Benjamín Matte Larraín
Benjamín Matte Larraín (Santiago, 15 June 1902 – Santiago, 26 October 1982) was a Chilean farmer, businessman, and politician, and a member of the Liberal Party (PL). He served as a minister of state during the presidencies of Arturo Alessandri and Juan Antonio Ríos.
Family and education
Matte was born in Santiago on 15 June 1902, the eighth of eleven children of businessman Domingo Matte Pérez and Javiera Larraín Bulnes. His mother was a granddaughter of Manuel Bulnes and a great-granddaughter of Francisco Antonio Pinto, both military officers and politicians who served as presidents of Chile.
His siblings were María, Rosa Enriqueta, Blanca Marta, Blanca Raquel, Ana, Raúl, Domingo, Arturo, and Luis; the latter three also served as ministers of state. He received his primary and secondary education at the Instituto de Humanidades Luis Campino. He subsequently pursued higher education and qualified as an agricultural engineer.
In 1924, he married Olga Guzmán Eguiguren in Santiago. The couple had four children.
Professional career
Matte served as president of the Unión Lechera de Aconcagua and the Consorcio Nacional de Productores de Aves S. A. He was also a director of the Asociación de Citricultores de Chile and the Sociedad Agrícola e Industrial de Quillota.
He was also a member of the National Agricultural Society (SNA), serving as a councillor for several years and as its president from 1940 to 1941. He was also a member of the Club de la Unión.
Political career
A member of the Liberal Party (PL), Matte was appointed Minister of Agriculture on 13 August 1936, during the second administration of fellow Liberal president Arturo Alessandri. He held the position until 22 October of that year.
In the 1941 parliamentary election, he ran for the Senate representing Valparaíso Province, but was not elected. The following year, during the administration of Radical Party president Juan Antonio Ríos, he was appointed Minister of Finance, serving until 21 October of that year. According to one account, his appointment resulted from Ríos confusing him with his brother, Arturo Matte Larraín, who would later also serve as Ríos's Minister of Finance.
Matte died in Santiago on 26 October 1982, at the age of 80.