Pedro Freeman
Pedro Freeman | |
|---|---|
| Member of the Chamber of Deputies | |
| In office 15 May 1933 – 15 May 1941 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 11 August 1888 |
| Died | 29 July 1978 (aged 89) |
| Party | Radical Party |
| Occupation | Politician |
Pedro Hernán Freeman Caris (11 August 1888 – 29 July 1978) was a Chilean politician who served as deputy.[1]
Biography
He studied at the Liceo of La Serena and at the Faculty of Law of the University of Chile, qualifying as a lawyer on 8 January 1918. His graduation thesis was entitled On the concurrence of creditors.[1]
Between 1908 and 1916, he worked as an employee of the Internal Revenue Service in Santiago. He later served as secretary of the Intendancy of the Biobío Region from 1918 to 1927, and was appointed acting intendant in 1929. He practiced law in Santiago and in Los Ángeles until 1938, when he settled permanently in the capital.[1]
Career
He was appointed Minister of Justice from 22 October 1936 to 19 February 1937 during the administration of President Arturo Alessandri Palma. In the financial and communications sectors, he served as fiscal adviser, general manager and executive vice president of the Public Employees and Journalists Pension Fund, as well as general manager of Radio Corporación. He also worked as administrator and columnist of the Radical Party newspaper La Razón.[1]
A member of the Radical Party, he became president of the Radical Club of Los Ángeles. Following the resignation of Deputy Alejandro Serani Burgos to assume the post of Minister of Lands and Colonization, the Electoral Court declared Freeman elected as deputy for the departmental electoral district of Laja, Mulchén and Angol for the 1933–1937 legislative period. He took office on 25 June 1934 after defeating Lisandro Fuentealba of the Democratic Party by a margin of 34 votes in a by-election with an electorate of 11,234 voters.[1]
In the 1937 parliamentary elections, he again stood as the Radical Party candidate for the same district. Initially, the victory was awarded to Socialist candidate Asdrúbal Pezoa. However, following a formal challenge submitted by Freeman and his party, the Electoral Court ordered a supplementary election in two polling stations that had failed to be constituted on election day. Despite support for Pezoa from prominent left-wing figures such as Communist leader Amador Pairoa and Socialist leader Marmaduque Grove, the community of Quilaco ultimately delivered a victory to Freeman. He was sworn in as deputy on 10 August 1937 and subsequently served on the Standing Committees on Labour, Internal Police and Regulations.[1]
Outside parliamentary life, Freeman was director of the El Laja Canal Owners Association and a member of the League of Poor Students, the Fire Brigade and several social clubs.[1]