Fernando Alessandri Rodríguez (May 21, 1897 – March 27, 1982) was a

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 eas ...

an political figure, candidate of the centre-right in Chile's 1946 presidential election. He was the son of Arturo Alessandri, who was president from 1920 to 1925 and again from 1932 to 1938, and brother of

Jorge Alessandri Rodríguez Jorge Eduardo Alessandri Rodríguez (; 19 May 1896 – 31 August 1986) was the 27th President of Chile from 1958 to 1964, and was the candidate of the Chilean right in the crucial presidential election of 1970, which he lost to Salvador All ...

, who was president from 1958 to 1964. Alessandri was born in

Santiago Santiago (, ; ), also known as Santiago de Chile, is the capital and largest city of Chile as well as one of the largest cities in the Americas. It is the center of Chile's most densely populated region, the Santiago Metropolitan Region, who ...

, the son of Arturo Alessandri Palma and of Rosa Ester Rodríguez. He completed his early studies at the Instituto Nacional, and later graduated as a lawyer from the Universidad de Chile on October 18, 1919. He became professor of Procedural law at the same university in 1922, and in 1924, he married Olga Lyon Vial, with whom he had one son, Fernando, who died at the age of three. After the death of his first wife he married for second time in 1954, to Juanita Izquierdo Huneeus, who survived him. He joined the Liberal party in 1920, and participated actively in the Chilean presidential election of 1920 that was won by his father, Arturo Alessandri. During this first presidency of his father, he acted as the Secretary of the Presidency. As a lawyer he also drafted the project that eventually became the Organic Code of Chilean Tribunals. He was always very close to his father, and when he was elected president for a second time in the Chilean presidential election of 1932, he again functioned as his assistant. In 1933, Alessandri was elected deputy for "Tarapacá and Antofagasta", and in January 1934, he was elected a

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 e ...

to replace Aurelio Núñez Morgado, who had been designated Ambassador to

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = '' Plus ultra'' ( Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , ...

. He was reelected in 1937 and 1945. In 1939 he accompanied his father on a tour of Europe. In 1946, he was proclaimed presidential candidate by the Liberal, Radical Democratic, Agrarian Labor, Democratic, Progressive Liberal and "Authentic" Socialist parties who refused to back the Conservative candidate

Eduardo Cruz-Coke Eduardo Cruz-Coke Lassabe (April 22, 1899 – March 18, 1974) was a Chilean political figure, the conservative candidate in Chile's 1946 presidential election and the principal creator of the Chilean health system. Cruz-Coke was born in Valp ...

. Nonetheless, his split of the right-wing voting base resulted in the triumph of Gabriel González Videla, with him finishing in third place. After the death of his father, he was elected President of the Senate to replace him on September 6, 1950, position he retained until 1958. He was again reelected as a

in 1953 and 1961. The progressive and almost total loss of sight forced him to leave public life. In 1966 he abandoned his university classes and in 1969 he declined to run again and slowly withdrew from political life. He concentrated on his law practice and dedicated himself to writing law books and guides. He died in

, in 1982, at the age of 84, due to renal failure.

See also