three leading members of the

) were assassinated in the first period of the

dictatorship.

''…the old Chilean Army. Its members were like a family. We all knew and respected each other. It was with great pain that I witnessed such a radical and unfavourable change in it after September 1973. The army had been corrupted by officers and sub-officers who had completed courses in Internal War and National Security in the United States (WHISC). Most of the graduates of these courses returned to Chile transformed into Nazis. I never could have imagined a naval officer taking on the role of jailer and torturer. To my disgrace I not only bore witness to this but experience it first hand since I suffered both physical and psychological torture in their hands – such as being given water with faeces to drink in a concentration camp in
Dawson Island Dawson Island () is an island in the Strait of Magellan that forms part of the Tierra del Fuego archipelago, 100 km south of the city of Punta Arenas in Chile, and part of the Municipality of Punta Arenas. It is located southeast of Brunswi ...
, which was administered and directed by the Chilean Armed Forces.''
— Dr. Edgardo Enríquez Frödden (1994)Part of a paragraph of the book ''En el nombre de una vida'', Mexico. 1994

Positions held

* President of the Regional Council of Concepcion of Chile’s School of Medicine between 1949 and 1967. * Director of the Naval Hospital of

. (1963–1969) * Professor of Anatomy at the

and the

University of Chile The University of Chile ( es, Universidad de Chile) is a public research university in Santiago, Chile. It was founded on November 19, 1842, and inaugurated on September 17, 1843.

(1936–1972) * Rector of the

. (1969–1972) * Minister of Education (July 1973 – September 1973)

Bibliography

*Gilbert, Jorge. ''Edgardo Enríquez Frödden testimonio de un destierro'' (1992)

References

External links

Remembering Allende and Popular Unity by Dan Morgan September 2008

{{DEFAULTSORT:Enriquez, Edgardo 1912 births 1996 deaths Chilean scholars and academics Chilean exiles Chilean Navy personnel Chilean people of German descent Chilean Ministers of Education People from Concepción, Chile University of Concepción alumni Chilean military doctors Chilean agnostics