Alejandro Medina Lois
Alejandro Medina Lois | |
|---|---|
Alejandro Medina circa 1979. | |
| Minister of Health | |
| In office 14 December 1979 – 20 December 1980 | |
| President | Augusto Pinochet |
| Preceded by | Carlos Jiménez Vargas |
| Succeeded by | Hernán Rivera Calderón |
| Head of the University of Chile | |
| In office 20 December 1980 – 21 January 1983 | |
| President | Augusto Pinochet |
| Preceded by | Enrique Morel Donoso |
| Succeeded by | Roberto Soto Mackenney |
| Head of the Bernardo O'Higgins University | |
| In office 2004–2006 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | February 28, 1931 |
| Died | June 20, 2010 (aged 79) |
| Party | Independent |
| Spouse | Gloria Rojas Flores |
| Children | Four |
| Parent(s) | Ernesto Medina Parker Luisa R. Lois |
| Alma mater | Libertador Bernardo O'Higgins Military Academy |
| Occupation | Military officer |
| Military service | |
| Branch/service | Chilean Army |
| Rank | Major General |
Carlos Alejandro Medina Lois (Talca, 28 February 1931 – Santiago, 20 June 2010) was a Chilean military officer who held the rank of Major General in the Chilean Army.
He served as Minister of Public Health and as Head of the University of Chile during the military regime of General Augusto Pinochet.[1]
Family
He was born in Talca, Chile, on 28 February 1931, the son of General Ernesto Medina Parker (1899– ?), a Chilean Army brigadier who commanded the 3rd Artillery Regiment "Chorrillos" (1939–42), served as military attaché in the United States (1944–47), and directed the Army Artillery School (1947–50); and of Luisa Raquel Lois Prieto.[2]
His brother, Ernesto Medina Lois (1925–2013), was a medical surgeon who directed the School of Public Health at the University of Chile (1972–1997) and chaired the Chilean Medical Association (1975–1979).[3] He married Gloria Rojas Flores, with whom he had four children: Alejandro Edgardo Ernesto, María Gloria Raquel, María Pía and Andrés.[2]
Military career
In the late 1940s he entered the Escuela Militar del Libertador Bernardo O'Higgins and became an artillery officer in the early 1950s.[4] He later completed studies as a staff officer and attended training for Latin American officers at the School of the Americas in the Panama Canal Zone and at Fort Sill, Oklahoma.[4]
1973 coup d’état
At the time of the 1973 Chilean coup d'état, Medina commanded the Parachute and Special Forces School (Escpar-Fes) in Peldehue, part of the Lautaro Special Operations Brigade.[4] On 11 September 1973, he was ordered by Augusto Pinochet to move to the Peñalolén barracks with a battalion of “black berets” as a reserve force. After operations in nearby areas, he was sent to reinforce actions in central Santiago.[4]
During the military regime
In 1975 he was appointed Director of the Army War Academy, serving until 1977.[5]
He was promoted to brigadier general in 1979 and on 14 December of that year became Minister of Public Health under Pinochet. On 29 December 1980 he was appointed Rector of the University of Chile, succeeding General Enrique Morel Donoso, and held the post until 21 January 1983.[6]
In 1984 he became Commander-in-Chief of the V Division of the Chilean Army, headquartered in Punta Arenas. That same year, a bombing occurred at the Nuestra Señora de Fátima Church in Punta Arenas; the perpetrator was later identified as Lieutenant Patricio Contreras Martínez of the Army Intelligence Directorate, who died in the explosion.[7] In 1985 he was appointed Chief of the National Defence Staff, serving until 1986 before retiring from the Army.[8]
Later life
He reappeared publicly in 1988 at a seminar of the South American Peace Commission and later founded the Centre for Nationality Studies. From 2004 to 2006 he served as Rector of the Bernardo O’Higgins University.[9]
He died in Santiago de Chile on 20 June 2010 after a long illness and was buried at the Parque del Recuerdo Cemetery the following day.
References
- ^ Valencia Avaria, Luis (1986). Anales de la República: registros de los ciudadanos que han integrado los Poderes Ejecutivo y Legislativo. Santiago, Chile: Editorial Andrés Bello.
- ^ a b de Ramón Folch, Armando (2003). Biografías de Chilenos: Miembros de los Poderes Ejecutivos, Legislativo y Judicial. Vol. II. Santiago, Chile: Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile.
- ^ "Recuerdos de un Maestro: el Profesor Dr. Ernesto Medina Lois (1925–2013)". Revista Médica de Chile. Retrieved 10 September 2022.
- ^ a b c d Paz Rojas, Viviana Uribe, María E. Rojas, Iris Largo, Isabel Ropert, Víctor Espinoza (2001). Páginas en blanco. El 11 de septiembre en La Moneda. p. 401.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ Chilean Army (1986). Academia de Guerra 1886-1986. p. 118.
- ^ "Period of delegated rectors during the military intervention". University of Chile. Retrieved 11 September 2022.
- ^ "30 years after the Fátima bombing, Bishop Emeritus Tomás González recalls the event". El Pingüino. 6 October 2010. Retrieved 11 September 2022.
- ^ “Falleció polémico general (r) que fue rector de la Universidad de Chile y ex ministro de Salud de Pinochet, Alejandro Medina Lois.” Cambio 21, 22 June 2010.
- ^ "Universidad B. O'Higgins: the CEMA alliance that allowed its growth from 10 million to 6 billion pesos". CIPER Chile. 22 May 2012. Retrieved 11 September 2022.