Laura Sofía Allende Gossens (3 September 1911 – 23 May 1981) was a Chilean politician and member of the

Allende family The Allende family is a Chilean family of Spanish descent. They became well known during the 19th century and are based in Santiago. They have played a very significant role in Chilean politics. Relatives *José Gregorio Allende Garcés, per ...

Early life and education

Allende was born on 3 September 1911 in

Valparaíso Valparaíso () is a major city, Communes of Chile, commune, Port, seaport, and naval base facility in the Valparaíso Region of Chile. Valparaíso was originally named after Valparaíso de Arriba, in Castilla–La Mancha, Castile-La Mancha, Spain ...

, the youngest daughter of and Laura Gossens Uribe. Through her father, Allende was a member of the

, a prominent Chilean

political family A political family (also referred to as political dynasty) is a family in which multiple members are involved in politics — particularly Election, electoral politics. Members may be related by consanguinity, blood or marriage; often several gene ...

. Allende's older brother was the former

president of Chile The president of Chile (), officially the president of the Republic of Chile (), is the head of state and head of government of the Republic of Chile. The president is responsible for both Government of Chile, government administration and s ...

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 ...

. Educated at the and the Liceo de Viña del Mar, Allende studied law at the La Universidad de Chile en Valparaíso (present-day

University of Valparaíso The University of Valparaíso (UV) is a state public university in Chile, with its headquarters and the majority of its campuses in the city of Valparaíso. It has several other campuses in the Valparaíso Region and in Santiago, which is 100&nb ...

). While at the university Allende joined The Socialist Youth of Chile, the youth wing of

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 ...

. Allende married Gastón Pascal Lyon (1909–1993) and had four children, Pedro Gastón, Marianne, Denise Pascal, a politician for the Socialist Party of Chile, and

Andrés Pascal Allende Andrés Pascal Allende (born 12 July 1943 in Valparaíso, Chile) is a Chilean Marxist dissident and nephew of former President Salvador Allende. Early life and education Pascal was born on 12 July 1943 in Valparaíso, to Gastón Pascal Lyon ...

, the co-founder and secretary general of the Revolutionary Left Movement.

Political career

From 1955–1965, Allende worked for the ''Copper Office'' (Departamento del Cobre). In 1965, Allende was elected Deputy of the Republic of Chile for Santiago and Talagante and was reelected twice in 1969 and 1973. Allende was part of two international delegations to

Havana Havana (; ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port and commercial center.China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

in May 1973. At that time, she already was showing the initial symptoms of

lymphatic cancer Lymphoma is a group of blood and lymph tumors that develop from lymphocytes (a type of white blood cell). The name typically refers to just the cancerous versions rather than all such tumours. Signs and symptoms may include enlarged lymph node ...

Exile

On 2 November 1974, Allende was arrested together with her daughter Marianne. Allende was detained at the

Tres Álamos Tres Alamos was a political prison camp that operated during the military dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet in Chile. This enclosure was operational between 1974 and 1976. Being the last camp of political prisoners. Its main importance was that ...

political prison camp, and was held in the isolation wing for a period of 5 months. During Allende's imprisonment, Gastón Pascal Lyon was also detained in isolation at Cuatro Álamos. On 6 November 1974, the

Mexican Government The Federal government of Mexico (alternately known as the Government of the Republic or ' or ') is the national government of the United Mexican States, the central government established by its constitution to share sovereignty over the republ ...

offered to accept Allende as a political exile. On 21 March 1975, Allende was exiled from Chile indefinitely and was deported to

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 ...

alongside 94 other Chilean political exiles. From 1976 onwards Allende lived in Cuba. In 1979 Dr. Alejandro Artucio, a representative for the

International Commission of Jurists The International Commission of Jurists (ICJ) is an international human rights non-governmental organization. It is supported by an International Secretariat based in Geneva, Switzerland, and staffed by lawyers drawn from a wide range of jurisdi ...

, made an appeal to the Chilean authorities for Allende to be allowed to return from exile. Following a terminal cancer diagnosis, Allende committed suicide at the Hotel Riviera in

Havana Havana (; ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port and commercial center. Allende left a suicide note for

Fidel Castro Fidel Alejandro Castro Ruz (13 August 1926 – 25 November 2016) was a Cuban politician and revolutionary who was the leader of Cuba from 1959 to 2008, serving as the prime minister of Cuba from 1959 to 1976 and President of Cuba, president ...

, expressing the difficulty of her physical condition and her great sorrow that she couldn't return to Chile. Upon her ashes returning to Chile, a

Requiem A Requiem (Latin: ''rest'') or Requiem Mass, also known as Mass for the dead () or Mass of the dead (), is a Mass of the Catholic Church offered for the repose of the souls of the deceased, using a particular form of the Roman Missal. It is ...

for Allende's was held on the 28 May 1988 in Santiago. On 28 August 1988, Allende was reinterred at the

mausoleum A mausoleum is an external free-standing building constructed as a monument enclosing the burial chamber of a deceased person or people. A mausoleum without the person's remains is called a cenotaph. A mausoleum may be considered a type o ...

in the Santiago General Cemetery.

Notes

: Mandate 1973–1977 was interrupted by the dissolution of the Chilean National Congress on 21 September 1973.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Allende, Laura 1911 births 1981 suicides 1981 deaths Politicians from Valparaíso Laura Chilean people of Basque descent Socialist Party of Chile politicians Deputies of the XLV Legislative Period of the National Congress of Chile Deputies of the XLVI Legislative Period of the National Congress of Chile Deputies of the XLVII Legislative Period of the National Congress of Chile 20th-century Chilean women politicians Women members of the Chamber of Deputies of Chile Salvador Allende Chilean prisoners and detainees Prisoners and detainees of Chile Chilean exiles Chilean emigrants to Cuba Suicides in Cuba