Venancio Coñuepán Huenchual
Venancio Coñuepán H. | |
|---|---|
Venancio Coñuepán Huenchual in 1957 | |
| Member of the Chamber of Deputies | |
| In office 15 May 1965 – 30 April 1968 | |
| Constituency | 21st Departmental Group |
| In office 15 May 1945 – 3 November 1952 | |
| Minister of Lands and Colonization | |
| In office 3 November 1952 – 1 April 1953 | |
| President | Carlos Ibáñez del Campo |
| Preceded by | Camilo Cobo Gormaz |
| Succeeded by | Alejandro Hales |
| Director-General of the Directorate of Indigenous Affairs (DASIN) | |
| In office 16 May 1953 – 1961 | |
| President | Carlos Ibáñez del Campo (1953–1958) Jorge Alessandri (1958–1961) |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 25 December 1905 Piuchén, Chile |
| Died | 30 April 1968 (aged 62) |
| Party | National Party (1966–1968) United Conservative Party (1957–1966) National Araucanian Party (1952–1957) Social Christian Conservative Party (1949–1952; 1957) Conservative Party (1947–1949) Popular Freedom Alliance (1938–1945) |
| Spouse | Ruth Kindley Parker |
| Parent(s) | Domingo Coñuepán Antonia Huenchual |
| Relatives | Venacio Coñoepán (grandfather) |
| Profession | Farmer and politician |
Venancio Coñuepán Huenchual (25 December 1905 – 30 April 1968), also known as Venancio Coñoepan, was a Chilean farmer and politician of Mapuche origin.
He served as Minister of Lands and Colonization under President Carlos Ibáñez del Campo, becoming the first Indigenous minister of state in the country’s history.[1]
Family and education
Coñuepán was born in Piuchén, Cautín Province, on 25 December 1905, the son of Domingo Coñuepán and Antonia Huenchual.[1] His grandfather, Venacio Coñoepán, was a prominent lonko of the nagche abajino during the Occupation of Araucanía.[2]
He studied at the Araucanian Mission School in Cholchol (today William Wilson Anglican School) and later at the Liceo de Temuco.[1] He married the Englishwoman Ruth Kindley Parker.[2]
Career
He worked for nine years at the Ford agency Herman Hnos. y Gastellu in Temuco, eventually becoming its legal representative.[1] He also founded and directed the Central Indigenous Credit Fund and was president of the Agricultural Development Society of Temuco.[1]
In 1931, Coñuepán became president of the Sociedad Caupolicán Defensora de la Araucanía, reorienting it toward economic empowerment of Mapuche communities.[3] In 1938, he founded the Corporación Araucana, which absorbed the Sociedad Caupolicán.[4]
Political career
Aligned with ibañismo, Coñuepán presided over the Popular Freedom Alliance in Cautín Province and was elected deputy in the 1945 Chilean parliamentary election for the 21st Departmental Group (Temuco, Lautaro, Imperial, Pitrufquén, Villarrica). He served until 1952, integrating the Agriculture and Colonization Commission.[1]
In 1950, during a tribute to former deputy Manuel Manquilef, he became the first person to deliver part of a speech in Mapudungun in the Chilean Congress.[5]
On 3 November 1952, President Carlos Ibáñez del Campo appointed him Minister of Lands and Colonization, a post he held until April 1953.[1] In 1953, he became the first director of the Directorate of Indigenous Affairs (DASIN), serving until 1961.
He was elected deputy again in the 1965 Chilean parliamentary election, serving until his death in 1968. He promoted various legislative initiatives, including laws on indigenous land tenure and local infrastructure.[1]
Coñuepán died in Santiago on 30 April 1968 at the age of 62. He received a state funeral in Temuco on 4 May 1968.[2] He was succeeded in Congress through a by-election by Sergio Merino Jarpa (PDC).
Legacy
Historians such as José Ancán have described him as the most influential Mapuche politician of contemporary Chile, noting that never again did Mapuche leaders hold as much political power as during his time with the Corporación Araucana.[6]
References
- ^ a b c d e f g h "Parliamentary Biography Review: Venancio Coñuepán Huenchual". Library of the National Congress of Chile. Retrieved 12 May 2022.
- ^ a b c Armando de Ramón (1999). Biografías de Chilenos: Miembros de los Poderes Ejecutivo, Legislativo y Judicial. Vol. II (2nd ed.). Santiago: Ediciones Universidad Católica de Chile.
- ^ Allison Ramay & Joanna Crow. "Interconnected Histories: Venancio Coñuepán".
- ^ Alejandro Saavedra Peláez (2002). Los Mapuches en la sociedad chilena actual. LOM Ediciones. p. 283.
- ^ "For the first time Mapuche was spoken in the Chamber yesterday" (PDF). La Nación. 21 June 1950. Retrieved 30 July 2024.
- ^ José Ancán Jara (2012). Venancio Coñuepan. Universidad de Santiago de Chile. ISBN 9789563031027.