Salvador Allende
Salvador Guillermo Allende Gossens (26 June 1908 - 11 September 1973) was a Chilean physician and socialist politician. was Chile's 28th president from 3 November 1970 until his death on 11 September 1973. He was the first Marxist to be elected president of a Latin American liberal democracy. He is regarded as one of the most important historical figures in Chile.
Allende served in Chilean politics for nearly four decades, holding positions as senator, deputy, and cabinet minister. As a lifelong member of Chile's Socialist Party, to whose foundation he had actively contributed, he ran unsuccessfully for the national presidency in 1952, 1958, and 1964. In a three-way race, he won the presidency as the candidate of the Popular Unity coalition in 1970. He was elected in a run-off election by Congress because no candidate received a majority.
As president, Allende sought to nationalize major industries, expand education, and raise working-class living standards. He clashed with the judiciary and the right-wing parties that controlled Congress. On September 11, 1973, the military moved to depose Allende in a coup backed by the Central Intelligence Agency of the United States (CIA). He delivered his final speech as troops surrounded La Moneda Palace, vowing not to resign. Allende committed suicide later that day. There has been some debate about the cause of his death, with some suspecting an assassination.
Following Allende's death, General Augusto Pinochet refused to hand over power to a civilian government, and Chile was ruled by a military junta until 1990, bringing an end to more than four decades of uninterrupted democratic rule. The military junta that took power disbanded Chile's Congress, suspended the Constitution, and launched a campaign to persecute alleged dissidents, in which at least 3,095 civilians disappeared or were killed.
