Fernando Matthei Aubel (11 July 1925 – 19 November 2017) was a Chilean
Air Force
An air force – in the broadest sense – is the national military branch that primarily conducts aerial warfare. More specifically, it is the branch of a nation's armed services that is responsible for aerial warfare as distinct from an ...
general who was part of the
military junta
A military junta () is a government led by a committee of military leaders. The term ''junta'' means "meeting" or "committee" and originated in the national and local junta organized by the Spanish resistance to Napoleon's invasion of Spain in ...
that ruled Chile from 1973 to 1990, replacing the dismissed
Gustavo Leigh as
commander-in-chief of the Chilean Air Force on 24 July 1978. He was part of the Junta from 1978 to 1990, and served as
minister of health from 1976 to 1978, retiring from the Air Force in July 1991.
Military career
The son of Fernando Matthei Aubel Gunkel and Luisa Gunkel Renz, Matthei entered the Aviation School in 1945 and the following year he was assigned to the Condors Air Base, where he obtained his appointment as a fighter pilot. In 1948, he was commissioned as a
sublieutenant
Sub-lieutenant is usually a junior officer rank, used in armies, navies and air forces.
In most armies, sub-lieutenant is the lowest officer rank. However, in Brazil, it is the highest non-commissioned rank, and in Spain, it is the second hig ...
and was assigned to the No. 4 Bomber Group in Colina, serving concurrently as a flight instructor at the School of Aviation and Officers. He was promoted to
lieutenant
A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations.
The meaning of lieutenant differs in different militaries (see comparative military ranks), but it is often ...
in 1951. That same year he married Elda Fornet, with whom he had five children: Fernando,
Evelyn, Robert, Hedy Jaqueline and Victor Alejandro.
In 1953 he traveled to the United States to study flight instruction at
Craig Air Force Base
Craig Air Force Base near Selma, Alabama, was a U.S. Air Force undergraduate pilot training (UPT) installation that closed in 1977. Today the facility is a civilian airport known as Craig Field Airport and Industrial Complex (ICAO: KSEM; FAA: ...
in Alabama. He was promoted to
flight captain in 1954, teaching classes in arms at the Aviation School. In 1957, he was assigned to Wing 1 in the Antofagasta Cerro Moreno Base.
Posted to Santiago in 1960, he was promoted to
squadron commander
Squadron may refer to:
* Squadron (army), a military unit of cavalry, tanks, or equivalent subdivided into troops or tank companies
* Squadron (aviation), a military unit that consists of three or four flights with a total of 12 to 24 aircraft, de ...
and sent to the School of Aviation. He became the adjutant to the air force commander in chief, General Eduardo Iensen, the following year.
In 1966 he was promoted to
group commander and served as commander of Aviation Group Nº7 between 1968 and 1969, when he was sent to visit facilities of the Royal Air Force (RAF). On his return home, he was appointed professor at the Air War Academy. From October 1969 he was a professor of the Pilots Course for Tactical Hawker Hunter Aircraft in Aviation Group No. 7.
In November 1971, he served as air attaché in the Chilean embassies in Britain and Sweden, based in London. On 12 October 1973, he was appointed Chief of the Air Mission of Chile in London.
After the military coup in December 1973, he returned to Chile as director of the Air Force Academy. In January 1975, Matthei was promoted to
air brigade general. On 19 March 1976 he was appointed Minister of Health.
The 24 July 1978, after the dismissal of General Gustavo Leigh and of most generals of the institution, Matthei was promoted to air general and appointed commander of the air force and a member of the military junta, occupying the Second Legislative Committee chair.
Political career
Before becoming a junta member, Matthei was
Minister of Health of the military government.
In October 1988, Matthei was pivotal in preventing another power grab by Pinochet after the dictator lost the
referendum
A referendum (plural: referendums or less commonly referenda) is a Direct democracy, direct vote by the Constituency, electorate on a proposal, law, or political issue. This is in contrast to an issue being voted on by a Representative democr ...
to elect him for a new eight-year presidential term. In the wake of his electoral defeat, Pinochet had convened a meeting of his junta at
La Moneda, in which he requested that they give him extraordinary powers to have the military seize the capital. Matthei refused, saying that he would not agree to such a thing under any circumstances, and the rest of the junta followed his lead. Later the same day, the government stated that the referendum result would be respected and that the 1980 Constitution path to democracy would be strictly followed. Pinochet backed down and accepted the result. The ensuing Constitutional process led to presidential and legislative elections the following year.
In 1990, with the return of democracy, Matthei ceased to be a member of the military junta, but retained his position as the commander in chief of the Air Force. He retired voluntarily on 31 July 1991 (although, as Pinochet, he could have continued to serve until 1998) and noted that with his retirement, the air force could fully adapt to democracy.
2003 saw the publishing of the book ''Matthei. Mi testimonio'', written by Chilean historians Patricia Arancibia and Isabel de la Maza, in which Matthei recounts his public life.
In September 2005, Matthei admitted in a television program that he "did everything possible so that
Argentina
Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest ...
would lose" the 1982
Falklands War
The Falklands War ( es, link=no, Guerra de las Malvinas) was a ten-week undeclared war between Argentina and the United Kingdom in 1982 over two British dependent territories in the South Atlantic: the Falkland Islands and its territorial ...
with
Britain
Britain most often refers to:
* The United Kingdom, a sovereign state in Europe comprising the island of Great Britain, the north-eastern part of the island of Ireland and many smaller islands
* Great Britain, the largest island in the United King ...
.
The extent of Chilean assistance to the UK is documented in a book, ''My Secret Falklands War'', by retired
Royal Air Force
The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) an ...
Wing Commander Sidney Edwards, who was sent to Chile by the British government to act as a liaison between the Chilean and British governments during the conflict.
Matthei was born among a community of
German Chileans in Southern Chile.
Matthei was the father of Chilean senator and 2013 presidential candidate and current mayor of
Providencia Evelyn Matthei.
He died in 2017 and was buried in
Parque del Recuerdo, Santiago de Chile.
Literature
Arancibia P. y de la Maza I. (2003) ''Matthei. Mi testimonio''. La Tercera/Mondadori, Santiago.
References
External links
Allegations_of_human_rights_violations.html" ;"title="human rights">Allegations of human rights
violations">human rights">Allegations of human rights
violations
{{DEFAULTSORT:Matthei, Fernando
1925 births
2017 deaths
Chilean Air Force generals
Chilean anti-communists
Chilean Lutherans
Chilean Ministers of Health
Chilean people of German descent
Chilean people of Swiss descent
Heads of state of Chile
People from Osorno, Chile
Ministers of the military dictatorship of Chile (1973–1990)
20th-century Chilean military personnel
Air attachés
People of the Falklands War