Luis Felipe Letelier

Luis Felipe Letelier
Luis Felipe Letelier Icaza in the 1950s
Member of the Senate
In office
15 May 1957 – 15 May 1965
Preceded byFernando Hurtado Echeñique
Succeeded byJosé Aravena Carrasco
Constituency6th Provincial Group
Minister of Justice of Chile
In office
7 July 1948 – 25 May 1949
PresidentGabriel González Videla
Preceded byEugenio Puga Fisher
Succeeded byJuan Bautista Rossetti
Minister of Labor of Chile
In office
1 February 1949 – 25 May 1949
PresidentGabriel González Videla
Preceded byRuperto Puga
Succeeded byFernando García Oldini
Personal details
Born(1906-12-03)3 December 1906
Died19 January 1993(1993-01-19) (aged 86)
PartyUnited Conservative Party
SpouseLía Pérez-Cotapos Errázuriz
Children8
Parent(s)Rafael Letelier Pozo
Luisa Icaza Barros
Alma materPontifical Catholic University of Chile (LL.B)
ProfessionLawyer, politician, businessman

Luis Felipe Letelier Icaza (3 December 1906 – 19 January 1993) was a Chilean lawyer, professor, businessman and politician affiliated with the United Conservative Party. He served as Senator of the Republic between 1957 and 1965, and earlier as Minister of Justice (1948–1949) and acting Minister of Labor (1949) under President Gabriel González Videla.[1]

Family and studies

Letelier was born in Talca in 1906, the son of Rafael Letelier Pozo and Luisa Icaza Barros.[1] He studied at the San Bernardo High School and the Patrocinio de San José in Santiago, later earning a law degree at the Pontifical Catholic University of Chile in 1930 with the thesis The insured in fire insurance, for which he was awarded the Manuel Antonio Tocornal Prize.[1]

He married Lía Pérez-Cotapos Errázuriz, with whom he had eight children: Luis Felipe, María Lía, María Loreto, Carmen, Paz, Juan Bosco, Francisco and Gabriel.[1]

Professional career

He practiced law in Santiago, served as legal counsel for the National Council of Foreign Trade, and was professor of Commercial Law at the Catholic University, where he also acted as secretary-general.[1]

He also held leadership roles in the private sector: president of Compañía de Seguros Carrera S.A., director of Instituto Sanitas, director of Anilinas S.A., the Hipódromo Chile, and Sociedad Agrícola y Forestal Colcura.[1] From 1949 to 1957 he worked in the Real Estate Trust Division of the Banco de Chile, and in 1951 became general manager of the Aurífera Madre de Dios mining company.[1]

He was a member of the Club de La Unión and the Automobile Club of Chile.[1]

Political career

A member of the United Conservative Party, Letelier was appointed Minister of Justice by President González Videla on 7 July 1948, serving until 25 May 1949.[1] Between February and May 1949 he also acted as Minister of Labor.[1]

In the 1957 parliamentary election, he was elected senator for the 6th Provincial Group (Curicó, Talca, Linares and Maule), serving until 1965. He chaired the Permanent Commission on Public Education, and was also a member of the Commissions on Public Health, Labor and Social Welfare, and Government. He belonged to the Conservative Parliamentary Committee.[1]

Among the bills he sponsored that became law were Law No. 14,631 (21 September 1961), repealing the Law on Parliamentary Advisory Councils, and Law No. 14,894 (6 September 1962), granting benefits to residents of the "Arlegui" building in Viña del Mar.[1]

Pedro de Valdivia Norte neighborhood

In 1948 Letelier conceived the urban development of the Pedro de Valdivia Norte neighborhood in Santiago, along with partners Ricardo Labarca Benítez and Arturo Lyon Cousiño. Together they purchased the land and began its real estate development, with collaborators Ignacio Cousiño Aragón and Eugenio Cruz Vargas.[2]

That same year his brother, Fernando Letelier Icaza, director of the San Francisco Javier School in Puerto Montt, died. In his memory, the bridge linking Pedro de Valdivia Norte with Providencia was named Padre Letelier.[3]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l "Biographical review: Luis Felipe Letelier Icaza". Biblioteca del Congreso Nacional de Chile. Retrieved 21 April 2022.
  2. ^ "Pedro de Valdivia Norte; a different neighborhood". El Mercurio. 19 July 2014. Retrieved 22 April 2022.
  3. ^ El Mercurio, "Pedro de Valdivia Norte; un barrio diferente", 19 July 2014