Domingo Santa María Sánchez

Domingo Santa María Sánchez (4 September 1898 – 10 July 1982) was a Chilean electrical engineer and politician, and a member of the Radical Party (PR).

He served as Minister of Development during the second government of President Arturo Alessandri.

Early life and education

Santa María was born in Santiago on 4 September 1898, one of five children of Josefina Sánchez Ortúzar and lawyer and politician Ignacio Santa María Márquez de la Plata.

His mother was the daughter of politician Máximo Sánchez Fontecilla, who represented the Liberal Party (PL) as a deputy for two non-consecutive legislative terms, from 1882 to 1885 and from 1888 to 1891. His father represented Valdivia as a Liberal Party deputy from 1885 to 1888.

Through his father, Santa María was also a grandson of Domingo Santa María and Emilia Márquez de la Plata, who served as president of Chile and first lady, respectively, from 1881 to 1886.

From 1907 to 1914, he received his primary and secondary education at the Instituto Nacional. In 1915, he entered the School of Engineering at the University of Chile, graduating in 1919. He later travelled to the United States to study electrical engineering at Union College in Schenectady, graduating as an electrical engineer in 1922.

Santa María never married and had no children.

Political career

Santa María began his professional career in the public sector in 1923, during the first administration of Liberal President Arturo Alessandri, when he joined the State Railway Company (EFE). He worked there as an engineer responsible for electrical substations until 1924. The following year, he became an engineer at the Directorate of Electrical Services, a position he held until 1926. From 1930, during the first presidency of Carlos Ibáñez del Campo, he worked as an engineer for the state-owned Compañía Chilena de Electricidad (Chilectra).

Politically, Santa María was a member of the Radical Party (PR). During Alessandri's second administration, he was appointed Minister of Development on 9 May 1933, serving until 30 October of that year. During his tenure, he defended and signed a decree appointing an inspector to verify the quality of electric light bulbs imported into Chile. After leaving the government, he returned to his professional activities and, from 1938, worked as a consulting engineer and contractor.

Among his other activities, Santa María was a member of the Santiago Fire Department, the Institute of Engineers of Chile, and the American Sigma Xi Society. He died in his native Santiago on 10 July 1982, aged 83.