Gustavo Ross

Gustavo Ross Santa Maria (16 June 1879 – 5 April 1961) was a Chilean politician who served as a minister.

Biography

He was the son of financier Jorge Ross Edwards, who was engaged in mining and banking ventures, served as a director of the Banco Edwards, and Lucía Santa María Carrera. He was the nephew of Agustín Ross, Federico Santa María Carrera, and Juana Ross Edwards.

He was married to María de la Luz Ossa Concha, daughter of Luis Gregorio Ossa Browne, who served as a constitutional convention member for the Conservative Party in 1918. They had three children.

Political career

On 24 December 1932, he was appointed Minister of Finance during the second administration of President Arturo Alessandri. In that position, he played a key role in leading Chile out of the Great Depression of the 1930s, serving until 29 March 1937.

Beginning in 1932, he became known as the Wizard of Finance because of his ability to overcome Chile's economic crisis, while opponents of the Alessandri administration dubbed him the Minister of Hunger.

After leaving the Ministry, he became the liberal-conservative right's presidential candidate in the 1938 presidential election, but was defeated by Radical candidate Pedro Aguirre Cerda, receiving 49% of the vote in the new political circumstances following the Seguro Obrero massacre. He withdrew from public life until his death in 1961.