Clodomiro Almeyda Medina (February 11, 1923 – August 25, 1997) was a Chilean politician. A leading member of the Socialist Party, served as Minister of Foreign Affairs of

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in western South America. It is the southernmost country in the world and the closest to Antarctica, stretching along a narrow strip of land between the Andes, Andes Mountains and the Paci ...

from 1970 to 1973 during the

Presidency of Salvador Allende Salvador Allende was the president of Chile from 1970 until Death of Salvador Allende, his suicide in 1973, and head of the Popular Unity (Chile), Popular Unity government; he was a Socialist Party of Chile, Socialist and the first Marxism, Mar ...

Biography

He did his first studies at the German and Application High Schools of

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 country's central valley and is the center of the Santiago Metropolitan Regi ...

, and then studied at the Faculty of

Law Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior, with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. It has been variously described as a science and as the ar ...

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

. He graduated in 1948 with a thesis entitled "Towards a Marxist theory of the State". He later became a professor of

political science Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and Power (social and political), power, and the analysis of political activities, political philosophy, political thought, polit ...

in the domain of his studies, especially in the School of Sociology. He joined the

Socialist Party of Chile The Socialist Party of Chile (, or PS) is a centre-left to Left-wing politics, left-wing political party founded in 1933. Its historic leader was President of Chile Salvador Allende, who was deposed in a 1973 Chilean coup d'état, coup d'état by ...

in 1941, participating in the Popular Socialist Party during the internal bankruptcy in the first part of the 1950s. During the second government of

Carlos Ibáñez del Campo General Carlos Ibáñez del Campo (; 3 November 1877 – 28 April 1960) was a Chilean Army officer and political figure. He served as president twice, first between 1927 and 1931, and then from 1952 to 1958, serving for 10 years in office. E ...

he was head of the Ministries of Labor and Mining, standing out in his first ministry for being a promoter for the Single Central of Workers (CUT). With the reunification of the party in 1957, he rejoined the organization and was elected for

Chamber of deputies The chamber of deputies is the lower house in many bicameral legislatures and the sole house in some unicameral legislatures. Description Historically, French Chamber of Deputies was the lower house of the French Parliament during the Bourb ...

for the period of 1961–1965. With the victory of

Salvador Allende Salvador Guillermo Allende Gossens (26 June 1908 – 11 September 1973) was a Chilean socialist politician who served as the 28th president of Chile from 1970 until Death of Salvador Allende, his death in 1973 Chilean coup d'état, 1973. As a ...

in the

1970 Chilean presidential election Presidential elections were held in Chile on 4 September 1970. Salvador Allende of the Popular Unity (Chile), Popular Unity alliance won a narrow Plurality (voting), plurality in a race against independent Jorge Alessandri and Christian Democra ...

s, Almeyda was appointed to the post of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. During the Popular Unity government, he remained in office, except for a brief period in which he served as

Minister of National 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 divided ...

. This was when he made a "

castling Castling is a move in chess. It consists of moving the king (chess), king two squares toward a rook (chess), rook on the same and then moving the rook to the square that the king passed over. Castling is permitted only if neither the king ...

" with

Orlando Letelier Marcos Orlando Letelier del Solar (13 April 1932 – 21 September 1976) was a Chilean economist, politician, and diplomat during the presidency of Salvador Allende. A refugee from the military dictatorship of General Augusto Pinochet, Letelier ...

(then Minister of the Interior), in order to avoid being the object of censorship by National Congress by means of a motion of no confidence. After the coup d'état of September 11, 1973, which overthrew the constitutional government, he was arrested and transferred along with 99 other leaders and leaders of the Popular Unity to the

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 ...

Concentration Camp, where he was tortured and he remained under arrest for a long time. He was eventually exiled, living in the

German Democratic Republic East Germany, officially known as the German Democratic Republic (GDR), was a country in Central Europe from Foundation of East Germany, its formation on 7 October 1949 until German reunification, its reunification with West Germany (FRG) on ...

and

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

. where he worked as a university teacher and leader of the political opposition in exile. In a daring maneuver, he clandestinely returned to Chile in March 1987, crossing the

Andes The Andes ( ), Andes Mountains or Andean Mountain Range (; ) are the List of longest mountain chains on Earth, longest continental mountain range in the world, forming a continuous highland along the western edge of South America. The range ...

on the back of a

mule The mule is a domestic equine hybrid between a donkey, and a horse. It is the offspring of a male donkey (a jack) and a female horse (a mare). The horse and the donkey are different species, with different numbers of chromosomes; of the two ...

