Jorge Prado Aránguiz

Jorge Prado Aránguiz
Minister of Agriculture
In office
22 April 1982 – 21 October 1988
PresidentAugusto Pinochet
Preceded byJosé Luis Toro Hevia
Succeeded byJaime de la Sotta
Personal details
Born(1938-03-25)25 March 1938
Died8 December 2018(2018-12-08) (aged 80)
PartyIndependent
Spouse
Magdalena Lira Lecaros
(m. 1959)
Children2
Parent(s)Javier Prado Amor; Adriana Aránguiz Cerda
Residence(s)Pencahue, Chile; Santiago, Chile
Alma materPontificia Universidad Católica de Chile (No degree)
ProfessionBusinessperson; agricultural guild leader

Francisco Jorge Prado Aránguiz (25 March 1938 – 8 December 2018) was a Chilean businessperson and agricultural guild leader who served as Minister of Agriculture during the military government of General Augusto Pinochet.

He later became president of the Sociedad Nacional de Agricultura (SNA), the country's oldest agricultural association.

Early life and education

Prado was born in San Vicente de Tagua Tagua to Javier Prado Amor and Adriana Aránguiz Cerda.[1] He was the brother of Javier Prado Aránguiz, a Catholic priest who served as Bishop of Iquique (1984–1988) and Bishop of Rancagua (1993–2004).

He spent his childhood in his hometown before continuing his studies at the Colegio de los Sagrados Corazones de Santiago.[2]

Prado enrolled in the Pontifical Catholic University of Chile, where he studied law for three years.[1] Upon the death of his father, he abandoned his studies to take charge of the family's two agricultural estates.[1]

In 1959 he married Magdalena Lira Lecaros, with whom he had two children.[2][3]

Public career

After leaving university, Prado dedicated himself to agricultural activities and soon became a prominent local, regional and national leader, eventually serving as vice president of the SNA.[1]

During the severe economic crisis of 1982, he was appointed Minister of Agriculture by General Pinochet, a post he held for more than six years (1982–1988).[1][2]

Six months after leaving office, he was elected president of the SNA, serving from 1989 until April 1993.[1][2] In 1993 he joined the campaign team of centre-right presidential candidate Arturo Alessandri Besa.[1][2]

Later in his career, he served as director and adviser to various private entities, including Universidad Mayor and Fundación Chile.[1] In Pencahue, in central Chile, he managed an agricultural estate producing lemons, oranges and peaches.[1][2]

Prado died on 8 December 2018.[4]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i El Mercurio (Santiago), 21 February 2005, p. B16.
  2. ^ a b c d e f La Segunda (Santiago), 25 August 1993, p. 12.
  3. ^ La Segunda (Santiago), 3 March 2006, Ediciones Especiales, p. 24.
  4. ^ https://www.facebook.com/rumbos.diocesana/posts/1176637342499889