Jorge Miguel Otero Lathrop (9 July 1930 – 1 March 2025) was a Chilean politician and diplomat who served as

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 ...

and ambassador. During the 1990s, he served as a senator for seven years. Later, during the first government of

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 ...

, he briefly held the position of Chilean ambassador to Argentina.

Early life and education

Otero was born to José Antonio Otero Bañados, a lawyer, and María Lathrop Zavala. He studied at

Saint George's College, Santiago Saint George's College, founded in 1936 and run by the Congregation of Holy Cross, is a private bilingual school in Santiago, Chile. It is one of the most renowned educational establishments in the country, famous for educating Chile's elite. Acco ...

and later enrolled in the Military School of Libertador Bernardo O'Higgins, where he reached the rank of infantry officer in 1947. He later abandoned his military career to study

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 ...

at the

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.

, where he graduated in 1955. His thesis was titled ''De los Tribunales, del Ministerio Público y de la Defensoría General de Carabineros''. In 1956, he traveled to the United States with a scholarship from the Law Institute of the Americas to study at

Southern Methodist University Southern Methodist University (SMU) is a Private university, private research university in Dallas, Texas, United States, with a satellite campus in Taos County, New Mexico. SMU was founded on April 17, 1911, by the Methodist Episcopal Church, ...

Dallas Dallas () is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of Texas metropolitan areas, most populous metropolitan area in Texas and the Metropolitan statistical area, fourth-most ...

. In 1957, he obtained a Master in

Comparative law Comparative law is the study of differences and similarities between the law and legal systems of different countries. More specifically, it involves the study of the different legal systems (or "families") in existence around the world, includ ...

, graduating

Cum laude Latin honors are a system of Latin phrases used in some colleges and universities to indicate the level of distinction with which an academic degree has been earned. The system is primarily used in the United States. It is also used in some Sout ...

Political career

Early political involvement

Otero's political involvement began during his university years, where he served as Vice President of the Law Student Center, faculty delegate to the

University of Chile Student Federation The University of Chile Student Federation (, abbreviated as FECh) is an organization that represents all students enrolled in both undergraduate and postgraduate programs at the University of Chile. FECh includes the student associations from va ...

, and National University Councilor. He was a member of the

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. For example, while the political systems ...

, and after its dissolution in 1966, he joined the

National Party National Party or Nationalist Party may refer to: Active parties * National Party of Australia, commonly known as ''The Nationals'' * Bangladesh: ** Bangladesh Nationalist Party ** Jatiya Party (Ershad) a.k.a. ''National Party (Ershad)'' * Californ ...

. After 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 ...

, he distanced himself from active politics, only returning in the late 1980s, when he joined National Renewal. He later became Vice President of the party (1988–1992).

Senator and ambassador

In the 1989 parliamentary elections, Otero ran for a

Senate 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 el ...

seat in

Santiago Metropolitan Region Santiago Metropolitan Region () is one of Chile's 16 first-order administrative divisions. It is the country's only landlocked administrative region and contains the nation's capital, Santiago. Most commercial and administrative centers are loc ...

(District 7) but was unsuccessful. However, following the assassination of

Jaime Guzmán Jaime Jorge Guzmán Errázuriz (June 28, 1946 – April 1, 1991) was a Chilean constitutional law professor, politician, and founding member of the conservative Independent Democratic Union party. In the 1960s, he strongly opposed the Universit ...

, he was appointed his replacement in April 1991. In 2010, he was appointed Chilean ambassador to Argentina by President Sebastián Piñera. However, his tenure lasted only 50 days due to controversy over an interview with the Argentine newspaper Clarín, in which he justified the 1973 coup that overthrew socialist president

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 ...

. The backlash led to his resignation.

Academic and professional career

Since 1961, Otero was a

professor Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an Academy, academic rank at university, universities and other tertiary education, post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin ...

procedural law Procedural law, adjective law, in some jurisdictions referred to as remedial law, or rules of court, comprises the rules by which a court hears and determines what happens in civil procedure, civil, lawsuit, criminal procedure, criminal or admini ...

at the

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.

, where he became a full professor in 2000. He also taught at the Police Science Academy from 1986 onward.

Personal life

Otero was married to Patricia Alvarado Moore, with whom he had four children.

Death

Otero died at the age of 94 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 country's central valley and is the center of the Santiago Metropolitan Regi ...

, Chile.

Electoral history

1989 Parliamentary Elections – Santiago Poniente (District 7)

References

External links

BCN Profile
1930 births 2025 deaths Chilean anti-communists 21st-century Chilean politicians Senators of the XLVIII Legislative Period of the National Congress of Chile Senators of the XLIX Legislative Period of the National Congress of Chile Liberal Party (Chile, 1849) politicians National Party (Chile, 1966) politicians National Renewal (Chile) politicians University of Chile alumni Southern Methodist University alumni {{Chile-Senator-stub