Santiago Fernández Barriga
Santiago Fernández Barriga (23 June 1775 – 12 June 1847) was a Chilean military officer and politician who participated in the Chilean War of Independence.
He served as Minister of War and Navy under Bernardo O'Higgins and Ramón Freire, and was a member of the Supreme Delegated Junta of 1823. He also held several legislative and provincial administrative positions.
Early life
Fernández was born in Concepción on 23 June 1775, the son of Alonso Fernández Lagos and Catalina González-Barriga y Coloma. He married Ninfa del Río y Cruz, with whom he had nine children, including José María Fernández del Río.
His formal education is not documented in his parliamentary biography. He entered military service as a cadet through a royal appointment and eventually attained the rank of lieutenant colonel.
Political career
Fernández served as secretary of the Intendancy of Concepción from 1809 to 1810 and became involved in the independence movement in southern Chile. He served as secretary of the Provincial Government Junta of Concepción and as a lieutenant colonel in the Patriot Army. In 1814, he was imprisoned in Concepción Cathedral and subsequently deported to Juan Fernández Island.
In 1818, Fernández was appointed Minister of War and Navy under Bernardo O'Higgins. He later held the same portfolio under Ramón Freire and accompanied Freire during the campaign in Chiloé as a minister responsible for multiple government departments.
Following Freire's resignation in August 1823, Fernández joined Mariano Egaña and Diego José Benavente in the Supreme Delegated Junta, which exercised executive authority until 1 September 1823.
Fernández represented Concepción in the Convention of 1822, serving as its vice president in August. He was subsequently elected substitute deputy for Puchacay for the 1824–1825 period.
He also participated in provincial government, serving as deputy for Linares and vice president of the Provincial Assembly of Concepción in 1825. In 1826, he became the first intendant of Cauquenes and later served as intendant of Concepción. In 1829, he represented Concepción in its Provincial Assembly and served as its president.
Fernández died in Concepción on 12 June 1847, according to the narrative section of his parliamentary biography.