. He later appeared publicly to the surprise of the authorities of the

Pinochet Augusto José Ramón Pinochet Ugarte (25 November 1915 – 10 December 2006) was a Chilean military officer and politician who was the dictator of Chile from 1973 to 1990. From 1973 to 1981, he was the leader of the military junta, which i ...

government. This led to him being imprisoned and being the only person declared "unconstitutional" by the

Constitutional Court of Chile The Constitutional Court of Chile (''Tribunal Constitucional de Chile'' in Spanish) is Chile's constitutional court, constitutional tribunal. It is not part of the judicial branch and is functionally independent of the National Congress of Chile, ...

, in use of the missing article 8 of the

Constitution of Chile The Constitution of Chile is the governing document that codifies the structure of the government of Chile. The Chilean Constitution of 1980 is the current in-force constitution of Chile. Previous actual or proposed constitutions of Chile include: ...

. This article outlawed

political parties A political party is an organization that coordinates candidates to compete in a particular area's elections. It is common for the members of a party to hold similar ideas about politics, and parties may promote specific ideological or p ...

and individuals that propagated doctrines of the left (that is, those that promoted a doctrine "founded on the class struggle"). Such conviction mainly meant the loss of the exercise of their

citizenship rights Civil and political rights are a class of rights that protect individuals' freedom from infringement by governments, social organizations, and private individuals. They ensure one's entitlement to participate in the civil and political life of ...

and he could only be rehabilitated as a citizen once the country had returned to democratic normality, by the same court that sentenced it. During the aftermath of the Pinochet dictatorship and during the first years of the so-called "

Chilean transition to democracy The military regime in Chile led by General Augusto Pinochet ended on 11 March 1990 and was replaced by a democratically elected government. The transition period lasted roughly two years, although some aspects of the process lasted significan ...

" Almeyda led the leftist faction of Chilean

socialism Socialism is an economic ideology, economic and political philosophy encompassing diverse Economic system, economic and social systems characterised by social ownership of the means of production, as opposed to private ownership. It describes ...

, with the renewed wing led by the leader

Ricardo Núñez Ricardo Núñez (July 16, 1904 – June 16, 1998) was a Spanish actor, screenwriter, producer and film director. He starred in the 1934 comedy film ''World Crisis'' (1934).Bentley p.57 Selected filmography Actor * '' The Rascal of Madrid'' (1926 ...

. In this role, "Don Cloro" (as he was popularly known), tried to establish contacts with the

communists Communism () is a sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology within the socialist movement, whose goal is the creation of a communist society, a socioeconomic order centered on common ownership of the means of production, d ...

or even further to the left, through formations such as Izquierda Unida or the short-lived Broad Party of Socialist Left. During the government of

Patricio Aylwin Patricio Aylwin Azócar (; 26 November 1918 – 19 April 2016) was a Chilean politician from the Christian Democratic Party of Chile, Christian Democratic Party, lawyer, author, professor and former senator. He was the 30th president of Chil ...

he was in charge of reopening the Chilean embassy in the Soviet Union during the last months of the Eastern Bloc. During his stay in Moscow in 1991, he accepted as "guest" former East German President Erich Honecker, who was wanted by the German authorities to be tried for crimes during the socialist regime. Despite Chile's objections, President of Russia Boris Yeltsin ordered his deportation to Berlin, in what turned into a serious diplomatic incident. Back in Chile he devoted himself to private life, writing his memories and working as an academic at the University of Chile, School of Sociology until his death on August 25, 1997.

Tributes

In homage to Almeyda, the "Extraordinary Congress" of the Socialist Party of Chile in May 1998 as well as its library was named after him.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Almeyda, Clodomiro 1923 births 1997 deaths Members of the Chamber of Deputies of Chile University of Chile alumni Chilean political writers Presidency of Salvador Allende Ambassadors of Chile to Russia Socialist Party of Chile politicians Foreign ministers of Chile Labour ministers of Chile Ministers of mining of Chile Ministers of defense of Chile Chilean people of Arab descent Chilean Marxists