Cristián de la Maza
Cristián Alejandro de la Maza Riquelme (born 4 September 1959) is a Chilean former naval officer, electronics engineer and politician. He served as Undersecretary of Defense from March 2018 to March 2022 during the second administration of President Sebastián Piñera.
Biography
Military career
De la Maza was born at the Talcahuano Naval Base on 4 September 1959, the son of Luis Alberto de la Maza de la Maza and María Elena Riquelme Pereira. At the age of 14, he entered the Arturo Prat Naval Academy, graduating as an ensign in January 1979.
He subsequently qualified as a naval electronics engineer in 1984 and later as a staff officer. In 1994, he obtained a series of professional qualifications with the navies of Chile, the United States and the United Kingdom.
From 1997 to 1998, he commanded the missile boat Angamos, formerly INS Reshef of the Israeli Navy. He was the first Chilean commander to take command of the vessel at Haifa Naval Base before sailing it to Chile.
Between 2001 and 2002, he commanded the Type 23 frigate Almirante Lynch, participating as commander of the Chilean task unit in the multinational RIMPAC exercise in the waters around Hawaii.
In 2005, he served aboard the torpedo boat Tegualda and the destroyers Almirante Williams, Blanco and Cochrane. Aboard Almirante Williams, he commanded the Chilean task unit during the multinational UNITAS Pacific-Caribbean and PANAMAX exercises.
De la Maza earned a master's degree in naval and maritime sciences, specializing in logistics. He also completed three diploma programs at the Pontifical Catholic University of Chile: strategic management in 2008, corporate governance in 2015 and finance in 2016.
In 2009, he was promoted to commodore and joined the Chilean Navy's high command. During the following years, he held several senior positions. In 2009, he served as Director of Unit Recovery and was promoted to rear admiral in June of that year. In 2010, he became Commander-in-Chief of the Fleet, and in 2011 he served as Commander-in-Chief of the First Naval Zone, headquartered in Valparaíso.
In 2012, De la Maza was promoted to vice admiral and appointed Director General of Navy Services, with responsibility for logistics. He also served as president of the Superior Council of ASMAR until 2013. In 2014, he became Chief of the General Staff of the Chilean Navy, a position he held until 2016.
During his shore assignments, De la Maza also served as head of the Electronics Department of the Navy's Armaments Directorate, an instructor and course director at the Naval War Academy, deputy head of the Chilean Naval Mission and assistant naval attaché in London, head of the Planning Department of the Navy General Staff, and secretary to Commander-in-Chief of the Navy Enrique Larrañaga.
De la Maza retired from the Chilean Navy in 2016 at the rank of vice admiral, concluding a naval career spanning more than four decades.
Political career
Following his retirement from the Navy, De la Maza worked in administrative roles at the Ministry of National Defense. On 11 March 2018, President Sebastián Piñera appointed him Undersecretary of Defense.
He remained in office throughout Piñera's second administration, leaving office on 11 March 2022. He was succeeded by Fernando Ayala González.
Personal life
De la Maza is married to Marcela Bengoa Claussen, with whom he has seven children. He is one of eight siblings and is an uncle of Commodore Alejandro Arrieta de la Maza.