Miguel Güemes
Miguel María Güemes Fernández (1815–1868) was a Chilean lawyer, academic, judge and Conservative politician. He served as Minister of Justice, Worship and Public Instruction under President José Joaquín Pérez, as a justice and acting president of the Supreme Court of Chile, and as a member of the Senate of Chile.
Education
Güemes was born in Santiago in 1815. He completed his secondary education at the Instituto Nacional and received a bachelor's degree in law from the Royal University of San Felipe on 4 December 1838. Between December 1838 and December 1840, he continued his legal training at the Academy of Laws and Forensic Practice and was admitted to practice as a lawyer on 8 January 1841.
Güemes pursued an extensive academic career. In 1841, he was appointed professor of Roman law at the Instituto Nacional, a position he held until 1854. Between 1844 and 1846, he also taught civil law, canon law and Chilean law. In 1854, he became professor of forensic practice at the University of Chile, and in 1856 he was appointed professor of canon law at the Instituto Nacional.
He was elected a member of the University of Chile's Faculty of Philosophy and Humanities in 1859 and subsequently joined its Faculty of Law and Political Sciences. In 1864, he also became a member of the Faculty of Theology and Sacred Sciences. He served as secretary general of the university.
Political career
Under President José Joaquín Pérez, Güemes served as Minister of Justice, Worship and Public Instruction from 9 July 1862 until 28 September 1864.
Shortly after leaving the cabinet, Güemes was appointed a justice of the Supreme Court of Chile on 29 September 1864. He subsequently served as acting president of the Supreme Court when Manuel Montt was appointed to represent Chile at the American Congress held in Lima in 1865. Güemes remained a member of the court until his death.
In 1864, Güemes was elected to the Senate of Chile for the 1864–1873 term. He served on the Permanent Commission on Ecclesiastical Affairs and was a member of the Conservative Commission during the congressional recesses of 1865–1866 and 1866–1867.
Because of his position on the Supreme Court, President Pérez appointed him to the Council of State on 25 September 1866. He remained a councillor until the final days of July 1868.
Güemes died in 1868 before completing his senatorial term. In his will, he left his entire fortune to charitable institutions.