Juan Pablo Longueira Montes (born August 12, 1958) is a Chilean politician and civil engineer who served as Minister of Economy, Development and Tourism of Chile from 2011 to 2013. He was a founding member of the

Independent Democratic Union The Independent Democratic Union (''Unión Demócrata Independiente'', UDI) is a conservative and right-wing political party in Chile, founded in 1983. Its founder was the lawyer, politician, law professor and senator Jaime Guzmán, a civilian a ...

(UDI) being very close to

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 ...

. Within the UDI he led the social-conservative camp, which coexisted with

Jovino Novoa Enrique Manuel Jovino Novoa Vásquez (31 March 1945 – 1 June 2021) was a Chilean politician. He was a member of the Senate of Chile (1998–2014) and was the president of the Senate of Chile (2009–2010). He served as General Undersecretary ...

liberal-conservative Liberal conservatism is a political ideology combining conservative policies with liberal stances, especially on economic issues but also on social and ethical matters, representing a brand of political conservatism strongly influenced by libe ...

faction. The faction led by Longueira was characterised by its political work in poor sectors. During the 1980s, he earned a reputation of a boots on the ground politician who aided shanty town dwellers. Longueira served as a Senator before being appointed by

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...

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 ...

to serve in the Cabinet. He was previously a deputy from 1990 until 2006. Following a retirement from politics since his aborted presidential candidacy in 2013 in 2020 Longueira announced his return to politics. His comeback has so far been marked by failed bids to the UDI presidency and the Constitutional Convention and the voluntary end of his membership in UDI. In connection to his ministerial work during the first Piñera administration Longuera is facing corruption charges, including bribery and

tax evasion Tax evasion or tax fraud is an illegal attempt to defeat the imposition of taxes by individuals, corporations, trusts, and others. Tax evasion often entails the deliberate misrepresentation of the taxpayer's affairs to the tax authorities to red ...

Biography

Early life

Longeira begun his political career in 1981 when he was appointed president of FECECh, an organisation aimed to replace the original student federation of the University of Chile which was staunchly anti-

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

. His first speech at University of Chile Student Federation was written by his mentor

. In 1986 he led a picket against US senator

Ted Kennedy Edward Moore Kennedy (February 22, 1932 – August 25, 2009) was an American lawyer and politician from Massachusetts who served as a member of the United States Senate from 1962 to his death in 2009. A member of the Democratic Party and ...

who was visiting Chile.

Political career

On March 30, 2007, he launched his candidacy for President in the 2009 presidential election, but cancelled his bid on May 3. On April 29, 2013, Mr. Longueira was nominated by the UDI as its candidate for the 2013 presidential election, replacing

Laurence Golborne Laurence Nelson Golborne Riveros (born Lorence Nelson Golborne Riveros Santiago, July 11, 1961) is a Chilean engineer and entrepreneur. He was minister of public works until November 7, 2012, when he announced his decision to run for President ...

. On 30 June 2013, Longueira won the primary election of the right-wing coalition ''Alianza por Chile ''with the 51.37% of the vote against the candidate of National Renewal,

Andrés Allamand Andrés Allamand Zavala (born February 7, 1956), a Chilean politician, is the founder and one of the past leaders of Renovación Nacional. He is of French, and Basque descent. On January 14, 2011 he was named Minister of Defense by president Se ...

, becoming the only candidate of the coalition for the 2013 presidential election. On 17 July 2013, Longueira abruptly withdrew his candidature, citing personal health problems as a reason. In connection to his ministerial work during the first Piñera administration Longuera is facing corruption charges, including bribery (''cohecho'') and

(''delito tributario''). The case involve the scandal-ridden SQM. Longueira himself has complained about the extraordinary lengthiness of the case, and that he seem to have been ''de facto'' condemned beforehand. Besides the SQM case Longueira has also been involved in a separate corruption case involving the Fishing Law (''Ley de Pesca'') albeit he is not facing charges there. The Fishing Law or ''Ley Longueira'', after longueira who sponsored the law bill, is suspected of having been approved in Congress with the aid of bribery. Longuiera has testified in favour of former UDI deputy Jaime Orpis, who just like him is facing bribery charges. Seven years after his retirement from politics in 2020 Longueira announced his return to politics and his intention run for the presidency of UDI. On January 6, 2021 Longueira renounced his lifelong membership in UDI, aiming to run as an independent in the Constitutional Convention election. Longueira failed however to find support from the president of UDI to inscribe his candidacy. Longueira accuses a political maneuver on part of UDI's leadership. According to pundit Víctor Muñoz the renunciation of Longueira reflects a decline of the leadership of the UDI founders. He is married to Cecilia Brinkmann Estévez and has seven children. Longueira is a

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

References

External links

*
Pablo Longueira official site
(Spanish)
Senate campaign site
(Spanish) 1958 births Living people Chilean engineers Independent Democratic Union politicians Candidates for President of Chile Chilean Roman Catholics Chilean people of Galician descent Chilean people of Asturian descent Chilean anti-communists People from Osorno, Chile University of Chile alumni Deputies of the XLVIII Legislative Period of the National Congress of Chile Deputies of the XLIX Legislative Period of the National Congress of Chile Deputies of the L Legislative Period of the National Congress of Chile Deputies of the LI Legislative Period of the National Congress of Chile Senators of the LII Legislative Period of the National Congress of Chile Senators of the LIII Legislative Period of the National Congress of Chile {{authority control