Jorge Matte Gormaz

Jorge Matte G

Jorge Matte Gormaz (11 April 1876 – 30 September 1944) was a Chilean lawyer and politician, and a member of the Liberal Party (PL). He served as a minister of state during the administrations of presidents Ramón Barros Luco, Emiliano Figueroa Larraín, and Arturo Alessandri, as well as during the vice presidency of Abraham Oyanedel.

Family and education

Matte was born in Santiago on 11 April 1876, the son of former deputy Eduardo Matte Pérez and Eloísa Gormaz Araos. He attended the Benjamín Vicuña Mackenna School and the Instituto Nacional, before studying at the University of Chile, where he obtained his law degree in July 1897.

On 30 April 1898, he married Elena Pinto Cruz, daughter of former president Aníbal Pinto and first lady Delfina de la Cruz Zañartu. The couple had four children, including Elena, Olga and Aníbal.

Political career

A member of the Liberal Party (PL), Matte was one of the young politicians who enjoyed support both within and outside the National Congress. He served as administrator of the Santiago Hospice from 1902, following the death of his father, Eduardo Matte Pérez, who had held the position until then.

In the 1906 parliamentary election, he was elected to the Chamber of Deputies for Petorca and La Ligua for the 1906–1909 legislative term. During his tenure, he served on the Permanent Commission on Public Instruction and the Permanent Commission on War and Navy.

In the 1909 parliamentary election, he was reelected as deputy for the same constituency for the 1909–1912 term. During this period, he served on and chaired the Permanent Finance Commission.

In the 1912 parliamentary election, he was again reelected to the Chamber of Deputies, this time representing Rancagua, for the 1912–1915 term. He continued to serve on the Permanent Finance Commission and also chaired it. He chaired the Finance Commission during two legislative periods, and initiated the bill that subsequently became law postponing currency conversion until 1 January 1915.

In the 1915 parliamentary election, he was elected deputy for Rancagua, Cachapoal and Maipo for the 1915–1918 term, continuing to serve on the Permanent Finance Commission. In the Chamber, he reviewed the financial situation of the Ministry of War, including its outstanding commitments, arms purchases and military supplies, and presented his findings to Congress.

Minister under Barros Luco

Matte resigned from the Finance Commission when President Ramón Barros Luco appointed him Minister of War and Navy. He held the position from 13 January 1913 until November of that year, serving in the Rivas-Vicuña and Villegas-Echiburú cabinets. During his tenure as minister, he advocated for the interests of Chile's armed forces. He established the Military Aviation School and introduced budget reductions aimed at achieving savings and establishing the actual expenditure of each service.

As Minister of War and Navy, he sought to curb the use of personal and political influence in military appointments and administration, which he regarded as detrimental to discipline and the proper functioning of the armed forces.

After the ministry fell, he returned to his work in the Chamber, focusing particularly on matters of public interest and the Aviation Club of Chile. In recognition of his efforts to support the Military Aviation School during his tenure as minister, he was appointed honorary president of the institution.

Ambassador and minister

In 1921, on a government commission, Matte visited Argentina, Brazil and Uruguay as an ambassador extraordinary. That year he also served as acting Minister of the Interior, and in 1922 President Arturo Alessandri appointed him Minister of the Interior.

In 1925, he was appointed Minister of Foreign Affairs, Worship and Colonization. In this capacity, he travelled to Montevideo to meet former president Alessandri on his return from exile. As foreign minister, he also initiated negotiations aimed at resolving the Tacna–Arica dispute and signed the decree promulgating the new Constitution of Chile, which brought the parliamentary era to an end. That year he also served as acting Minister of the Interior. During the presidency of Emiliano Figueroa Larraín (1925–1927), he served as Minister of Foreign Affairs, and during the vice presidency of Abraham Oyanedel he again held the same portfolio, from October to December 1932.

He was also a prospective presidential candidate of the right in 1938.

Business career

As a businessperson, Matte was involved in several major mining and livestock companies, including the Huanchaca Mining Company, the Llallagua, Totoral and Vacas companies, and the Sociedad Explotadora de Tierra del Fuego. He was also a director and administrator of the French Naltagua Mining Company in the former Santiago Province. He operated his San Antonio de Naltagua estate in El Monte, where he began producing edible oil.

Matte travelled to Bolivia on a commission to defend Chilean interests connected with Llallagua. In 1933, he chaired the Liquidation Commission of the Compañía de Salitres de Chile (COSACH). In 1937, he chaired the Chilean commission responsible for studying a commercial treaty with Bolivia.

He was also involved with the Santiago Charitable Society and other institutions.

He joined the Fifth Company of the Santiago Fire Department on 7 May 1893.

Among his other activities, Matte served as manager of Banco Matte; a director of Banco Español de Chile in 1923; president of the Chagres Mining and Smelting Company (copper) in 1923; a director of the Huanillos and Punta Blanca Mining Company in 1923; president of Sociedad Minera Carrizalillo in 1939; and a director of the Disputada de Las Condes Mining Company in 1939. He also served as vice president of the Central Board of Public Welfare; president of the Chilean delegation to the Eighth Pan-American Conference in Lima in 1938; and a representative to the Pan-American Economic Conference on War. He was president of the Aviation Club of Chile and president of the First Pan-American Congress of Aeronautics, held in Santiago.

He was a member of the Club de la Unión, the National Agricultural Society (SNA), and the Society for Primary Instruction. He died in Santiago on 30 September 1944.