31-627: Patricio Aylwin Azócar OMCh ( Latin American Spanish pronunciation: [paˈtɾisjo ˈelwin aˈsokaɾ] ; 26 November 1918 – 19 April 2016) was a Chilean politician from the Christian Democratic Party , lawyer, author, professor and former senator. He was the 30th president of Chile and the first president to be elected after the absolute rule of dictator Augusto Pinochet , and his election marked
62-503: A United Nations report estimating that the percentage of the population living in poverty had fallen from around 40% of the population in 1989 to around 33% by 1993. He was succeeded in 1994 by the election of Christian Democrat Eduardo Frei Ruiz-Tagle , the son of the late President Eduardo Frei Montalva . Aylwin was of British descent through his paternal lineage. The British Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) commissioned Timothy Duke to research into Aylwin’s heritage prior to
93-595: A county from which his forebears had come and to discover the truth.” Aylwin was a descendant of Henry fitz Ailwin the first Lord Mayor of London . Aylwin was president of the Corporation for Democracy and Justice, a non-profit organization he founded to develop approaches to eliminating poverty and to strengthen ethical values in politics. Aylwin received honorary degrees from universities in Australia, Canada, Colombia, France, Italy, Japan, Portugal, Spain, and
124-566: A dictatorship of our military, I would choose the second." Aylwin was president of the Christian Democrats until 1976, and after the death of the party's leader, Eduardo Frei , in 1982, he led his party during the military dictatorship. Later he helped establish the Constitutional Studies Group of 24 to reunite the country's democratic sectors against the dictatorship. In 1979 he served as a spokesman in
155-605: A peaceful transition from 16 years of dictatorship to democracy. Patricio Aylwin was elected president of the Republic on 14 December 1989. Although Chile had officially become a democracy , the Chilean military led by Pinochet remained highly powerful during the presidency of Aylwin, and the Constitution ensured the continued influence of Pinochet and his commanders, which prevented his government from achieving many of
186-585: A remark he had made concerning that inflation rate of 20% was not much and he also accused Aylwin of making secret agreements with the Communist Party of Chile , a party that was not part of Concertación. Aylwin spoke with strength about the need to clarify human rights violations but did not confront the dictatorship for it, in contrast Büchi as a regime collaborator lacked any credibility when dealing with human rights violations. Büchi and Errázuriz lost to Patricio Aylwin. The electoral system meant that
217-706: A state visit in April 1991. They found that his great-grandfather, Richard Aylwin (who later changed his name to Ricardo Aylwin), was an Englishman born in Southwark , England, to tallow chandlers and emigrated to Chile in 1833. Aylwin had spent most of his life thinking he was of Welsh descent and had initially planned a trip to Cardiff as part of the official United Kingdom visit following his presidential election. The FCO had also found that further down his lineage, his ancestors were yeoman farmers in Sussex , where Aylwin
248-450: Is credited, to some degree, with trying to find a peaceful solution to the country's political crisis. Distrusting Allende, Aylwin "demanded that the president appoint only military men to his cabinet as proof of his honest intent," which Allende did only partially, and Aylwin "apparently sided with pro-coup forces, believing that the military would restore democracy to the nation." He stated very plainly that between "a Marxist dictatorship and
279-488: Is quite a common surname. Duke described Aylwin's British ancestry as "well established" and accompanied him during his state visit to the villages of Treyford and Didling in Sussex, where Aylwin visited the graves of his ancestors and met relatives. Duke stated that Aylwin “didn’t speak English so we had an interpreter, but he was delighted with the reception he got in Sussex,” and that “He just seemed delighted to be back in
310-631: The Chilean transition to democracy in 1990. Despite resistance from elements of the Chilean military and government after his election, Aylwin was staunch in his support for the Chilean National Commission for Truth and Reconciliation which exposed the systematic brutalities of the dictatorship. Aylwin, the eldest of the five children of Miguel Aylwin and Laura Azócar, was born in Viña del Mar . An excellent student, he enrolled in
