Alberto Miguel Espina Otero (born 4 December 1956) is a Chilean

lawyer A lawyer is a person who is qualified to offer advice about the law, draft legal documents, or represent individuals in legal matters. The exact nature of a lawyer's work varies depending on the legal jurisdiction and the legal system, as w ...

and

politician A politician is a person who participates in Public policy, policy-making processes, usually holding an elective position in government. Politicians represent the people, make decisions, and influence the formulation of public policy. The roles ...

. He was

Minister of Defense A ministry of defence or defense (see spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is the part of a government responsible for matters of defence and military forces, found in states where the government is divid ...

in the second government of the

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...

Sebastián Piñera Miguel Juan Sebastián Piñera Echenique (; 1 December 1949 – 6 February 2024) was a Chilean businessman and politician who served as President of Chile from 2010 to 2014 and again from 2018 to 2022. The son of a Christian Democratic Party (C ...

(2018–2022).

Biography

He is the son of Alberto Espina Barros and María Eliana Otero Lathrop (now deceased). Also Espina has three brothers: a doctor, another Minister of the Court of Appeals and another sister. Likewise, he is the nephew of

Miguel Otero Lathrop Jorge Miguel Otero Lathrop (9 July 1930 – 1 March 2025) was a Chilean politician and diplomat who served as senator and ambassador. During the 1990s, he served as a senator for seven years. Later, during the first government of Sebastián P ...

, senator of Renovación Nacional ―RN; same party of Espina― for the 1990–1998 period. He attended at The Grange School graduating from there in 1974. Then, he entered to

Universidad de Chile The University of Chile () is a public research university in Santiago Santiago (, ; ), also known as Santiago de Chile (), is the capital and largest city of Chile and one of the largest cities in the Americas. It is located in the co ...

School of Law A law school (also known as a law centre/center, college of law, or faculty of law) is an institution, professional school, or department of a college or university specializing in legal education, usually involved as part of a process for bec ...

, being received with a degree in legal and social sciences in 1979. During his spell at the School of Law he was assistant of the Constitutional and Procedural Law departments as well as he was assistant professor of Procedural Law. Once received, Espina was professor of Criminal Law and Police Procedure at the Escuela de Carabineros de Chile.

Political career

He began his political activities as president of the Grange school student center, where he was student leader within the opposition to the Popular Unity (UP) government (1970–1973). In 1983, he was founding member of Movimiento de Unión Nacional (MUN), movement which signed the National Agreement for the Transition to Full Democracy. In 1987, his movement merged into the RN party, organization where Espina was founder, regional president of the (

Metropolitan Region A metropolitan area or metro is a region consisting of a densely populated urban agglomeration and its surrounding territories which share industries, commercial areas, transport network, infrastructures and housing. A metropolitan area usually ...

), political commission member, Vice-president and national president. In 1989, he was elected deputy (1990–1994) for the communes of

Ñuñoa Ñuñoa (; from Mapudungun ''Ñuñohue'', "place of yellow flowers") is a communes of Chile, commune located in the Northeastern zone of Santiago, northeastern sector of Santiago de Chile, Santiago, the capital of Chile. Bordered by Providencia, C ...

and Providencia, being reelected with the first majority in 1993 and 1997 for the periods 1994–1998 and 1998–2002. In 1999, he was a member of the Central Command of the Presidential Candidacy of

Joaquín Lavín Joaquín José Lavín Infante (born 23 October 1953) is a Chilean politician of the Independent Democratic Union (UDI) party and former mayor of Las Condes, in the northeastern zone of Santiago. Formerly Lavín has also been mayor of Santiag ...

(

UDI Udi may refer to: Places * Udi, Enugu, a local government areas and city in Nigeria * Udi Hills, Enugu State, Nigeria * Udi, a place in the Etawah district of Uttar Pradesh, India People Given name * Udi Aloni (born 1959), Israeli-American film ...

) during 1999–00 presidential election. In 2001, he was elected

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

for the period 2002–2010. In 2005, he was the political head of the Presidential Candidacy of his partymate

, who now faced Lavín. In 2009, he was reelected senator for the period 2010–2018. On 6 November 2020, it was reported by

El Líbero El Líbero is a Chilean online newspaper formed in 2014. Its founders include journalist and former editor of ''Investigation and Politics'' of '' El Mercurio'' Eduardo Sepúlveda, the commercial engineer Carlos Kubick O., José Antonio Guzmán ...

that Espina was appointed by Piñera as counsellor of State of Chile's Defense Council.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Espina, Alberto 1956 births People educated at The Grange School, Santiago Politicians from Santiago, Chile Living people National Renewal (Chile) politicians Movimiento de Unión Nacional politicians University of Chile alumni 20th-century Chilean politicians Ministers of defense of Chile Deputies of the XLVIII Legislative Period of the National Congress of Chile Deputies of the XLIX Legislative Period of the National Congress of Chile Deputies of the L Legislative Period of the National Congress of Chile Senators of the LI Legislative Period of the National Congress of Chile Senators of the LII Legislative Period of the National Congress of Chile Senators of the LIII Legislative Period of the National Congress of Chile Senators of the LIV Legislative Period of the National Congress of Chile