Adolfo Guerrero
Adolfo Guerrero Vergara (8 July 1853 – 14 June 1916) was a Chilean lawyer, diplomat and politician. A member of the Liberal Party, he served in the Chamber of Deputies of Chile and twice as Minister of Foreign Affairs, Worship and Colonization.
He also held diplomatic posts in Argentina and Brazil and taught at the Instituto Nacional and the University of Chile.
Early life
Guerrero was born in La Serena on 8 July 1853 to Ramón Guerrero Pardo and Rafaela Vergara Echeverz. He studied at the Seminario Conciliar de Santiago and the Instituto Nacional, before studying law at the University of Chile. He qualified as a lawyer on 31 May 1873.
He married María Teresa Mac-Clure Ossandón and later Adelaida Cood Prado, with whom he had children.
Political career
A member of the Liberal Party, Guerrero served as secretary of the Caja de Crédito Hipotecario from 1874. He taught philosophy at the Instituto Nacional from 1876 and later civil law at the University of Chile. During the War of the Pacific, he served as a military auditor and as secretary to the commander-in-chief of the Chilean Army in 1880.
Guerrero was elected deputy for Ancud and Quinchao for the 1882–1885 legislative period and served on the Permanent Commission on War and Navy. He was subsequently elected substitute deputy for Quillota for the 1885–1888 period, serving in the Chamber as a replacement for the elected deputy until 6 July 1886.
Alongside his political career, Guerrero worked as a journalist. He was an editorial writer for La Época between 1884 and 1886 and was among the founders of La Libertad Electoral in 1886, later joining its editorial staff.
Guerrero subsequently entered the diplomatic service. He served as Chilean minister plenipotentiary in Argentina in the early 1890s and later represented Chile in Brazil.
During the presidency of Jorge Montt, Guerrero was appointed Minister of Foreign Affairs, Worship and Colonization on 16 January 1896. He remained in office until the end of Montt's administration on 18 September 1896.
Guerrero returned to the Foreign Affairs Ministry during the presidency of Germán Riesco, serving from 12 April to 12 May 1904.
He died in Santiago on 14 June 1916.