Raúl Sáez Sáez (16 February 1913 – 24 November 1992) 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 civil engineer. He served as Minister of Finance in Chile in 1968, and as Minister of Economic Coordination under the military junta from 1974 to 1975.

Early life and education

Sáez was born in 1913 to a Chilean military officer who married his cousin. His first school years were spent in the Colegio Alemán (German School) of

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 ...

. In 1925, his father was sent to France on a military mission and the whole family traveled there. In Paris, Saez enrolled in one of the traditional French ''Lycées'', in particular at the prestigious

Lycée Janson de Sailly In France, secondary education is in two stages: * ''Collèges'' () cater for the first four years of secondary education from the ages of 11 to 14. * ''Lycées'' () provide a three-year course of further secondary education for students between ...

, where he studied Mathematics and Philosophy. Back in Chile in 1931, he enrolled in the School of Engineering at

Universidad de Chile The University of Chile () is a public research university 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 co ...

in Santiago, where he soon reached the top of his class and eventually became the best student of the university.

Professional life

His first project after graduation was the Electrification Plan for Chile, which would eventually lead to the founding of

Endesa Endesa, S.A. (, originally an initialism for ''Empresa Nacional de Electricidad, S.A''.) is a Spanish multinational electric utility company, the largest in the country. The firm, a majority-owned subsidiary of the Italian utility company Enel, ...

(Chile's national electricity company). Saez actually joined Endesa in 1940 as Chief Engineer for

Civil Engineering Civil engineering is a regulation and licensure in engineering, professional engineering discipline that deals with the design, construction, and maintenance of the physical and naturally built environment, including public works such as roads ...

and eventually rose to the position of CEO of the company in 1961. Without leaving his job in Endesa, Saez joined

Compañía de Acero del Pacífico The Compañía de Acero del Pacífico, also known by its acronym CAP, is the main iron and steel industry of Chile with its main facilities at Huachipato near the port of Talcahuano in Bío Bío Region. As result of Allende's nationalization ...

(CAP), Chile's largest steel manufacturing company, between 1944 and 1947 and played important roles in

CORFO The Production Development Corporation (CORFO, from ) is a Chilean governmental organization that was founded in 1939 by President Pedro Aguirre Cerda to promote economic growth in Chile. Originally, CORFO was responsible for the creation of ...

(Chile's corporation for industrial development), IANSA (Chile's national sugar company) and

ENTEL The Empresa Nacional de Telecomunicaciones (''National Telecommunications Enterprise'', mostly known for its acronym ENTel) was an Argentine state-owned enterprise which had the monopoly on public telecommunications in the country. Originally set- ...

(Chile's telecommunications company), among others. He has been called "Chile's greatest maker of works of progress in the second half of the 20th century". He is also well-remembered for leading the effort to avert the overflowing of

Riñihue Lake The Riñihue Lake ( ) is a lake of glacial origin in eastern Valdivia Province, southern Chile. It is surrounded by several mountains. The eastern side receives the waters of the Panguipulli Lake by the Enco River, its main contributor. It is ...

in the aftermath of the devastating Great Chilean earthquake of 22 May 1960 (see

Riñihuazo The Riñihuazo is the name given to the landslide damming of Riñihue Lake on 22 May 1960, after a landslide caused by the 1960 Valdivia earthquake, Great Chilean earthquake blocked its outflow. According to the chronicler Mariño de Lobera a si ...

Death and honors

Raúl Sáez died on 24 November 1992, a week after he was awarded the National Prize for Engineering and only one day after the Chilean government awarded him the National Prize for Applied Sciences and Technologies.

References

External links

Raúl Sáez at Ingenieros.cl (in Spanish)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Saez, Raul 1913 births 1992 deaths Christian Democratic Party (Chile) politicians Ministers of finance of Chile People from Constitución, Chile University of Chile alumni People from Santiago, Chile 20th-century Chilean engineers