Máximo Mujica
Máximo Mujica Echaurren (1812–1872) was a Chilean lawyer, judge and politician.
He served as Minister of Justice, Worship and Public Instruction under President Manuel Bulnes, as a member of the Chamber of Deputies of Chile and the Senate of Chile, and as vice president of the Senate. Alongside his political career, he held several senior positions in the Chilean judiciary.
Education
Mujica was born in Santiago in 1812, the son of Matías Muxica y Lecuna Jáuregui and María Juana de Echaurren Herrera. He studied humanities at the Colegio Carolino and the Instituto Nacional. On 30 June 1831, he graduated with a bachelor's degree in law from the Royal University of San Felipe and qualified as a lawyer on 15 February 1833.
He married Eduarda Mardones Portales, with whom he had six children: Juan Emilio, Luis, Eduarda, Manuel Antonio, Clarisa and Carlos.
Political career
Mujica combined his political career with extensive service in the judiciary. In 1839, he became president of the Academy of Law and Forensic Practice, and in 1849 was responsible for closing the institution. He also served as rapporteur of the Supreme Court of Chile and the Tribunal Mayor de Cuentas, resigning from the latter position on 19 July 1842.
On 4 June 1843, Mujica became acting prosecutor of the Santiago Court of Appeals. The following year, he served as criminal prosecutor in Santiago and acted as prosecutor in the proceedings against Francisco Bilbao over his work Sociabilidad Chilena. Mujica was also a member of the commission responsible for revising the Chilean Civil Code.
He was appointed interim criminal judge of Santiago on 8 November 1845 and subsequently received the position permanently, resigning on 14 January 1849. On 17 October 1846, he was appointed substitute judge of the Santiago Court of Appeals.
President Manuel Bulnes appointed Mujica Minister of Justice, Worship and Public Instruction on 9 July 1850. He held the portfolio during the final period of Bulnes's presidency and remained in office until 18 September 1851.
Between 11 November 1851 and March 1852, Mujica served as a substitute justice of the Supreme Court. On 24 March 1852, he became regent of the Santiago Court of Appeals.
That same year, Mujica was elected deputy for Los Andes for the 1852–1855 legislative term. In the Chamber, he served on the Permanent Commission on Constitution, Legislation and Justice.
In 1855, he was elected to the Senate of Chile for the 1855–1864 term. He served on the Permanent Commission on Legislation and Justice, later renamed the Commission on Constitution, Legislation and Justice, and was repeatedly a member of the Conservative Commission during congressional recesses. On 9 July 1862, he became vice president of the Senate.
While serving in the judiciary, Mujica was appointed to the Council of State by President Manuel Montt on 23 June 1855. President José Joaquín Pérez confirmed him in the position on 27 September 1861. He attended the Council of State between 1857 and 1865.
Mujica was also involved in the establishment of the Club de la Unión. He died in Santiago in 1872.