341-627: The Medal of the Merit , with the same aim as the current Order: award those who gave civil services to the Republic. The first 200 military medals were minted in gold and silver, giving them the title of First and Second Class . They were minted at the Casa de la Moneda , having a tricolor ribbon. The order had three classes: First , Second , and Third Class ; but later a new class was added ( Grand Officer ) that would be awarded to heads of state. In 1929,
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#1732802393466372-549: The military regime that had been in place since 1973. Patricio Aylwin of Concertación alliance was elected President, whilst the alliance also won a majority of seats in the Chamber of Deputies and in the elected Senate seats. From the 1989 elections onwards the military had officially left the political future of the country to civilians to be elected. Pinochet did not endorse any candidate publicly. Former dictatorship minister Hernán Büchi ran for president as candidate of
403-685: The Aylwin Government to increase government spending on social programs from 9.9% to 11.7% of GDP. By the end of the Aylwin government, unprecedented resources were being allocated to social programs, including an expanded public health programs, vocational and training programs for young Chileans, and a major public housing initiative. A new Solidarity and Social Investment Fund was set up to direct aid towards poorer communities, and social spending (especially on health and education) increased by around one-third between 1989 and 1993. A new labor law
434-633: The Falange in 1950–51. When that party became the Christian Democratic Party of Chile , he served seven terms as its president between 1958 and 1989. In 1965 he was elected to the National Congress as a Senator . In 1971, he became the president of the Senate. During the government of Popular Unity , headed by Salvador Allende , he was also the president of his party, and he led the democratic opposition to Allende within and without Congress. He
465-742: The Law School of the University of Chile where he became a lawyer, with the highest distinction, in 1943. He served as professor of administrative law, first at the University of Chile (1946–1967) and also at the School of Law of the Pontifical Catholic University of Chile (1952–1960). He was also professor of civic education and political economy at the National Institute (1946–1963). His brother, Andrés ,
496-615: The Medal was renamed as the Order of Merit , and the current regulations were enacted in 2000, being slightly reformed in 2016. The President of Chile is the Gran Master of the Order. The Chancellor is the minister of Foreign Affairs . The Orders design is made up of a gold five-pointed star enamelled in while, backed by a gold laurel wreath . The central disc bears a representation of
527-481: The Pinochet regime. In addition to this right-wing populist Francisco Javier Errázuriz Talavera ran independently for president and made several election promises Büchi could not match. The centre-left coalition Concertación was rather united and confident. Its candidate Patricio Aylwin , a Christian Democrat , behaved as if he had won and refused a second television debate with Büchi. Büchi attacked Aylwin on
558-797: The United States, as well as seven Chilean universities. In 1997, the Council of Europe awarded the North-South Prize to Aylwin and Mary Robinson , former president of Ireland, for their contributions to fostering human rights, democracy, and cooperation between Europe and Latin America. On 18 December 2015, Aylwin was hospitalized in Santiago after suffering a cranial injury at home. He died on 19 April 2016, aged 97 from natural causes from respiratory insufficiency. His state funeral
589-574: The disc is enamelled in blue with the inscription; "Orden del Merito Chile" (Order of Merit Chile). The centre of the disc is emblazoned with a representation of the Coat of Arms of Chile . The badge of the Order is the same for the Collar, Grand Cross, Grand Officer and Commander grades, however the final two grades; the Officer and Knight, are the same basic design however instead of being enamelled in white,
620-626: The goals it had set, such as the restructuring of the Constitutional Court and the reduction of Pinochet's political power. His administration, however, initiated direct municipal elections, the first of which were held in June 1992. In spite of the severe limits imposed on Aylwin's government by the Constitution, over four years, it "altered power relations in its favor in the state, in civil society, and in political society". Pinochet
