Rubén Gajardo (politician)

Rubén Gajardo
Member of the Chamber of Deputies
In office
11 March 1990 – 11 March 1998
Preceded byDistrict created
Succeeded byManuel Rojas Molina
Constituency4th District
Personal details
Born (1936-04-26) 26 April 1936
PartyChristian Democratic Party (DC)
Spouse(s)Érika Basaez
María Inés Morales
ChildrenThree
Alma materUniversity of Chile (LL.B)
OccupationPolitician
ProfessionLawyer

Rubén Gajardo Chacón (born 26 April 1936) is a Chilean politician and lawyer[1] who served as a deputy.

Biography

He was born in Valparaíso on 26 April 1936, the son of Olga Chacón and Luis Rubén Gajardo.[2]

In 2010, he married Érika Basáez Ponce, with whom he had a daughter, Olga.[2] Previously, he was married to María Inés Morales and they had one son.[2]

He completed his primary education in public schools in Casablanca, Valparaíso and San Bernardo, and his secondary education in Osorno, Cauquenes and Santiago.[2] After finishing school, he entered the University of Chile Faculty of Law and was admitted as a lawyer on 7 August 1967.[2]

In his professional career, he served as clerk of various criminal courts in Santiago and as judicial agent in Maule and Valdivia.[2] He also worked as lawyer for the Corporación de Fomento de la Producción (CORFO).[2]

He also worked in academia as Professor of Labour Law at the University of the North.[2]

Political career

His political career began when he assumed the vice-presidency of the Christian Democratic Youth (JDC).[2] Later, in Antofagasta, he served as president of the Professionals’ Front of the Christian Democratic Party; in 1983, he became provincial president and head of doctrinal training and education.[2]

He was president of the Democratic Alliance of Antofagasta, representing the Christian Democratic Party, and was also member of the Assembly of Civility.[2]

In the 1989 parliamentary elections, he was elected Deputy for District No. 4—comprising the communes of Antofagasta, Mejillones, Sierra Gorda and Taltal—for the 1990–1994 term, obtaining 35,630 votes (29.78% of valid votes).[2] In 1993, he was re-elected for the 1994–1998 term with the highest district majority, obtaining 43,761 votes (37.78% of valid votes).[2] In 1997, he failed to secure a third term, despite obtaining the second highest vote with 27,348 votes (27.21% of valid votes).[2]

In 2000, he was appointed Regional Ministerial Secretary of Justice, a position from which he resigned on 19 May of the same year.[2]

In 2004, he was elected Councillor of the Municipality of Antofagasta, obtaining 5,894 votes (6.38% of valid votes) for the 2004–2008 term.[2] Before completing his term, he ran for re-election but was not elected.[2]

Since 2007, he has served as Dean of the Faculty of Law of the University of Antofagasta.[2]

References

  1. ^ "Rinden homenaje a trayectoria académica de abogado Rubén Gajardo Chacón". University of Antofagasta. 11 October 2023. Retrieved 20 February 2026.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r "Rubén Gajardo Chacón". Biblioteca del Congreso Nacional de Chile (in Spanish). Retrieved 20 February 2026.