Víctor Vicente Robles
Víctor Vicente Robles Valenzuela (20 July 1879 – ?) was a Chilean lawyer, diplomat, and Radical Party politician. He served four consecutive terms in the Chamber of Deputies of Chile between 1909 and 1921 and later held diplomatic appointments in East Asia. He also served as Minister of War and Navy and as Minister of the Interior.
Robles owned the Roirima estate in Collipulli. He was a member of the Club de la Unión and the Club Hípico de Santiago.
He received a Venezuelan decoration, the Order of the Great Liberator and was awarded the Grand Cordon of Japan's Order of the Sacred Treasure.
Early life and education
Robles was born in Concepción on 20 July 1879, the son of José Benito Robles and Carmen Valenzuela. He attended the Liceo de Concepción and qualified as a lawyer in 1900. His thesis was entitled Derecho penal ("Criminal Law").
He married Bery McNamara, with whom he had two children.
Robles worked as a lawyer for Japanese and other foreign companies. In 1905, he served as a substitute relator at the Court of Appeals of Concepción.
He also pursued an academic career at the university-level courses of the Liceo de Concepción, where he taught agricultural and industrial law in 1905. From 2 August 1907, he taught civil law while continuing his legal practice.
Robles was also active in journalism. He worked on the editorial staffs of the Concepción newspaper El Sur and La Ley, and published several pamphlets on legal subjects.
Political career
A member of the Radical Party, Robles was elected to the Chamber of Deputies for Lebu, Cañete and Arauco for the 1909–1912 legislative term. He served on the Permanent Committee on Government and Colonization. His parliamentary activity during this period included debates concerning public finances, measures affecting the coal industry, municipal borrowing, and relations between the Chilean state and the Holy See.
He was re-elected for Lebu, Cañete and Arauco for the 1912–1915 term and served on the Permanent Committee on Foreign Affairs and Colonization. He represented the Radical Party in parliamentary debates concerning the papal internuncio, Monsignor Enrico Sibilia, and participated in committees dealing with electoral legislation and the national budget.
Robles was elected for Rere and Puchacay for the 1915–1918 term, again serving on the Permanent Committee on Foreign Affairs and Colonization. He subsequently represented La Serena, Coquimbo and Elqui from 1918 to 1921 and served as president of the same committee.
The BCN parliamentary biography also records that Robles served as Minister of War and Navy during 1918–1919, although it does not provide precise dates for his tenure.
In April 1932, Robles was appointed Minister of the Interior. He remained in the post until June of that year.
Diplomatic service
Robles represented Chile at a financial conference held in Washington, D.C., in 1918. In 1921, he was appointed minister plenipotentiary to Japan and China, an appointment that brought his parliamentary career to an end.
He subsequently worked as a lawyer and adviser in connection with the Tacna and Arica dispute. In 1923, he served on a high commission established to reorganize Chilean public services. The government also commissioned him to investigate questions concerning land possession in Tierra del Fuego and sent him as a representative to the inauguration of the Arica–La Paz railway.