Luis Salas Romo (18 February 1878 – 5 January 1947) was a Chilean lawyer and politician. A member of the Radical Party, he served as senator of the Republic and held several ministerial posts during the early twentieth century.

He served as a deputy during the 1921–1924 legislative term, as well as a senator during two non-consecutive terms, in 1924 and from 1926 to 1930.

Salas also served as Minister of Justice and Public Instruction, Minister of Public Health, Welfare and Social Assistance, and Minister of the Interior, all during the two administrations of Liberal President Arturo Alessandri.

Early life and education

Salas was born in Santiago on 18 February 1878, the son of Víctor Salas Muñoz and Nicolasa Romo. He received his primary education at the Escuela Ricardo Olea and his secondary education at the Instituto Nacional in Santiago. He subsequently studied at the School of Law of the University of Chile, qualifying as a lawyer on 14 June 1901 with the thesis Necesidad del estudio de medicina legal, en los cursos de Derecho ("The need for the study of forensic medicine in law courses").

On 19 March 1905, he married Rosa Amelia Romo in the commune of Quilicura, and they had ten children. Their children included Amelia, Inés Olga, Ester, Raquel, Delia, Alfredo, Lucía, Luis Hernán, and Julio.

She served as a municipal councillor in Quilicura, first as a regidora and later on two occasions as a concejala. Luis Hernán was a lawyer who served as Undersecretary of Housing and Urban Development from 1984 to 1990. Julio was a chess player and lawyer who served as president of the Chilean Bar Association from 1974 to 1976 and as a member of the Legislative Commission established in 1976 under the Military Government Junta.

Political career

Deputy and Minister: 1921–1924

A member of the Radical Party (PR), Salas was elected as a deputy for Santiago in the 1921 parliamentary election, serving during the 1921–1924 legislative term. During his tenure, he was a member and president of the Permanent Elections Committee, which at the time reviewed the elections of deputies, whose validity was then determined by the Chamber of Deputies itself.

He was also a member of the Permanent Internal Police Committee and of the Conservative Commission during the 1922–1923 congressional recess. In addition, he served as President of the Chamber of Deputies from 26 December 1923 to 6 May 1924. As part of his parliamentary work, Salas was an early proponent of the "Private Employees Law", which provided significant benefits to the middle class.

On 16 March 1923, Salas was appointed Minister of Justice and Public Instruction by Liberal President Arturo Alessandri, serving until 14 June of that year. He returned to the same post the following year, serving from 20 July to 5 September 1924.

During his tenure, he transferred responsibility for girls' secondary schools from the ministry to the Council of Public Instruction.

Senator

In the 1924 parliamentary election, Salas was elected senator for Valparaíso for the 1924–1930 term. He served on the Permanent Public Instruction Committee. He was unable to complete the term, however, because on 11 September 1924 the National Congress was dissolved by decree of the Government Junta established following a coup d'état.

In the 1925 parliamentary election, Salas was again elected senator, this time representing the 4th Provincial Grouping of Santiago for the 1926–1930 term. During this term, he served on the Permanent Public Education Committee.

In April 1927, Salas went into exile because of his opposition to the government of General Carlos Ibáñez del Campo. Nevertheless, he retained his status as a senator under a special authorization granted by the President of the Senate. He lived in exile in Buenos Aires, Argentina, where he joined other Chilean exiles. He returned to Chile in 1930, and on 21 September of that year, together with a group of exiles including Marmaduke Grove, organized a military rebellion, for which he was sentenced to ten years of banishment. He nevertheless managed to remain in Santiago until April 1931, when he was again deported to Buenos Aires. He remained there until the fall of Ibáñez's government. After returning to Chile, he founded the Social Republican Party in 1931.

Minister of the Interior

Salas served as campaign manager for Arturo Alessandri in the presidential election of 4 October 1931, in which Alessandri was defeated by Radical candidate Juan Esteban Montero. He also participated in Alessandri's campaign for the presidential election of 30 October 1932, in which Alessandri was elected president for the 1932–1938 term.

During Alessandri's second administration, Salas was appointed Minister of the Interior, serving from 19 April 1934 to 29 January 1935. After briefly leaving the post, he returned to it from 13 February to 26 August 1935. Three years later, he was again appointed Minister of the Interior, serving from 18 May until the end of Alessandri's administration on 24 December 1938. During his periods as minister, the Ránquil massacre (1934) and the Seguro Obrero massacre (1938) occurred, resulting in hundreds of deaths.

After Alessandri was succeeded as president by Radical politician Pedro Aguirre Cerda, Salas withdrew from politics and devoted himself fully to his legal career. He died at his residence in Quilicura on 5 January 1947.

References

External links BCN Profile