Antonio Valdés Cuevas
Antonio Valdés Cuevas (1852 – 18 August 1920) was a Chilean industrialist, mining entrepreneur, farmer and politician who served as a member of the Chamber of Deputies of Chile, as a senator for Maule Province, and as Minister of the Interior under President Federico Errázuriz Echaurren.
A member of the Liberal Party, Valdés represented San Carlos and Tarapacá in the Chamber of Deputies before serving in the Senate from 1897 to 1903.
Early life
Valdés was born in Santiago in 1852 to Francisco de Borja Valdés Aldunate and Alejandra Cuevas Avaria. He studied mathematics at the university level but abandoned his studies to pursue commercial and industrial activities.
He married Florencia Pérez Florez, with whom he had three children. He later married Juana Weber, with whom he had one child.
Valdés established himself in Iquique, where he became involved in several business ventures. He accumulated significant interests in mining while also engaging in agriculture at his San Juan de Chena estate. During his time in Iquique, he participated in municipal affairs and served as the city's first mayor.
Political career
An active member of the Liberal Party, Valdés was elected to the Chamber of Deputies for San Carlos for the 1882–1885 parliamentary period.
He was reelected to the Chamber for the 1885–1888 term, this time representing Tarapacá.
In 1897, Valdés was elected to the Senate for Maule Province for the 1897–1903 parliamentary period. He provisionally entered the Senate on 2 June 1897, and his credentials were definitively approved on 9 June. He served on the permanent committee for finance and industry, which he chaired for a period. Following a reorganization of the Senate's committees in 1900, he served in the corresponding finance committee. He was also a member of the Conservative Commission during the 1902–1903 congressional recess.
During the presidency of Federico Errázuriz Echaurren, Valdés was appointed Minister of the Interior. He served from 25 August 1897 to 14 April 1898.
Valdés was also twice selected as a councillor of state. The Senate elected him to the position in 1889, and the Chamber of Deputies elected him again in 1912.
Later life
After retiring from active politics, Valdés concentrated on his business interests. He served as a director and president of several industrial and mining institutions and was president of the Compañía Minera de Tocopilla in 1919.
On 9 July 1919, Valdés was appointed technical consultant to the Chilean legation in London. He departed for Europe in July 1920 but died of bronchopneumonia aboard ship in French waters on 18 August 1920, before taking up the position.