Enrique Sanfuentes
Enrique Salvador Sanfuentes Andonaegui (15 July 1848 – 25 November 1939) was a Chilean lawyer, diplomat and politician who served as Minister of Finance, Minister of Industry and Public Works and Minister of the Interior under President José Manuel Balmaceda. He also served in the Chamber of Deputies of Chile and the Senate of Chile.
Early life
Sanfuentes was born in Santiago on 15 July 1848, the son of Salvador Sanfuentes and Matilde Andonaegui González. He was an elder brother of future president Juan Luis Sanfuentes. He married Elisa Correa Sanfuentes, with whom he had children.
He studied at the Instituto Nacional and later law at the University of Chile, qualifying as a lawyer on 3 January 1870. Although initially practising law, he subsequently became involved in commercial and agricultural enterprises.
Political career
Sanfuentes was elected deputy for Rancagua for the 1888–1891 legislative term. During the administration of President José Manuel Balmaceda, he became closely involved in the government's economic and public works policies.
He served as Minister of Finance from 12 April to 9 October 1888. During his tenure, he participated in the debate over the future of the state-owned nitrate properties in northern Chile.
Sanfuentes subsequently served as Minister of Industry and Public Works from 21 January to 1 May 1889. In that capacity, he participated in Balmaceda's tour of the northern provinces and in the government's programme of public works and railway development. His political prominence during this period led to speculation that Balmaceda intended to support him as his eventual presidential successor, although Sanfuentes later left the cabinet.
On 30 May 1890, Sanfuentes returned to the cabinet as Minister of the Interior. His tenure coincided with the escalating conflict between Balmaceda's government and Congress, and he left office on 7 August 1890.
Sanfuentes remained outside active politics during the 1891 Chilean Civil War. He subsequently joined the Liberal Democratic Party, becoming one of its leading figures. In 1894, he was elected senator for Coquimbo for the 1894–1900 term and took his seat on 4 June 1894.
Near the end of the presidency of Federico Errázuriz Echaurren, Sanfuentes was appointed Chilean minister in France, remaining in the diplomatic post until 1907. After returning to Chile, he served as a councillor of the Caja de Crédito Hipotecario and as administrator of the women's correctional institution in Santiago.
He died in Santiago on 25 November 1939, aged 91.