Francisco Garcés Gana
Francisco Javier Garcés Gana (Santiago, 1 September 1879 – 12 May 1948) was a Chilean lawyer and politician, and a member of the Liberal Party (PL). He served as a member of the National Congress and held several ministerial posts.
After his public career, Garcés retired from politics and devoted himself to business activities. He operated the Santo Domingo de Tango hacienda.
Biography
Garcés was born in Santiago on 1 September 1879, the son of Francisco Javier Garcés and Isabel Gana Cruz.
He married Carmela Correa Valenzuela, with whom he had four children. He later married Carolina Pereira Iñiguez, with whom he also had children. One of his daughters from his first marriage, Marta Garcés Correa, married Augusto Winter. They were the paternal grandparents of politician Gonzalo Winter.
He studied at the Sagrados Corazones school in Santiago and later studied law at the University of Chile. He qualified as a lawyer on 14 December 1904 and practised law in Santiago. His thesis was entitled El matrimonio ("Marriage").
Political career
Garcés sympathized with liberal ideas and took a particular interest in economic affairs. From the beginning of his parliamentary career, he was affiliated with the Liberal Party.
During his public career, he served on several occasions as both a cabinet minister and a member of parliament.
Under President Juan Luis Sanfuentes, Garcés served as Minister of Finance from 1 July to 23 December 1920. He again held the post from 3 November 1921 to 22 March 1922 during the first administration of President Arturo Alessandri. Under Alessandri, he subsequently served as Minister of the Interior from 12 January to 16 March 1923. During the presidency of Carlos Ibáñez del Campo, he briefly served as Minister of Finance from 22 to 23 July 1931.
During Alessandri's second administration, Garcés served as Minister of Justice from 26 August 1935 to 12 September 1936, and as Minister of Finance from 29 March 1937 until the end of the administration on 24 December 1938. While serving as finance minister, he also served as acting Minister of National Defense from 11 April to December 1938. He additionally served as acting Minister of Foreign Affairs and Commerce while holding the finance portfolio.
Garcés was first elected to the Chamber of Deputies for Santa Cruz and Vichuquén, serving during the 1918–1921 legislative term. He was a member of the Permanent Finance Committee.
He was re-elected as deputy for Santa Cruz and Vichuquén for the 1921–1924 term. He served as first vice-president of the Chamber of Deputies from 7 August 1923 to 29 April 1924. He was a member, and later president, of the Permanent Budget Committee, and served as a substitute member of the Permanent Internal Police Committee. He was also a member of the Conservative Commission during the 1923–1924 congressional recess.
In October 1925, Garcés was appointed a councillor of the Central Bank of Chile at the request of the National Agricultural Society (SNA) and the Society for Manufacturing Development (SOFOFA), of both of which he was a member. He also served as vice-president of the Central Bank. He was president of Tejidos y Vestuarios S.A. and sat on the boards of several other commercial companies.
He was a member of the Club de la Unión, the Club Hípico de Santiago, and Tattersall.
Garcés died on 12 May 1948.