Jerónimo Urmeneta
Manuel Jerónimo Urmeneta García (1816 – 24 August 1881) was a Chilean politician who served as Minister of Finance and Minister of the Interior and Foreign Affairs.
A prominent parliamentarian, he served three terms as president of the Chamber of Deputies of Chile and represented several constituencies in the Chamber before becoming a member of the Senate of Chile for Coquimbo.
Urmeneta's parliamentary career began with his election for Valparaíso for the 1852–1855 legislative term. He became president of the Chamber of Deputies of Chile on 2 June 1852 and remained at the head of the Chamber throughout most of the term. Reelected for Valparaíso for 1855–1858, he again served as president of the Chamber from 5 June 1855 to 6 October 1857.
Education
Urmeneta was born in Santiago in 1816, the son of Tomás Ignacio de Urmeneta Guerra and Manuela García-Abello Pizarro. He married his niece, Pilar Izquierdo Urmeneta, with whom he had children.
In 1826, he was sent to the United States to continue his education. He studied law at Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island, receiving a doctorate in letters and law in 1834. Urmeneta returned to Chile the following year and began his public career as an employee of the customs service in Valparaíso.
Political career
Urmeneta was appointed Minister of Finance on 20 April 1850 under President Manuel Bulnes. He continued in the ministry after Manuel Montt assumed the presidency in 1851 and remained in office until 31 October 1856. He also served as a councillor of state in 1851 and again in 1857.
Under Montt, Urmeneta was appointed Minister of the Interior and Foreign Affairs on 29 September 1857 and served until 8 January 1858. During this period, he simultaneously served as acting Minister of Justice, Worship and Public Instruction from 14 December 1857 to 5 January 1858 and as acting Minister of Finance from 14 December 1857 to 8 January 1858.
He returned to the Interior and Foreign Affairs portfolio on 30 January 1859 and remained in office until 26 March 1860. During this second tenure, he also served as acting Minister of Finance from 29 March to 7 May 1859.
He subsequently represented Santiago from 1858 to 1861 and La Serena from 1861 to 1864, taking his seat for the latter constituency on 27 August 1861. On 31 October 1863, he was elected president of the Chamber for a third time, succeeding Antonio Varas. He held the presidency until 2 June 1864, when he was succeeded by Manuel Antonio Tocornal.
Urmeneta represented Llanquihue from 1864 to 1867 and served on the Permanent Commission on Finance and Industry. He returned to Congress in 1870 as deputy for Quillota, having also been elected for Coquimbo but choosing to represent Quillota. During the 1870–1873 term, he served on the Permanent Commission on Government and Foreign Affairs and participated in the Constituent Congress of 1870, which considered reforms to the Constitution of 1833.
During this period, Urmeneta was associated with the Radical Party. He also participated in the political movement that established the Club de la Reforma in Santiago and became its first president.
In 1876, Urmeneta was simultaneously elected deputy for Talca and senator for Coquimbo. He chose to take his seat in the Senate of Chile, where he served on the Permanent Commission on Finance and Industry. He was also a member of the Conservative Commission during the congressional recesses of 1877–1878, 1878–1879, 1879–1880 and 1880–1881.
Urmeneta died in Santiago on 24 August 1881, before completing his senatorial term.