Miguel Chamorro Araya
Miguel Chamorro Araya (19 October 1889 – 1958) was a Chilean civil engineer and politician who served as Minister of Development under Vice President Abraham Oyanedel from October to December 1932.
Early life
Chamorro was born in Talca, Chile, on 19 October 1889, the son of Germán Chamorro and Carlota Araya. He completed his primary and secondary education at the Liceo de Talca and subsequently pursued private studies in engineering.
Chamorro married and had three daughters, Rebeca, Marta and Elsa.
Public career
Early in his career, Chamorro joined the Chilean Army, serving as a vicesargento primero in the 3rd Military Engineer Battalion in Concepción.
After a brief period in the Army, he pursued a career in engineering, working primarily on the construction of roads, bridges and buildings. He designed an animal-powered road-building machine, which he registered under the name Rastraniveladora Melipilla. He also designed what was described as Chile's first collective housing building for workers, constructed at Plaza San Eugenio in Santiago.
Chamorro was a member of the Democratic Party and served as president of the party. On 3 October 1932, Vice President Abraham Oyanedel appointed him Minister of Development. He remained in office until the end of Oyanedel's provisional administration on 24 December 1932.
Following Arturo Alessandri's return to the presidency, Chamorro was appointed intendant of Aysén Province in December 1934. He remained in office until his resignation on 14 July 1936. In the 1937 Chilean parliamentary election, he stood unsuccessfully for election to the Chamber of Deputies in Arauco.
As a member of the Popular Freedom Alliance (APL), Chamorro subsequently contested a 1939 by-election for a seat in the Chamber of Deputies representing Concepción, but was again unsuccessful.
According to biographical information attributed to Armando de Ramón, Chamorro later joined the National Democratic Party (PADENA) and stood as a candidate for the Chamber of Deputies in Santiago's 1st district in the 1965 Chilean parliamentary election, receiving 27 votes and failing to win a seat.
Chamorro was a member of the Sociedad de Empleados de la Unión Mutual de Talca and the Legión Militar y Naval de Chile in Concepción. According to de Ramón, he died in Santiago in 1958.