Belfor Fernández

Belfor Fernández Rodríguez (1 January 1859 – 4 October 1936) was a Chilean lawyer, judge and politician.

A member of the Liberal Democratic Party, he served in the Chamber of Deputies of Chile for five consecutive terms between 1906 and 1921 and was president of the Chamber from 1917 to 1918. He also held cabinet positions under presidents Germán Riesco, Ramón Barros Luco and Arturo Alessandri.

Early life and career

Fernández was born in Cauquenes on 1 January 1859, the son of Daniel Fernández Rufatt and Ismenia Rodríguez Rodríguez. He attended the Liceo de Talca before studying law at the University of Chile, qualifying as a lawyer on 6 May 1884. In 1885, he married Luz Estela Fernández Armas in Talca, with whom he had nine children.

He began his career in the judiciary, serving as a notary and judicial secretary in Curepto in 1886 and in La Victoria, San Bernardo, between 1886 and 1888. He was subsequently appointed judge in Freirina, serving from 1888 to 1891, and later became a judge in Chillán. He was removed from the latter position following the defeat of President José Manuel Balmaceda in the Chilean Civil War of 1891.

Fernández returned to Talca in 1892, where he practiced law and taught philosophy at the Liceo de Talca until 1893. He later served as legal counsel to the Municipality of Talca from 1900 to 1906. In 1922 and 1923, he worked as legal administrator of the Trans-Andean Railway through Juncal.

Political career

Fernández was active in the Liberal Democratic Party, serving as secretary of its departmental leadership in Talca and of the party convention held there in November 1893. He later broke with the party's main organization and supported Arturo Alessandri during the 1920 Chilean presidential election, leading the Alessandrist faction of the Liberal Democrats.

Under President Germán Riesco, Fernández served as Minister of Finance from 21 October 1905 to 19 March 1906. President Ramón Barros Luco later appointed him Minister of Industry, Public Works and Railways, a position he held from 20 May to 8 August 1912.

Fernández was first elected to the Chamber of Deputies for Talca, Curepto and Lontué for the 1906–1909 term. He was reelected for the same constituency for the 1909–1912 term, serving on the Permanent Commission on Finance during both terms.

In 1912, he was elected for Talca for the 1912–1915 term and served as a substitute member of the Permanent Commission on Government. He was reelected for the 1915–1918 term, during which he served on the Permanent Commission on Legislation and Justice. From 17 October 1917 to 15 May 1918, he was president of the Chamber of Deputies.

Fernández won a fifth consecutive term representing Talca in 1918. During the 1918–1921 legislature, he again served on the Permanent Commission on Legislation and Justice and as a substitute member of the Permanent Commission on Internal Police. He did not stand for another parliamentary term after leaving the Chamber in 1921.

Fernández returned to the cabinet during the first presidency of Arturo Alessandri, serving for a second time as Minister of Finance from 14 March to 20 July 1924.

In 1923, Fernández was appointed superintendent of the Chilean Mint. Apart from an interruption during his 1924 tenure as Minister of Finance, he remained in the position until his retirement in September 1927.

Fernández died in Santiago on 4 October 1936, aged 77.