651-485: The group that opposed the plebiscite that approved a new constitution. In 1982, Aylwin was elected vice president of the Christian Democrats. He was among the first to advocate acceptance of the Constitution as a reality in order to facilitate the return to democracy . On 5 October 1988, the Chilean national plebiscite was held. A "Yes" vote would grant Pinochet eight more years as president. Despite
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#1732802393466682-486: The national personification of Chile. The outer ring of the central disk is inscribed with "Republica de Chile" ( Republic of Chile ). The badge hangs from a gold Andean Condor , the national bird of Chile. The Star of the Grand Cross grade is made up of a ten-pointed highly curved star fronted by a gold laurel wreath. Placed on this is another five-pointed white-enamelled star with a central gold disc. The outer edge of
713-498: The rate of inflation) under the Aylwin Government, while increases to the minimum wage meant that it was 36% higher in real terms in 1993 than in 1990. A slum clearance program was also initiated, with over 100,000 new homes built under the Aylwin Government, compared with 40,000 per annum under the Pinochet Government. Under the Aylwin government, the numbers of Chileans living in poverty significantly decreased, with
744-556: The star is enamelled in blue and red respectively. The Orders ribbon is made up of a blue field edged very thinly in red. This is the reverse of the ribbon for the other Chilean order of chivalry; The Order of Bernardo O'Higgins. 1989 Chilean presidential election Augusto Pinochet Independent Patricio Aylwin PDC General elections were held in Chile on 14 December 1989, bringing an end to
775-453: The two right-wing parties, RN and UDI . He had little political experience and was a relatively young (40 years) technocrat credited for Chile's good economic performance in the later half of the 1980s. The right parties faced several problems in the elections: there was considerable infighting between RN and UDI, Büchi had only very reluctantly accepted to run for president and right-wing politicians struggled to define their position towards
806-421: The widespread expectation that Pinochet would be voted an extended term, the "No" campaign triumphed, in part because of a superb media campaign depicted in the 2012 film No . Patricio Aylwin was at the center of the movement that defeated General Pinochet. After the plebiscite, he participated in negotiations that led the government and the opposition to agree on 54 constitutional reforms, thereby making possible
837-466: Was also a politician. On 29 September 1948, he was married to Leonor Oyarzún Ivanovic . They had five children (his daughter Mariana worked as a minister in subsequent governments) and 14 grandchildren (among them, popular telenovela and film actress Paz Bascuñán ). Aylwin's involvement in politics started in 1945, when he joined the Falange Nacional . Later he was elected president of
868-476: Was also enacted in 1990, which expanded trade union rights and collective bargaining while also improving severance pay for workers. The minimum wage was also increased, as were family allowances, pensions, and other benefits. Between 1990 and 1993, real wages grew by 4.6%, while the unemployment rate fell from 7.8% to 6.5%. Spending on education increased by 40% while spending on health increased by 54%. The incomes of poor Chileans increased by 20% in real terms (above
899-507: Was created to recognize the meritorious service provided by foreign military personnel to Chilean officials. The order is only awarded to foreigners. In 1817, Bernardo O'Higgins created the Legion of Merit, with the aim of recognizing the ones who have provided help to Chile, specially during its independence . In 1823, when O'Higgins fled the country after his abdication, the Legion was extinct. Nevertheless, in 1906, Germán Riesco created
930-465: Was determined that the military not be punished for its role in overthrowing Allende's government or for the years of military dictatorship. Aylwin did attempt to bring to justice those in the military who committed abuses. The Aylwin Government did much to reduce poverty and inequality during its time in office. A tax reform was introduced in 1990 which boosted tax revenues by around 15% and enabled
961-563: Was held on 22 April 2016 and was buried at Cementerio General de Santiago in the following days. Order of Merit (Chile) The Order of Merit (Spanish: Orden al Mérito ) is a Chilean order and was created in 1929. Succeeding the Medal of the Merit , which was created during the term of the President Germán Riesco through the Minister of War decree No. 1350 on 4 September 1906. This new national distinction