Manuel Salinas
Manuel Salinas González de Matalinares (12 June 1855 – 1917) was a Chilean lawyer and politician who served as a member of the Chamber of Deputies, as a member of the Senate for Cautín Province, and as Minister of Finance and Minister of Foreign Affairs under President Federico Errázuriz Echaurren.
Early life and career
Salinas was born in Santiago on 12 June 1855, the son of Pedro Salinas Reyes and Mercedes Matalinares. He attended the Colegio de los Padres Franceses and later the Instituto Nacional, where he completed his secondary education. He subsequently studied law at the University of Chile and qualified as a lawyer on 8 January 1879.
In 1877, while still a student, Salinas wrote a legal study dealing with criminal justice and the exercise of pardoning powers by public authorities.
He married María Teresa Fuenzalida Guzmán, with whom he had six children: Manuel, Pedro, Osvaldo, Augusto, María Teresa and Raquel. After being widowed, he married María Lamas, with whom he had a son, Jorge.
Political career
Salinas began his career in public administration in 1882 as secretary of the Intendancy of Talca. In 1885, he was appointed intendant of Chiloé Province, and two years later President José Manuel Balmaceda transferred him to the Intendancy of Atacama Province. In 1889, he became a government delegate for the nitrate industry, before being appointed intendant of Tarapacá Province in late 1890.
He was serving in Tarapacá when the 1891 Chilean Civil War began. As a supporter of Balmaceda's government, Salinas was removed from office after revolutionary forces took control of Iquique. He was subsequently detained and held as a political prisoner aboard a Chilean naval vessel before being expelled from the province. During the conflict, he also acted as a confidential representative of Balmaceda's government in France.
Following the civil war, Salinas became secretary of the general executive board of the newly established Liberal Democratic Party, which brought together supporters of the former Balmaceda administration. He later withdrew from public administration for a period and returned to legal practice.
Salinas was elected to the Chamber of Deputies for Tarapacá and Pisagua for the 1894–1897 term, during which he served on the permanent committee for finance and industry. He was reelected for the same constituency for the 1897–1900 period, but left the Chamber after being appointed Chilean minister to Bolivia in 1897. His seat was subsequently filled by Carlos Robinet.
In September 1899, President Federico Errázuriz Echaurren appointed Salinas Minister of Finance. At the end of 1900, he was appointed Minister of Foreign Affairs. He later became a member of the Council of State in 1906.
Salinas returned to the Chamber of Deputies after being elected once again for Tarapacá and Pisagua for the 1900–1903 term. During this period, he served as a substitute member of the permanent committees for constitution, legislation and justice and for foreign relations.
In 1912, Salinas was elected to the Senate for Cautín Province for the 1912–1918 term. He served on the permanent finance committee and chaired it during the first years of his senatorial tenure.
Salinas died in 1917, several months before the scheduled end of his term in the Senate.