Fernando Guarello Fitz-Henry

Fernando Guarello Fitz-Henry
Member of the Chamber of Deputies
In office
15 May 1937 – 15 May 1941
Preceded byRafael Pinochet Cáceres
Succeeded byAlberto Ceardi
ConstituencyJorge Alessandri
Personal details
Born(1906-06-29)29 June 1906
Died19 June 1971(1971-06-19) (aged 64)
PartyNational Socialist Movement of Chile
(1932–1939)
Democratic Party
SpouseAlicia Zegers
ChildrenFour
RelativesJuan Cristóbal Guarello (nephew)
Antonia Orellana (grand-daughter)
Alma materUniversity of Chile (LL.B)
ProfessionLawyer

Fernando Guarello Fitz-Henry (Valparaíso, 29 July 1906 – Santiago, 19 June 1971) was a Chilean lawyer and politician. He served as a member of the Chamber of Deputies of Chile for the 1937–1941 legislative period.[1]

In 2024, his past membership in the National Socialist Movement of Chile (MNSCh) became the subject of public debate[2] following a political decision by his great-granddaughter, Antonia Orellana, to dismiss a government official whose father had served as a physician at the Estadio Nacional detention center in September 1973.[3][4]

Early life

He was the son of lawyer and politician Ángel Guarello Costa and Mary Fitz-Henry MacDonell. He completed his secondary education at the Liceo Eduardo de la Barra in Valparaíso and at the local seminary.[5]

He later enrolled in the Fiscal Law Course of Valparaíso and was admitted to the bar on 27 May 1930.[1]

Marriage and children

On 10 May 1935, he married Alicia Zegers de la Fuente. The couple had four children. One of them was Fernando Guarello Zegers, a conservative lawyer who defended victims of human rights violations under the Pinochet regime,[6] and who was the father of sports journalist Juan Cristóbal Guarello.[7] One of his daughters, Ana María Margarita Guarello, was a teacher and the mother of Chilean minister Antonia Orellana.

Professional career

Guarello practiced law in Valparaíso and Santiago.[1] Together with his brother Jorge Guarello Fitz-Henry, he continued the law firm founded by their father in Valparaíso, one of the oldest legal practices in the city.[1] He served as legal counsel to the National Customs Service, as Secretary General of Customs, and worked within its governing board.[1]

In 1946, he represented the Chilean Commercial Union before the Argentine government in negotiations for the purchase of oilseed materials.[1]

Political career

He was a member of the National Socialist Movement of Chile[8] and later of the Democratic Party, of which his father was a founding member.[1] He was elected deputy for the 6th Departmental Grouping of Valparaíso and Quillota for the 1937–1941 term, serving on the Permanent Committee on National Defense.[1]

In 1952, he acted as Secretary General of the First Maritime Conference for the Conservation of the Maritime Wealth of the South Pacific, involving Chile, Peru, and Ecuador.[1] He later participated in the First United Nations Conference on the Law of the Sea, held in Geneva in 1958.[1]

He was a member of the Club de Viña del Mar, the Automobile Club, the Valparaíso Motorists Association, Santiago Wanderers, the Paperchase Club, and the Granadilla Golf Club.[1]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k "Fernando Guarello Fitz-Henry – Reseña biográfica parlamentaria". Library of the National Congress of Chile. Retrieved 2025-12-31.
  2. ^ "Polémica Guarello – Alemparte ¿Existió realmente un partido Nacional Socialista en Chile?". Radio Bío-Bío. 2024-08-27. Retrieved 2025-12-31.
  3. ^ "El fugaz "Amor" de la ministra Orellana". El Dínamo. 2024-08-19. Retrieved 2025-12-31.
  4. ^ "Mírame ahora dilo: Guarello encaró a Gabriel Alemparte en tenso momento de "Sin Filtros"". Radio Bío-Bío. 2024-08-26. Retrieved 2025-12-31.
  5. ^ "Fernando Guarello Fitz-Henry". Genealogía Chilena en Red (in Spanish). Retrieved 20 November 2023.
  6. ^ "No es necesario ser de izquierda para condenar el golpe (en homenaje a Fernando Guarello)". El País. 2023-09-03. Retrieved 2025-12-31.
  7. ^ "Juan Cristóbal Guarello le responde con todo a Gabriel Alemparte por decirle nazi a su abuelo". RedGol. 2024-08-23. Retrieved 2025-12-31.
  8. ^ "Fernando Guarello Fitz-Henry". Finis Terrae University. Retrieved 2025-12-31.