Raúl Irarrázabal

Raúl Irarrázabal Lecaros (Santiago, 18 October 1906 – ibid., 13 June 2001) was a Chilean lawyer, politician, and diplomat, associated with the conservative movement. He served as a member of the Chamber of Deputies of Chile, Minister of Finance, and later as Chile’s ambassador to the Holy See and to West Germany.^[1]

He was the son of Alberto Irarrázaval Lira and Inés Lecaros Barros. He studied at the Instituto Nacional and at the Liceo Alemán de Santiago (1913–1925), later joining the University of Chile Faculty of Law. His thesis was titled Derecho aeronáutico (“Aeronautical Law”).

He pursued postgraduate studies in politics and economics at the University of Paris, in Berlin, and at the London School of Economics and Political Science. Upon returning to Chile, he received his law degree in January 1932 and began practicing with the law firm of Manuel Föster and Joaquín Yrarrázabal.

He married Elena Covarrubias Sánchez, with whom he had seven children, among them the noted sculptor Mario Irarrázabal Covarrubias.

Irarrázabal was a member of the Conservative Party, through which he was first elected Deputy for the 13th Departmental Grouping (Constitución, Cauquenes, and Chanco) during the 1945–1949 legislative period. He participated in the Standing Committee on Constitution, Legislation and Justice.

In 1950, President Gabriel González Videla appointed him Minister of Finance, a post he held until mid-1951. Subsequently, he served as Ambassador of Chile to the Holy See between 1951 and 1953, and later as vice president of the United Conservative Party from 1953 to 1956.

He was elected again as Deputy for the 24th Departmental Grouping (Llanquihue, Puerto Varas, and Aysén) for two consecutive periods (1957–1965), joining the Standing Committees on Economy and Commerce and on Foreign Affairs.

Under the military government, he was appointed Ambassador of Chile to West Germany (1974–1975).

Irarrázabal also held numerous civic and philanthropic roles: he was a member of the Society for Primary Instruction, vice president of the School Welfare Board, and an active participant in the Instituto de Cultura Hispánica and the Chilean-German Cultural Institute. He was also a licensed civil pilot and a member of the Colegio de Abogados, the Club de La Unión, and the Automóvil Club de Chile.

He was recognized with several national and international distinctions:

• Knight of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta (1964)
• Grand Cross of the Order of St. Sylvester
• Grand Cross of the Order of Orange-Nassau

• Castillo Infante, Fernando. Diccionario Histórico y Biográfico de Chile. Editorial Zig-Zag, Santiago, 6th ed., 1996.
• De Ramón, Armando. Biografías de Chilenos: Miembros de los Poderes Ejecutivo, Legislativo y Judicial. Ediciones Universidad Católica de Chile, Santiago, 2nd ed., 1999.

• BCN Profile