Guillermo León Teillier del Valle (29 October 1943 – 29 August 2023) was a Chilean politician, educator, and writer and president of the

Communist Party of Chile The Communist Party of Chile (, ) is a communist party in Chile. It was founded in 1912 as the Socialist Workers' Party () and adopted its current name in 1922. The party established a youth wing, the Communist Youth of Chile (, JJ.CC), in 1932. ...

(PCC).

Political activism

Teillier was born in Santa Bárbara in the

Biobío region The Biobío Region ( ) is one of Chile's sixteen regions (first-order administrative divisions). With a population of 1.5 million, thus being the third most populated region in Chile, it is divided into three provinces: Arauco, Biobío and C ...

of Chile. He joined the Communist Youth in 1958, serving as regional secretary in the cities of

Temuco Temuco () is a List of cities in Chile, city and Communes of Chile, commune, capital (political), capital of the Cautín Province and of the Araucanía Region in southern Chile. The city is located south of Santiago de Chile, Santiago. The cit ...

and

Valdivia Valdivia (; Mapuche: Ainil) is a city and commune in southern Chile, administered by the Municipality of Valdivia. The city is named after its founder, Pedro de Valdivia, and is located at the confluence of the Calle-Calle, Valdivia, and ...

. He then became regional secretary in Valdivia, where he was caught in the

1973 Chilean coup d'état The 1973 Chilean coup d'état () was a military overthrow of the democratic socialist president of Chile Salvador Allende and his Popular Unity (Chile), Popular Unity coalition government. Allende, who has been described as the first Marxist ...

. In 1974, he held the same post in Concepción and Lota. In the middle of that year, while participating in a political meeting in Santiago, he was arrested by agents of the Air Force Intelligence Service (Sifa). He was imprisoned for two years in the basements of the Aviation War Academy, where he was tortured. Between 1983 and 1987 he was head of the Military Commission of the PCC and was responsible for channelling the aid sent from Cuba to Chile and also for being the link with the

Manuel Rodríguez Patriotic Front The Manuel Rodríguez Patriotic Front (in , ''FPMR'') was a Marxist-Leninist guerrilla organisation officially founded on 14 December 1983 as the military wing of the Communist Party of Chile in the context of this party policy denominated as ...

(FPMR), the PCC's armed wing, which led operations such as the attack on

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

and the smuggling of weapons through

Carrizal Bajo Carrizal Bajo is a harbour and village in Atacama Region, Chile, located about 50 km north of the city of Huasco. Between May and August 1986 the Manuel Rodríguez Patriotic Front, the armed wing of the Communist Party of Chile, used the port ...

. In hiding, he constantly changed his identity and appearance. He had various aliases, such as José, Roberto, Fernando, Carlos and, finally, Sebastián Larraín. Teillier became leader of the PCC in March 2005, after the death of the historic leader of the party and former deputy

Gladys Marín Gladys del Carmen Marín Millie (; July 18, 1937 – March 6, 2005) was a Chilean activist and political figure. She was Secretary-General of the Communist Party of Chile (PCCh) (1994–2002) and then president of the PCCh until her death. S ...

. On that occasion, the IX Plenary Session of the Central Committee elected him interim president of the party and in November 2006, the XXIII National Congress of the party ratified him in the post. He was elected to the

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 electorate No. 28 (covering

Lo Espejo Lo Espejo is a commune of Chile located in Santiago Province, Santiago Metropolitan Region, southwest of Santiago Centro. It is the most population density commune in the country. Demographics According to the 1999 census of the National Stat ...

Pedro Aguirre Cerda Pedro Abelino Aguirre Cerda (; February 6, 1879 – November 25, 1941) was a Chilean political figure, educator, and lawyer who served as the 22nd president of Chile from 1938 until his death in 1941. He was Political moderate, moderate. A me ...

and

San Miguel San Miguel, Spanish for Saint Michael, may refer to: Places Argentina *San Miguel Partido *San Miguel, Buenos Aires * San Miguel, Catamarca * San Miguel, Corrientes * San Miguel, La Rioja *San Miguel Arcángel, a Volga German colony in Adolfo Al ...

in the Santiago Metropolitan region) for the 2010–2014 and 2014–2018 parliamentary terms; for the 2018–2022 period, he represented the

District 13 ''District B13'' ( French title ''Banlieue 13'' or ''B13''), is a 2004 French action film directed by Pierre Morel, produced by Luc Besson, and written by Besson and Bibi Naceri. It depicts parkour in several action sequences, which was complet ...

covering approximately the same area.

Death

Teillier died in Santiago on 29 August 2023, at age 79. President

Gabriel Boric Gabriel Boric Font (; born 11 February 1986) is a Chilean politician and the President of Chile since 2022. He previously served two four-year terms as a deputy in the Chamber of Deputies of Chile, Chamber of Deputies. Boric first gained prom ...

expressed his condolences and decreed national mourning for Teillier's death, "as a tribute to his dedication to Chile throughout his life, and his tireless effort to build a more just society". Deputies from the right-wing opposition parties National Renewal and the Republican Party criticized the national mourning, citing Teillier's role in the 1986 arms smuggling at Carrizal Bajo and for acting as the link between the PCC and the Manuel Rodríguez Patriotic Front during the military dicatorship.

Venezuela Venezuela, officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many Federal Dependencies of Venezuela, islands and islets in the Caribbean Sea. It com ...

n president

Nicolás Maduro Nicolás Maduro Moros (; born 23 November 1962) is a Venezuelan politician and former union leader serving as the 53rd president of Venezuela since 2013. Previously, he was the 24th Vice President of Venezuela, vice president from 2012 to 20 ...

also expressed his condolences, calling Teillier a great friend of his and "of

Hugo Chávez Hugo Rafael Chávez Frías (; ; 28 July 1954 – 5 March 2013) was a Venezuelan politician, Bolivarian Revolution, revolutionary, and Officer (armed forces), military officer who served as the 52nd president of Venezuela from 1999 until De ...

and of the

Bolivarian Revolution The Bolivarian Revolution is a social revolution and ongoing political process in Venezuela that was started by Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez, the founder of the Fifth Republic Movement and later the United Socialist Party of Venezuela ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Teillier, Guillermo 1943 births 2023 deaths Chilean people of French descent Communist Party of Chile politicians General secretaries of communist parties Deputies of the LIII Legislative Period of the National Congress of Chile Deputies of the LIV Legislative Period of the National Congress of Chile Deputies of the LV Legislative Period of the National Congress of Chile University of La Frontera alumni Austral University of Chile alumni University of Chile alumni Candidates for President of Chile People from Bío Bío Province