Olga Maturana Espinosa (October 10, 1906 – July 16, 1973) was a

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 ...

an politician born 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 ...

. Maturana worked as

Councillor of Pichilemu The Pichilemu City Council () is the legislative body of the City of Pichilemu. The council meets in Pichilemu City Hall. City Council The City Council consists of seven members, including the Mayor. City council members and the Mayor are chose ...

in 1950, and became the first female

Mayor of Pichilemu The Mayor of Pichilemu is an elected politician who is the head of the executive branch of Government of Pichilemu, government of the commune of Pichilemu, Libertador General Bernardo O'Higgins Region, Chile. The mayor presides over the Pichilemu ...

in 1951.

Biography

Maturana was born on October 10, 1906, in

. Her parents were Arturo Maturana Zúñiga and Emma Espinosa Pedrada. Maturana married in 1926

Felipe Iturriaga Esquivel Felipe Iturriaga Esquivel (December 7, 1899 – September 2, 1977) was a Chilean politician, Mayor of Pichilemu from 1932 to 1935, 1941–1944 and 1956–1960. Biography Iturriaga was born in Colchagua on December 7, 1899. He was baptized in C ...

in Santiago when he was 20. Maturana and Iturriaga moved to Pichilemu in 1932. Iturriaga was elected

Mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a Municipal corporation, municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilitie ...

for three terms (1932–1935; 1941–1944; and 1956–1959), and Maturana was elected Councillor of Pichilemu in 1950, along with Carlos Echazarreta Larraín, Ricardo Ayala and Armando Caroca Rojas. Sergio Morales Retamal was elected mayor, but he left the office in 1951. Olga Maturana succeeded Sergio Morales on May 28, 1951, and became the first female mayor of Pichilemu, as an independent. Her term ended on May 17, 1953. Maturana had five children with her husband Felipe Iturriaga. Maturana died on July 16, 1973, in

Pichilemu Pichilemu (, ), originally known as Pichilemo, is a beach resort cities in Chile, city and communes of Chile, commune in central Chile, and capital of Cardenal Caro Province in the O'Higgins Region. The commune comprises an urban centre and tw ...

at 66.

Influence

As of 2008, only two women had occupied political offices in Pichilemu: Alicia López Galarce (

Councillor A councillor, alternatively councilman, councilwoman, councilperson, or council member, is someone who sits on, votes in, or is a member of, a council. This is typically an elected representative of an electoral district in a municipal or re ...

from 1953 until 1956) and Olga Maturana. In 2008, 12 women enrolled to the

municipal election In many parts of the world, local elections take place to select office-holders in local government, such as mayors and councillors. Elections to positions within a city or town are often known as "municipal elections". Their form and conduct var ...

. Only three of them were eventually elected as councillors: Marta Urzúa, Andrea Aranda and Viviana Parraguez.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Maturana, Olga 1906 births 1973 deaths Politicians from Santiago, Chile Mayors of Pichilemu Women mayors of places in Chile Independent politicians in Chile 20th-century Chilean women politicians 20th-century Chilean politicians