Gustavo Lagos Matus

Gustavo Lagos Matus
Minister of Justice
In office
27 June 1969 – 3 November 1970
PresidentEduardo Frei Montalva
Preceded byJaime Castillo Velasco
Succeeded byLisandro Cruz Ponce
Personal details
Born(1924-08-30)30 August 1924
Died24 December 2003(2003-12-24) (aged 79)
PartyChristian Democratic Party (1957–2003)
Social Christian Conservative Party (1953–1957)
Spouse
Marta Cruz-Coke Madrid
(m. 1948)
Children3
Parent(s)Gustavo Lagos Lagos
Rosenda Matus Benavente
Alma mater
OccupationLawyer, political scientist, academic and politician

Gustavo Dagoberto Lagos Matus (30 August 1924 – 24 December 2003) was a Chilean lawyer, political scientist, academic and Christian Democratic politician.

He served as a cabinet minister —as Minister of Justice— during the administration of President Eduardo Frei Montalva from 1969 to 1970.

Early life

He was the son of Gustavo Lagos Lagos and Rosenda Matus Benavente, nephew of Julio Lagos Lagos, grandson of Dagoberto Lagos Pantoja, and great-grandson of Pedro Lagos Marchant.

He studied at the Colegio de los Sagrados Corazones de Santiago and later at the University of Chile, where he graduated as a lawyer in 1948. He subsequently pursued studies in sociology and political science at the Sorbonne and at the Institut d'Études Politiques de Paris in France.[1]

Marriage and family

In 1948 he married Marta Cruz-Coke Madrid, later head of the National Library, Archives and Museums Directorate (DIBAM) under President Ricardo Lagos Escobar. She was the daughter of senator Eduardo Cruz-Coke, the Conservative presidential candidate in the 1946 election. The couple had three children: Marta, María Isabel and Gustavo.

Career

From his early professional years he pursued an active academic career, teaching at various national and international universities.

He was also the founder and first secretary-general of the Latin American Faculty of Social Sciences (FLACSO) in Santiago (1957–1961).[1]

In addition, he worked for the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB).

In 1969, President Eduardo Frei Montalva appointed him Minister of Justice, replacing Jaime Castillo Velasco.[1][2]

He authored numerous academic works, including International Stratification and Underdeveloped Countries, published in the United States, which was used as a textbook in several North American universities.

References

  1. ^ a b c Biografías de chilenos: miembros de los poderes Ejecutivo, Legislativo y Judicial (1876–1973), Vol. III, Armando de Ramón et al., Ediciones Universidad Católica de Chile, Santiago, 2003, pp. 15–16.
  2. ^ "Familia Lagos". Genealog.cl. Retrieved 4 August 2015.