Diego José Benavente y García de Bustamante

Diego José Benavente y García de Bustamante

Diego José Benavente y García de Bustamante (* 1790 in Concepción , † June 1867 in Santiago de Chile ) was a Chilean politician . In 1823, after the overthrow of Bernardo O'Higgins , he was one of the heads of state of his country for three weeks as a member of the government junta ( Junta de Diputados ) .

Benavente joined the Chilean independence army of José Miguel Carrera , whose close confidante he became, in 1810 and fled to Argentina after the defeat of Rancagua . He did not return to Chile until 1824.

The Director Supremo Ramón Freire y Serrano appointed him Minister of Finance , and he was also represented in the House of Representatives. Benavente was a decided federalist; as a member of the Junta de Diputados , he served as head of state of Chile from August 13 to September 5, 1823. The junta was installed and recalled by Ramón Freire.

Benavente's political thinking did not correspond to the party system of his time: he supported Freire's political line with regard to his federal and decentralized ideas, but not his liberal views. He later turned to the conservative party without sharing its unconditional centralism. Diego José Benavente was first elected Senator in 1834 during the presidency of José Joaquín Prieto Vial and held that mandate until 1864.

In 1847 he also worked as Minister Plenipotentiary for the Government of Peru and represented Chile at the Congreso Americano in Lima , where representatives from Chile, Peru, Bolivia , Colombia and Ecuador met to settle questions of cooperation in trade, transport, mail and consular affairs . In another diplomatic mission, Benavente negotiated the peace and friendship treaty with Argentina in 1855.

See also: History of Chile